finished installing my headers yesterday... what a pain in the butt it was... Jet-hot LTs, Hooker Y, Taylor OVC kit, new NKG Tr55r plugs, new 02 sensors and simulators...

I have a few concerns that are making me less than happy... The headers dont appear to be leaking at any place, but the noise in the enging bay is considerablly louder (too be expected i'd assume) my problem is that when i accelerate at approximatlye 2400Rpms to 3000RPMs it feels like the motor is missing or stumbling... and it gets quite a bit louder at that rpm range, after that it smooths out and pulls very hard... im not a very experienced mechanic so im having trouble diagnosing the problem, i dont get any SES lights but i am concerned none the less. Also i can smell gas in my exhaust much more than before, likely because i dont have a Catalytic converter anymore...

My guess is that its a problem with the taylor wires, perhaps grounding out or not making good contact... i was not pleased with how that came out, ie 2 of them seemed kinda sketchy... Maybe i should buy a new set of wires and try it? something that isn't as much of a pain as the taylors!!!

If anyone could perhaps give me some advice that would be very helpfull... Because right now im kinda discouraged and regretting doing the headers.... lots of work, money, and effort for a car that doesn't seem to be running as good as it was before

if anyone is local and is feeling charitible and wants to give it a listen it would be very helpfull!!!

thanks

 

Probably burning a wire.. I burnt one and it ran "fine" for about 2 weeks then it just went to crap.. But I didnt use OTVC wires, check them anyway

 

Do you have a lt4 km? With the extra noise maybe the computer is pulling timing causing a loss of power. If it feels like a significant miss or stumble then yes, check your wires.

Aaron

 

i just installed the the wires yesterday, so they cant be burnt through yet because i did it even the first time i went for a ride... it seems to run perfect at idle, but then again perhaps i dont know what a miss or stumble is??? Could someone describe it to me... i know i must sound like an idiot but maybe im confusing it with something else...

And no i dont have the knock module? could that perhaps help?

thanks for the help

 

Go over all the wires.Make sure they all click onto the connection.Especially the two you had problems with.

 

Yea thats kinda what i figured, i might just pull the taylors out, im not real impressed with them, can anyone suggest another good wire that wont burn up on me? Are there any other wires that are OVC that you dont need to terminate your self?

thanks

 

I use Accel 9000s and have been doing so since 1995. They are a good spiral core wire and the plug boots are coated with a high heat material thats great for guys with headers. I think if you call Summit they can put you in touch with Accel and maybe you can order the opti ends to crimp them on. I don't think anyone makes a set thats already terminated for OVC.
--Alan

 

Does anyone else have any input, or reccomendations for plug wires that arn't the taylors but that wont burn up in a week either? Please let me know

Thanks

 

I have had a similar problem with my car since installing my headers.

My car seems to pull really well in 1st and 2nd (I'm in an A4) but once it hits 3rd, it loses steam until it hits 2500-3000 RPM then pulls well. It seems to take too long (too many seconds that is) to run through 2nd and 3rd.

However, in March I put it on the dyno... Guess what my $1200 investment in headers, y-pipe, plugs, new o2 sensors and labor netted me? 6 RWHP. I went from 264 RWHP on stock manifolds to 270 with the headers. I was pulling a few degrees of retard during the pull, but the car never has truly felt like it had THAT much more power.

I do know that the car is faster, from 14.01 to 13.78 (I have a lot of stereo equipment in the trunk), but the car still feels week.

Now I have an odd, seemingly random misfire that sometimes affects 3 cylinders at once.

So I guess it's time to install my Taylor OVC wirekit.

Even when the car's not missing, and it seems to be running right, it just feels weaker than it should. PLUS, it has a fuel split in all cells (3-5%), it's pulling fuel at idle (up to 10%) and adding it everywhere else (up to 10%). Plus, when the BLMs weren't locked to 128, the car would be crazy lean at WOT (adding 20% fuel at WOT). I had to lock the BLMs and add some fuel in the PE tables to get it to run better.

 

good to know that im not alone, i hope my troubles arnt' as big as much of a problem as yours though im hoping when i get around to changing the plug wires it will solve the problem

 

Check to see if your having similar symptoms

 

When you say noise, do you mean ticking? Ticking can be from an exhaust leak, or if you have any plugs loose, they can make some noise also. Your plugs must be tight, if they aren't you loose compression and i've heard they can make a ticking sound as well.