fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

http://www.pbblaster.com

Hell more potent then wd40. I'd never use that stuff again.

Lord Helmet

My cat bolts were a bitch too. In fact, I took the car to a shop and had two bolts removed for me. One on the a-pipe to OEM manifold on the front side of the motor, and the other one going into the cat.

jproy

So were the a-pipe to cat bolts welded or not. I am doing this myself too and need to know. what does it take to get them out? details please! jim

Lord Helmet

They aren't welded, they are just rusty and/or super tight. All you need is a good socket (12point-if thats what they're called), and a big breaker bar for leverage. Air tools are not needed.

ProvidenceLeaf

I heated them up with a torch until they were nice and bright orange. They came off no problem after that.

Good luck with the rest of your install. Please give us some feedback about any resonance issues or gasket leaks.

jproy

glad you got those bolts off! I have the XS power header sitting on the floor in my living room and I am ready to install it. the header to block gasket that comes from SSautochrome seems to be a piece of shit. it already has rust on it and both were bent badly when they arrived in the mail. I bought new OEM gaskets from Acura and plan to use them. However, I was looking at my new header a few hours ago and was playing with the bent gaskets from SSautochrome and noticed how the metal on both sides of the gasket was delaminating from the softer material between them. I went ahead and ripped the gaskets apart and low and behold there is all this print on the insides of the metal on either side of the gasket, the part making contact with the softer material in the middle of the gasket. did I mention both gaskets had already began to rust before I ever recieved them in the mail. Anyway, As I am reading the print in the metal parts I realize that it is the print that is found on the outside of a 9V, aaa, aa, c, or d size battery. It is some japan or China brand of battery called a Mustang. the metal on my gaskets was for a the casing of a battery. color print and all. just like the outside of a duracel. I can read the part where it gives the warning about disposing of a battery in fire or how to throw it away. there is japanies or chinese writing on the metal as well.

So I think the gaskets are made from old battery casing metal. It clearly rusts easily. I dont know anything about the reliability of this gasket but I will not be using it. what do you guys think? could it rust between the header and block and cause a problem. If someone wants to host I will take a pic.

jim

ProvidenceLeaf

WOW they are awful! Good idea getting the gaskets from Acura. Who knows how long those would have lasted? Here is the pic...

jproy

the top gasket is the OEM acura factory gasket. the middle is the XS power header supplied gasket, it shows the rust if you look closely. the bottom gasket is just the inside side of the gasket piece in the middle. It shows the print on the metal for the battery manufacturer. what do you guys think? thanks for hosing the pic ProvidenceLeaf!

jim

Lord Helmet

I used the XS Power gaskets and they were/are fine.

jproy

Lord "H",
I am sure the XS power gaskets will work. I just wanted everyone to have a heads up.

MikeCLS6

Well heres another update!!My freind came over and helped me out which made things much easier, he also brought over some PB. That stuffed is suppose to cut rust and deffineatly makes WD40 look like a pansy. So after soaking the cat nuts for awhile with the PB I rinsed it off with water and started to torch the nuts. Well that was the combo i needed, all 3 nuts came off with some force. The rear manifold wasnt bad to take off, we did that through the bottom and also installed the header that way. We also installed the front header and downpipe. It was getting late so we just bolted everything up loosly and will torque wrench everything when i get home from work today. I will be dynoing this car after I finsh the install.

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

Same here, been on since November.

6MTpromises

Can't you just re-use the factory gaskets? I believe the comptech instructions say to do this if they are not in too bad of shape.

MikeCLS6

Yes, on the comptech site is says you can reuse the gaskets if they arent in to bad of shape. I went ahead and bought new gaskets when i installed my headers though. Cant beat acuras quality of gaskets compared to the one's that come with the XSPower headers. Just for piece of mind

MikeCLS6

Another update on the header install, sorry if you guys are getting tired of hearing about this. The only problem I ran into was where the downpipe and the rear header meet. It looked like the flanges bolt holes where about a quarter to a half inch off. It was a simple fix, just force the downpipe over a tad, no harm done. Besides that this system bolted up perfectly!!! I torqued what bolts I could with my torque wrench and turned the key. Of course I hear an exhaust leak I check over the system and everything seems fine except for that gasket is leaking where the downpipe and rear header meet. I unbolt everything throw a another NEW gasket in there and start the car back up........WOW not a peep, quiet as can be!! Overall I am very happy with how it went and that there are no leaks. Im calling a dyno shop to get an appointment this weekend. I hope all goes well, by the way my car is a 03CLS6 with AEM intake and XSPower Headers. Updates on Monday

dadalowg

Congrats on the succesful install and hurry up and post the dyno results man. Can't wait.

btsilver

ima go ahead and buy these next paycheck! cant wait.

jproy

I cant wait to see the dyno results! I have the same car. jim

CLSpeedster

Comptech doesnt supply you with new gaskets from them?? Thats suprising if they dont for theyre asking price.

CLSpeedster

The comptech headers dont come with gaskets? Thats suprising for they're asking price.

MikeCLS6

Comptech includes the compression gaskets which are the gaskets between the cat and downpipe and where the downpipe connects to the head with the headers, but they dont include the header to engine gaskets

01CLKID

how much does acura charge for the gaskets??

MikeCLS6

For the header to engine gaskets, and the 3 compression gaskets needed to replace everything my acura dealership charged me 72 dollars.

01CLKID

thanks I'll probably do that when I buy my headers

ProvidenceLeaf

I just got my XSPower headers 2 days after the auction ended! Super fast shipping. They look great. Very comparable to Comptechs. I will be taking my DC headers off this weekend and installing these.

I've had many down-pipe gasket problems with the DC Sports headers. (many people have had this issue) I had to replace the gaskets 3 times! I finally found a solution to the DC problem that may fix the gaskets blowing out problem.

But...at $158 shipped I decided to just replace the headers...thanks to all of you that have posted the positive feedback about this item! Hopefully they work out for me as well as they have for everyone else!

Excelerate

iTrader: (1)

Before everyone jumps on the bandwagon you guys should make sure of the quality of this header and that the hp gains are verifiable. Someone should repeat this by buying the header, doing a dyno beforehand, and the one after the header is installed. Also what about the quality and longevity of the headers? XS Power and SSAutoChrome (same company) have horrible reputations and have screwed over many people on other forums and even the TL guy who was tyring to get a turbo kit produced on this forum. It is a good price but be careful b/c you get what you pay for.

Lord Helmet

There is already a guy planning to do the dynos. Also, no one has had them long enough to verify longevity but they appear to be a quality header to the eye. I believe Fuzzy has had his since November with no problems. Regardless, if you had to replace them every year for let's say 5 yrs, you'd still be in cheaper than the CT's (if you DIY). The question is how much power do they produce? I can tell you first hand it was a drastic night and day difference once the car recognized they were there. Just keep in mind I'm in high altitude, otherwise I'd dyno. I think we all know of the reputation of this company but maybe they are like Hyundai and they are trying to step it up a notch.

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

I have a dyno setup for Wensday morning. I don't have baseline on this car. But I do have a stock one on my old 6MT as well as 1 with CT headers on that car as well.

ANDY03CL-S

^SWEET^ Good lookin out!

dadalowg

Hehe...

We r all just waiting for that dyno sheet..if they come true...we will all be clogging the ssautos ordering website

blueglows

The guy is an idiot though he does not understand too much about our cars...i had so much trouble getting them the first time because he said they would not fit my car (01 cls) even thought he said that it would fit all v6 acuras/hondas and cls 6spd on his site...
He is not too great to deal with.

MikeCLS6

Im trying to get an appointment set up for tomorrow (saturday) to have my car dynoed like i said before. I dont have a baseline for my 6mt, so we really cant see how much of an improvement it makes on my car. I'm just going by what other 6mt's that have dynoed stock, i know its not the best way to go about things

Lord Helmet

Where are you located?

MikeCLS6

Northern Virginia....pretty much sea level

ProvidenceLeaf

Well, you can compare your numbers to the Comptech numbers listed for the CL-S 6spd on the Comptech site and see how close you are.

http://www.comptechusa.com/store/med...cls6spd_sc.pdf

What other mods do you have to factor in?

SkillmatiC

i just ordered those ssautochrome headers from ebay for $110 installation should be somewhere around $500 right??? im not sure, but i dont want to get robbed at the shop when i go to get em installed...

also does anyone know a good shop that can install these headers for me in Northern Virginia??? the only place i know of is B&T Motorsports

ProvidenceLeaf

$500 is WAY TOO MUCH! It shouldn't take a shop more than 3 hours to do this. I personally did this install in 3 hours with one person helping. It's a fairly simple bolt on. Do some research in your area. You should be able to find a place to do it for much less. BTW here is a DIY so you can see that it is an easy install. Good luck.

HEADER INSTALL

ANDY03CL-S

Shit no dont pay $500!

$250 At most! If they told you $500 keep on shoppin!

They are trying to rob you!

dadalowg

C'mon mikeCLS6..we are all waiting for your dyno results...

MikeCLS6

Unfortuneatly the dyno shop was closed all this weekend , so i will be calling them today after work to set up an appointment for this week!!! Dont worry i wont let you guys down