SparksCW Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Finally taken the plunge and ordered a Cobra Resonated cat back from Tarmac (much to my wallets disagreement). I am tempted to fit myself with the help of a friend. I am an okay mechanic and my friend is a decent bike mechanic, but doesn't work on cars much. Is replacing the back box and mid pipe an easy enough job? I don't have any ramps but I'm sure I could find some planks or something to reverse the car up to raise it a bit? Is it doable or should I just pay a garage to do it for me? Really looking forward to getting it fitted and making my car sound like it looks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumping350 Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Definately doable i take mine out all the time..however the centre pipe nuts my well be rusted if never been taken off before and could snap while taking them off so bear this in mind..so soak the nuts over night with wd40 or similar once thats loose its just wiggling them off the hangers i unbolted them as mine wouldnt budge off them easily..usually takes me around half hour...make sure you secure car well on stands and bendy tools come in handy If they really wont budge go to a garage give them a tenner and they will blow torch and crack the nuts for you then can do rest when you get home Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparksCW Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 Definately doable i take mine out all the time..however the centre pipe nuts my well be rusted if never been taken off before and could snap while taking them off so bear this in mind..so soak the nuts over night with wd40 or similar once thats loose its just wiggling them off the hangers i unbolted them as mine wouldnt budge off them easily..usually takes me around half hour...make sure you secure car well on stands and bendy tools come in handy If they really wont budge go to a garage give them a tenner and they will blow torch and crack the nuts for you then can do rest when you get home I have angle grinders and stuff if it comes to it, I assume my exhaust comes with new bolts, if not I have a store full of bolts where I will be fitting it so I guess we'll be okay on that front. I've got ratchet spanners, socket sets, breaker bars etc so hopefully okay on the tool front. My current back box is actually installed wonky so will be nice to resolve that too with the new one. My friend has just told me he actually has car ramps, so can the Z be reversed up ramps without scraping the front bumper? And how do I go about securing the car to the ramps? Definetly seems doable now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zugara Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Back box can be done in 1/2 hour. Very easy to do, done several. Hardest part is the rubber hangers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumping350 Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 if i remember right the y pipe has studs on them so you wont get any bolts with your exhaust i dont think.except for securing centre pipe to back box..could just angle grind the nut off and put another nut on i guess if it comes to that not sure about reversing onto ramp b=never done it give it a go i guess but watch the front..not sure how you would secure it??i done mine on axle stands but that what makes it tricky is hard to get enough leverage on nuts at such low height..hence bendy tools but if not to seized can be taken off with a normal ratchett.. see which option is the safer one!! not heard the cobra exhaust would be nice to hear it when your done.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zugara Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Jack the car up at theh jacking point under the Diff, then support on axle stands. The nuts are" metric fine" thread, not any nut will do either, a tyre and exhaust place in pompy should be able to supply these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparksCW Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 if i remember right the y pipe has studs on them so you wont get any bolts with your exhaust i dont think.except for securing centre pipe to back box..could just angle grind the nut off and put another nut on i guess if it comes to that not sure about reversing onto ramp b=never done it give it a go i guess but watch the front..not sure how you would secure it??i done mine on axle stands but that what makes it tricky is hard to get enough leverage on nuts at such low height..hence bendy tools but if not to seized can be taken off with a normal ratchett.. see which option is the safer one!! not heard the cobra exhaust would be nice to hear it when your done.. Here you go.. this has a Cobra Y pipe as well but hoping it won't sound too much different without. I do have a JWT pop charger too which should add to the sound. It was between the scorpion and the cobra, the scorpion is cheaper but I thought it sounded really raspy from the videos and the tips are horrible. The cobra sounds more meaty and the tips are much nicer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparksCW Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 Jack the car up at theh jacking point under the Diff, then support on axle stands. The nuts are" metric fine" thread, not any nut will do either, a tyre and exhaust place in pompy should be able to supply these. I have a jack and axle stands so maybe this will be the way forward....! I think I will try my best not to have to cut any nuts off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumping350 Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 if i remember right the y pipe has studs on them so you wont get any bolts with your exhaust i dont think.except for securing centre pipe to back box..could just angle grind the nut off and put another nut on i guess if it comes to that not sure about reversing onto ramp b=never done it give it a go i guess but watch the front..not sure how you would secure it??i done mine on axle stands but that what makes it tricky is hard to get enough leverage on nuts at such low height..hence bendy tools but if not to seized can be taken off with a normal ratchett.. see which option is the safer one!! not heard the cobra exhaust would be nice to hear it when your done.. Here you go.. this has a Cobra Y pipe as well but hoping it won't sound too much different without. I do have a JWT pop charger too which should add to the sound. It was between the scorpion and the cobra, the scorpion is cheaper but I thought it sounded really raspy from the videos and the tips are horrible. The cobra sounds more meaty and the tips are much nicer. The word savage comes to mind!!! pompey are gonna love you that sounds awesome have you still got cats in??i think the y pipe does quiet the zed down a lot....someone else may come along and correct me im gambling with my exhaust i got fujitsubo, then im getting HR y pipe (heard its better than DE ones) with APS Decats...bit of a mix and match but hopefully will work out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparksCW Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 The word savage comes to mind!!! pompey are gonna love you that sounds awesome have you still got cats in?? im gambling with my exhaust i got fujitsubo, then im getting HR y pipe (heard its better than DE ones) with APS Decats...bit of a mix and match but hopefully will work out Yup, the whole exhaust system is currently standard. I was looking at Berks HFC's but don't really understand what they do for £450 so going for the budget route of Cobra, will expand that to a Y pipe in the future then who knows from there.... just spent a fortune on the car and waiting for it to come back from spray shop (it was with one spray shop but they took 10 weeks and havent done anything!!! so its being moved to a new shop on Monday whom will get it done within a week ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumping350 Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 berks allow you to remove the cats and still pass your m.o.t i believe hence there price really, decats will fail you your m.o.t so would have to keep swapping them back to standard what you getting sprayed??yeah 10weeks and no progress is probably not the place to leave it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparksCW Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 berks allow you to remove the cats and still pass your m.o.t i believe hence there price really, decats will fail you your m.o.t so would have to keep swapping them back to standard what you getting sprayed??yeah 10weeks and no progress is probably not the place to leave it It all started when I stupidly caught a metal hand rail leaving an underground car park, done some ridiculous damage to the rear left quater panel. I obviously had to get that all repaired and also bought an N1 rear spoiler, the wheels were being refurbished in black, doors handles colour matched and the centre bit of the front bumper was being sprayed black. I was also having the car mopped and a couple of dents repaired. However in the 10 weeks that he has had it all he has done is repaired the damage to the rear quater, it is currenly in un-sanded filler... he's done a great job of repairing it but completely unacceptable timescale. I've decided that I've had enough and cut my losses, it's booked in with our usual bodyshop on Monday. They are going to finish the repair and spray the panel, blend the door, fit and spray the spoiler, spray the reverse sensor covers, door handles and if I can swing it, refurbish the wheels as well (in Ash Black). I won't be able to get the car mopped or the front bumper done now, but I just want the bloody thing back!! I know full well the new bodyshop will do an ace job (they've fully resprayed in the past for us a dodge ram, jag XJR and a Lexus LS460) they got the lexus and jag back from a full respray in a week and it looked like new. So, they'll do a great job I just don't fancy seeing the bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumping350 Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 oh yeah i remember the pic i thought i massacred my door pretty bad but mine looked like a dink compared to yours..at least the rear quarter is intact now!! yeah best to move her on looks like his main job was to fix the rear and he did so cant complain there know what you mean mate my doors been like that for a year...finally getting one delivered then there was a prob with paypal then the courier the the seller said he wouldnt release it..i wanted to cry!!got phone call earlier and apparently its getting picked up monday...now just got to swap doors will be so nice to have it back as it was the day you got it yes you maybe eating pot noodles for a month but so worth it!! Yours sounds like will come out lot better than went in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparksCW Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 oh yeah i remember the pic i thought i massacred my door pretty bad but mine looked like a dink compared to yours..at least the rear quarter is intact now!! yeah best to move her on looks like his main job was to fix the rear and he did so cant complain there know what you mean mate my doors been like that for a year...finally getting one delivered then there was a prob with paypal then the courier the the seller said he wouldnt release it..i wanted to cry!!got phone call earlier and apparently its getting picked up monday...now just got to swap doors will be so nice to have it back as it was the day you got it yes you maybe eating pot noodles for a month but so worth it!! Yours sounds like will come out lot better than went in Yeah it definetly will Seems I've just signed up to a D1 Spec throttle controller group buy too, oops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumping350 Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 i got one.. your not going wrong with that purchase Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparksCW Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 i got one.. your not going wrong with that purchase Do they actually make a significant difference then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumping350 Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 well they sharpen up your throttle response to imo what it should of come out the factory with so your revs just shoot up like anything in sport 7 Cars not any quicker on paper but it certainly feels like it..even now i still go wow in sport 7 (in a cloud of smoke) you can have it in different responses too sport 7 down to sport 1 and then 5 eco modes eco 5 backing your throttle off loads for you to save a bit of petrol...quite useful when its raining hard or icy. By far one of the best mods i got for the zed so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparksCW Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 Fitted my exhaust this morning (Cobra resonated via Tarmac Sportz) I am so glad I had a full workshop, car lift and gas torch with a few experienced mechanics wandering around as every bolt was seized solid, however with the gas torch I had it all off the car and the new cat back system installed in less than an hour. To be honest I don't think I would have managed it very well from axle stands so would definetly reccomend to borrow a ramp if you can!! The job is relatively easy, but seized bolts and stiff rubber mounts would be very hard to work on without the lift. First impressions of the Cobra were that it's extremely well made, very shiney, includes gaskets and bolts and there is a massive weight difference compared to the stock exhaust!! The car sounds a LOT nicer now, have not been able to drive it as it's still being sprayed etc but it certainly sounds nice on idle and when revving it gently. Looking forward to getting it out on the road. It has a nice growl to it that sounds like a proper quality sports car and not chavy or excessively loud. Had some issues with the tips however, they look great but have had to take them off to be spot welded on as the clamps were never going to secure them properly. I think it's down to the two piece pipe work from the backbox, there is a bit of seperate link pipe, seemed odd at first but it's actually really good as you can adjust the height that the tips stick out at. Only a minor issue though really and I think it's a one off, certainly don't let it put you off, the draga slash cut tips are the best choice!!!! so nice. All in all, Cobra exhausts seem spot on for the money, very good quality, very shiny and makes the car sound like a SPORTS car, not too chavvy or too loud. Best £425 odd I've spent on the car I think! If you're thinking of buying one I would suggest sending Tarmac a PM and just buy one as you won't regret it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theheff Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 any drive by videos with the exhaust mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmac@TarmacSportz Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 any drive by videos with the exhaust mate Not yet, he's literally still got it on the ramps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparksCW Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 any drive by videos with the exhaust mate Yeah as Tarmac says, since I fitted the exhaust it's literally moved off the ramp and then been put next to the ramp, having some spray work done and the wheels refurbished. I'm hoping, fingers crossed, that it will all be done and finished for next weekend, if so I will go out with my mate and get a drive by video, a video from the car and also a stationary video and then post them here for you and others. Video sound doesn't really do any system much justice though but it'll give you an idea of how it sounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoogyRev Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Looks ..... you can't beat a just fitted pic of a shiney thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaDMaXX Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Excellent, and you're right, the 350z needs something like this to make it sound like a real sports car Every time i see that video i cringe Don't care how warm it is, they step on it the moment it starts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humpy Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Look forward to seeing your videos Sparks, just placed my order for the resonated Cobra exhaust and Y-pipe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 looks very good! Cobra exhaust is high up on my list of mods to do - the car just sounds way too muted with the stock exhaust, and a weight saving is always a good thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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