BulletMagnet Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 I have the Invidia, so my vote goes that way Is your avatar you? If so.. wow! Ha ha, we wish, unfortunately not 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 ^^ What a hottie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyleR Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 You'll probably need a breaker bar to get the bolts from the cats. This will be impossible to use on jack stands, so you're going to need about 10 feet of extension bars to reach out the back. Other option is to find a garage that will let you use their ramp for a few bucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chromatic Posted February 2, 2014 Author Share Posted February 2, 2014 (edited) For those who don't want to read this long post -- See bottom for your Too Long Didn't Read TL;DR Ahem... Jayden Jaymes... My 350Z's older than yours is don't forget so it shouldn't be too bad for you plus the weathers crap here. True.. Mine has the miles of an 18 year old hottie.. -- But the years of a middle aged man.. being a 2008 -- So I dunno. ^^ What a hottie. Good lord yes.. BUT! No one surpasses my beloved Kate Beckinsale... You'll probably need a breaker bar to get the bolts from the cats. This will be impossible to use on jack stands, so you're going to need about 10 feet of extension bars to reach out the back. Other option is to find a garage that will let you use their ramp for a few bucks. Ughh.. Just be nice to talk to my car and say .. Hey Jessica (yes I named it..) -- hey Jess,.. how tight are your Exhaust bolts? -- So many people have done it themselves that didn't know how.. and it worked (I hardly think they broke bolts or used special tools like a breaker bar .. or torch, etc) -- So it's really luck of the draw. I wonder if I can get something ridiculously good at unseizing rusted/old bolts.. some spray that will loosen them up.. maybe spray it on the night before and let it sit for 12 hours.. Surely something out there that will work. But, in my mind I intuitively think the exhaust bolts are going to require some serious elbow grease.. (Manpower ) -- And while I'm strong.. the problem with this is I have no leverage under the car on jackstands as you mentioned.. and I've done this before.. where I put SO much force on a siezed bolt it breaks in the middle of the bolt.. one time it even broke at the nut head itself (the Nut was bonded to the bolt (by nature, not a weld) ) -- -- At that time my Grandfather was still alive, and that man is where I got my analytical mechanically minded brain.. but only 10 times better. He chuckles at me.. and walks over takes a 1 second look and says nothing.. takes the piece of equipment I was working on with the broken bolt inside it.. grabs his welder and proceeds to FIRST TRY weld that nut back on the broken bolt.. then grabs a wrench and breaks it free like he wasn't even straining. I'm just like.. :scare:I have access to all his tools (they are about a 30min drive away in his "shop" he spent 95% of his time in).. but I have never welded anything in my life. I reallly should have gotten him to teach me how to (I'm sure I could figure it out via youtube and practice..).. Maybe I should take the car over there and do it in the backyard (The back Garden for you guys I think).. his shop is backthere.. but there is no room in the workshop to pull a car in. So I'd be in the grass. Safe to put a car on jackstands in the grass? He has much better jacks than I do..[/size]Only thing is .. while he has every tool imaginable .. He kept that shop where HE and ONLY HE knew where things were... So trying to find a Xmm socket might take me an hour lol. My garage on the otherhand is tiny.. and my next house is going to have some space for some real tools,.. and I'm going to put out the money for a good compressor and grab his impact guns (that are now mine).. It's really not that much money even if you buy new.. Compared to us putting thousands into our cars, ya know? Only thing I really wish I had that I don't see happening is a lift. I've actually priced them out.. And they aren't nearly as expensive as you'd think. It's just about having space and a ceiling height tall enough for one of the models made to fit residential garages or commerical application -- like this one: http://www.gregsmith...CFUFo7AodH1IADA[/size] It needs a Ceiling of 9ft 3" (Or 2.81 meters) -- Which isn't far off from most garage heights in the US (US Garages average 8.5 feet, (2.5 Meters) in height).. $1500 for lift.. another $1500 or so for compressor, hoses, and impact wrenches/sockets -- Imagine the possibilities! I'd be putting my car on the lift just to play with it lol.. Would that not be a dream? I know most people would be like having your own lift and impact tools is a "dream" to you? Sounds like WORK to me! lol.. Anyhow,.. back to the exhaust. I guess I'll call a couple mechanics, shops, around here .. as my exhaust arrives Wednesday.. and if they can give me a $100 or so install price I'll just do that,. if it's what I expect ($150-$200+).. then I need any suggestions on ways to get around the seized/rusted nuts/bolts. IE: Penetrating lubricant,.. tools, etc. I can probably go scavange the sockets and such I need from my Grandfathers shop.. and try to only buy what neither of us have.. (IE: two more jack stands.. maybe a set of 4 TALLER ones.. to give me more room.. Any recommended heights for jack stands?) As I said he has impact tools.. so if it's possible to get a gun up to those bolts on a car with jackstands -- I COULD use it,.. TL;DR -- Kate Beckinsale is the hottest woman alive,.. and do you have any good ideas to help get rusted bolts to break free? Be it chemicals, sprays, tools, etc.. while a car is on jackstands? Edited February 2, 2014 by Chromatic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 Beckinsale makes my top 10, but is not on the top spot. Rusted nuts, try dousing in WD40 overnight and then if that is not sufficient, bring the Heat (Not the team from Miami, but the fire kind out of a blowtorch) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chromatic Posted February 2, 2014 Author Share Posted February 2, 2014 Beckinsale makes my top 10, but is not on the top spot. But she's got class too Rusted nuts, try dousing in WD40 overnight and then if that is not sufficient, bring the Heat (Not the team from Miami, but the fire kind out of a blowtorch) Yeah.. over on the American forum they all say use PB Blaster and NOT to take it to a shop (not one person says I shouldn't do it myself lol).. So I'm TORN! My decision will be like I did when I was pricing Audio installs.. I'll make some phone calls,.. and if I can get someone to do it for $100 or less,.. I'll use them. If they are more.. I'm going to give it a go. Worst case scenario it's EXHAUST.. even if my factory exhaust is half off the car with seized bolts.. I can still drive it somewhere to get the new system put on.. it's not a crucial part of the car to make it function (on a short term basis). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 Main thing is the nuts & bolts from the CATS to the Y-pipe, because since you have opted for the Invidiam you won't be needing a y-pipe anymore and it won't matter if that gets damaged Would not recommend putting car on jackstands and on grass, always use a solid hard ground (imagine it would sink a little on soil and grass) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chromatic Posted February 2, 2014 Author Share Posted February 2, 2014 Main thing is the nuts & bolts from the CATS to the Y-pipe, because since you have opted for the Invidiam you won't be needing a y-pipe anymore and it won't matter if that gets damaged Would not recommend putting car on jackstands and on grass, always use a solid hard ground (imagine it would sink a little on soil and grass) True.. but I'm going to do my best to keep the Stock exhaust in tact.. to either Keep to possibly put on for resale down the road (Stock always trumps a modded car).. OR to sell for the little money you can get out of them.. Everything is worth a little bit of cash. And, that's exactly what I thought about the Jack stands on grass.. I doubt the car would literally fall on me.. but it probably wouldn't be even.. If I could DEFINITELY get it done in a couple hours, then bringing it out to my deceased grandfathers place (Grandmother lives there) that's my best bet due to his tools -- Although His driveway is a good 40-45 meters from the Shop,.. I highly doubt the Impact Guns are going to reach that far.. Hrmmm.. Using an Impact gun would make this dissassembly SO much easier .. Short HARD quick bursts are what break bolts free .. and slow,.. LONG hand turned tension/torque are what snap/break and strip bolts. I may be able to put some plywood down or something and see if the car sits level on it perhaps? But, if a shop gives me a $100 or less quote (essentially if they can do it in a quoted 1hr or less) then this won't be an issue of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chromatic Posted February 2, 2014 Author Share Posted February 2, 2014 Hrmmm.. Should I do one of those "Stock Exhaust Videos,.. and then Aftermarket Exhaust Videos" that are plentiful on youtube? lol.. I guess the ones where the people just put the phone/camera behind the car walk up turn it on.. rev it up some.. then turn it off.. and repeat for the Aftermarket is easy enough at the least. Speaking of those videos,.. if you've watched any to see what exhaust sound you liked when shopping around.. I notice on just about everyone.. People COLD start their Z's and immediately start revving that engine up. I cringe a little.. Maybe I'm overprotective,.. but before I go anywhere.. I always have it in neutral and start it up and let it sit for 2 minutes at least (maybe 4-5 minutes if it's below 0c) before I rev, or essentially go anywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 It's been discussed on here before Chromatic. Imo it is always better to just start your car and drive off rather than just sit there letting it warm up ~ albeit taking it easy when driving at first sticking to under 2500rpm in between gear changes until the oils/fluids etc are all up to temp. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chromatic Posted February 2, 2014 Author Share Posted February 2, 2014 It's been discussed on here before Chromatic. Imo it is always better to just start your car and drive off rather than just sit there letting it warm up ~ albeit taking it easy when driving at first sticking to under 2500rpm in between gear changes until the oils/fluids etc are all up to temp. TLDR (Too Long Didn't Read at Bottom of Post ) Ah,.. well I have a different view. But people are going to do what they do.. and believe what they believe on such two sided topics like "Should you let your car warm up for 30 seconds or so when it's been sitting overnight, etc.". I've run several cars past 300k miles without any engine mechanical failures.. I'd like to attribute this to my "rituals".. one of which is letting them warm up,.. even if just for 30 seconds or so. I've helped build a few engines in my time so far.. (Couldn't do it without a lot of studying by myself now.. but you really get a true understanding of how it all works visually when you put it together.).. And it makes good sense to me to let the oil circulate, heat transfer through the gear box... (IE:In our cars.. and modern cars the gears are all turning when you sit there with the clutch in or in neutral..) -- Most people think you have to actually be rolling and shifting gears for the trans fluid or gears to move-- but cars now are Constant Mesh and thus the shaft is linked to all gears on the lay shaft. So each gear on this lay is in mesh with it's adjacent gear on the main shaft,.. spinning freely. So when we actually move that shift level it just engages a gear to the splines on the main which then allows power to the rear wheels. All that to say some oppose this because they argue the gears need to be moving (by driving at low rpm) to properly get the trans warmed up but this isn't necessary now adays. I'm not Arguing it.. lol.. nor trying to re-start a dead horse topic.. Just giving my 2 cents on it. Personally it's a habit of mine I've had since I started driving,,.. not that I've never jumped in my car and taken off (not this one yet..) when I am in a huge rush, emergency, etc.. But 99% of the time I give it at least 30 seconds. Nowadays with our phones(little computers) attached to us .. I use the 30 secs to plug my phone into the charger.. check mail, etc.. and maybe adjust the volume/track on head unit and 30 seconds goes by pretty quick lol. I think whenever the Manual says to let the car warm up for 30 seconds on a cold start,.. that it's probably not a *bad* idea to follow what the engineers of said car recommend. The car spikes oil pressure and idle rpm on cold starts for a reason. When looking this "topic" up online.. you get the articles where it says something like "Needing to warm a modern car up is a MYTH/FALSE" .. and.. "Older cars in the 50's, 60's, 70's,.. even 80's needed a warm up period, but modern cars simply do not. So jump in your car and take off!" -- That's just bad advice to me. The internals of the engine are more efficient but they work the same way they did 80+ years ago. With the 30 seconds or so the engine creates clearances between "Moving" parts that aren't as wide as when you first start the car. I, (just my opinion), believe that people (and this is MOST people on the planet) who jump in their car every morning and take off immediately don't cause some major damage to the engine, but I do believe that over long periods of time (and lots of miles) that this practice causes a slight bit more wear due to the clearances not being quite what they were designed to operate at.. at.. well.. operating temperature,.. and the minute wear and tear that happens to all engines over time is just accelerated that little bit each time, which leads to engine failure sooner than if it is allowed to warm up even for just 30 seconds (ESPECIALLY in the winter). My personal ritual isn't a set time.. It's basically the outside temp, and more the way the engine sounds and acts via Oil pressure, Coolant Temp, and Idle speed. Our 350's are actually VERY much programmed to have a warm up period, as on a cold start that idle spikes twice as high as normal,.. the Oil pressure is jacked WAY up.. and it quickly but steadily lowers the idle RPM (mine idles about 500'ish when warm).. the oil pressure lowers.. and the coolant temp is rising as those two are lowering. (I know you all know this ) But, for instance.. right now in the winter when it's say.. 0c to -15c outside like it's been most of the past 2 months where I live .. I let it idle for 2 minutes or so.. But, in the spring/summer even fall.. 20 seconds may be just fine (for me). Bottom line: Jumping in your car and taking off without a warm up isn't going to cause your engine to fail at 90k miles or something .. Nor is letting it warm up everytime going to magically extend the engines life by 100k miles over average. But I do think there is some marginal benefit over the life of the car,.. and marginal degradation over time without the warmup. I think we can all agree on this though.. A good portion of people, at least here in the US,.. jump in their cars late for work. or even just going out for anything.. cold start -- take off, and haul arse... every single time. This WILL harm the engine (over the life of the car) and cause it to have a shorter "Wear and tear" lifespan that if they at least drove the car reasonably for the first few minutes.. then they can drive like a maniac lol. But,.. how many of us buy our cars and keep them till the engines wear out? I'd say not many.. For a Nissan engine that isn't a lemon or heavily modified without building the internals properly they can run 200k no problem.. and hit 300k if maintained well.. and of course some go beyond this. I've personally never had a car over low 300k miles.. And the majority of my vehicles I've sold before 100k miles and gotten something else. What's the point? I guess that these effects that take quite a long time to really manifest .. many of us will never be around to see them .. So I guess who cares! Then you have the injection of well what about that Gas you are wasting? How many dollars does that add up to? Then what about the environment.. lol .. and other such things. Call me selfish, but I'm going to let my 350 idle for 30 seconds over saving the planet. (I guess I'm just an evil guy.. ) Ok.. that turned into a monster post. Guess I'll put a TLDR down here: TL;DR -- I like to give it 30 seconds on a cold start (IIRC, it even says so in the Manual.. the engineers aren't stupid people) -- But I see both sides of the "topic" and there really isn't a right or wrong answer when it all boils down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 ^^ That was a long one. I see no harm in 30 seconds or so as it probably takes me that long to put my belt on, adjust the stereo etc I just wouldn't do it for 2-5 minutes that's all. Each to there own though. Used to sit and warm up one of my old cars, a JDM import Impreza WRX but that was more essential with it's turbo'd engine. Also had to sit and let it cool down after a drive. Tbh I found it a nuisance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chromatic Posted February 3, 2014 Author Share Posted February 3, 2014 (edited) ^^ That was a long one. I see no harm in 30 seconds or so as it probably takes me that long to put my belt on, adjust the stereo etc I just wouldn't do it for 2-5 minutes that's all. Each to there own though. Used to sit and warm up one of my old cars, a JDM import Impreza WRX but that was more essential with it's turbo'd engine. Also had to sit and let it cool down after a drive. Tbh I found it a nuisance. Heh.. Yes it was.. I start typing then I don't realize how much I've typed, and have a pretty good feeling it's now *beyond* reasonable attention span length so make a TLDR I just got this car so I'm careful when I have time to afford it.. but if I have to be somewhere in 5 minutes .. You better believe the car is going to have to run "unwarmed". .lol Man,,.. a cooldown -- yuck! Who has time for that? Sitting with the engine going when you are at your location,.. I could see how that would really get old fast. Edited February 3, 2014 by Chromatic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 ^^ Yeah it was a pain tbh but pretty essential for safe guarding the modified engine/turbo. I had a turbo timer so I used that most of the time for the cool down which was good because I could lock the car with the engine running and just walk away (once the timer finished the engine would shut off & immobilize). Freaked people out though as often when I looked back at my car I could see people looking at it like who's the idiot that's just left his Subaru running ready for someone to steal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chromatic Posted February 3, 2014 Author Share Posted February 3, 2014 ^^ Yeah it was a pain tbh but pretty essential for safe guarding the modified engine/turbo. I had a turbo timer so I used that most of the time for the cool down which was good because I could lock the car with the engine running and just walk away (once the timer finished the engine would shut off & immobilize). Freaked people out though as often when I looked back at my car I could see people looking at it like who's the idiot that's just left his Subaru running ready for someone to steal. ROFL.. That'd put a grin on my face though.. I've thought about remote starts.. but I hear on manual transmissions it's not the best idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 It was a good turbo timer though as once it was turned on it would shut the car engine down & immobilize the engine if you tried to put the car in gear or lowered the handbrake. That's why I felt safe walking away from the car but still I wouldn't tempt fate and leave it running, unoccupied in certain places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chromatic Posted February 3, 2014 Author Share Posted February 3, 2014 It was a good turbo timer though as once it was turned on it would shut the car engine down & immobilize the engine if you tried to put the car in gear or lowered the handbrake. That's why I felt safe walking away from the car but still I wouldn't tempt fate and leave it running, unoccupied in certain places. Yup.. remote starts are good for both AT and MT 350's... It's just the people who put a generic remote start really designed for an AT on a MT car that tend to end up forgetting one day and starting the car remotely and having it take off and crash. The ones designed for MT have all sorts of checks and safety features.. and work by putting your car in neutral, parking brake up.. getting out of the car -- and pressing the button and car locks and turns off. Then the system knows it's safe to remotely start. Considering the price on these. a good brand I just got quoted made/wired specific for the 350 is $239.. that's not bad. If they aren't bad to install yourself (ie: not harder than say wiring up a headunit) then that's not bad at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chromatic Posted February 4, 2014 Author Share Posted February 4, 2014 (edited) Oh,.. called my mechanic (first guy I've found that seems honest, and knows what he's doing..) plus he's a big car nut/enthusiast like us,.. he has a few mustangs himself. I sort of steered the call at first.. after I got the tech's to get me the boss, Kyle the master mechanic there.. And said "Hey Kyle,.. This is Jared with the 350.. remember me? He paused a second, and said yeah yeah.. we worked on your alignment.. how are you?.. small talk.. then I said,.. Well look I just bought this cat back after-market exhaust that's just a simple bolt on kit.. and everyone I've talked to with it says it's under an hour job,.. So I was wondering if you could put this on and what would you charge me?" He said.. well I have to follow the policy here .. and it will go under the Performance Install rate .. of $95 an hour -- So $95 is about right. I said,.. Well it's just a Cat-back that I've been on the fence about installing myself but don't want to get stuck with a rusted bolt etc.. and with your lift and impact wrenches you could have this thing on in no time.. He then starts asking questions about it (which I like about him) -- and I tell him it converts it from single (Y-pipe) to true dual.. he said, yeah yeah.. that's great. Then he asks what brand it is.. and says I keep up with all the performance parts.. I told him the brand, and he acted like he knew of it (Not sure if Invidia does a lot of Muscle car stuff.. but maybe so..)-- Then he said, well an hour sounds about right, but just bring it by Friday as I won't be here Thursday. I said.. Do I need an appointment, or just bring it by anytime? He said, oh man just bring it in any time and you may have to wait a minute while we clear the rack for you but it wouldn't be long. I said, great.. (I like shops that let you just swing by like that for obvious reasons).. He also said.. about price.. that he'd just like to take a look at it and how it goes together .. So I suppose that $95 isn't firm. But I will be sure (as it's how I am) .. that if he looks at it and thinks it's going to go over $95 (1 hour) that I'll just say thanks man, but I can't spend more than $100 for the install. Have a feeling he will be fine with the 1 hour. So that's pretty good news. ** Start of semi long story about how one shop lied to me blatantly and my mechanic Kyle totally saved the day** (Scroll down to skip this story) There's a long story about this guy and another shop.. but the short of it is another shop was alignment my new tires I got in December,.. and I got a call from them that said my alignment wouldn't go into spec so I'd need to get X, Y, and Z parts for more adjustment for the Toe/Camber etc.. I was like ok,.. I'll come pick it up and figure out that on my own. (They had a quote up for me for like $1000 to do the work themselves). Didn't sound right to me.. but the former owner did slightly bump a curb when he first got the car (he told me that).. so I thought maybe that slight bump bent something in there. I priced out new A-arms up front and a rear Camber bar kit to put on myself.. But I didn't buy it,.. I called a half dozen shops around.. and finally got this guy Kyle.. He was the first one to say.. "Hey ,.. Bring that car down here.. let me throw it up on the rack and let's make sure you need all that.". I was like ok.. I took to him,.. explained the story (was a nightmare to that point).. He put it on the rack.. and immediately within a few seconds said.. come here. Look at those rear adjustment bolts,.. they still have rust over them.. no one has even touched them (broke them free).. whoever did this didn't even adjust the rear at all. i was like.. wow! (The shop that told me it couldn't adjust into alignment was a HUGE chain shop.. not some single independent shop). He said,.. I may be able to get this into spec,.. and let me shout back the spec numbers that were coming off the $100,000 alignment rack his shop had.. (was amazing using high speed cameras and lasers) -- He said watch.. just touch the car and watch the screen.. I did.. and the alignment shifted.. .. lol, talk about sensitive. Anyhow.. In less than 5 minutes as I shouted back what direction he was going and how far out or in he was.. He had the car into "green" spec alignment . I was like man you are a serious lifesaver. Then on top of that when I asked how much it was.. He said.. "Oh man, I'm not going to charge you.. You've already been through enough with this.. ". That immediately made him "my mechanic". Master mechanic, knows what he's doing, and is honest. Told him any work I couldn't do myself, or didn't want to do .. he'd be my guy. He said, sounds good. I don't let stuff like that just roll off my shoulders -- not so much because I was "mad".. I wasn't. But because I didn't want other customers to be getting bad alignments if their equipment was miscalibrated,.. or worse.. if they were being shady I didn't want other customers being taken advantage of. -- So I went straight to the top.. Contacted the CEO of the company.. to my surprise he called me the next day. He was NOT happy to hear of this to say the least. The next day he had the head of the Region (about 150 shops in the southeast US) contact me and got the whole story .. And I didn't even ask,.. but he immediately refunded the entire money I had paid minus the tire installation (cause well, that was done right..) -- I told him, look.. I'm not trying to get anyone in trouble here.. I just want you guys to get someone in there to check their alignment rack to make sure it's in calibration and from there you can take over. The Executive guy was like.. Oh I've already got a crew headed over there as we speak,.. and I'm personally going to that store (he took a flight across the country).. to handle this. I was like.. ok sounds great, but really I'm not trying to blame any person here, .. could be an honest mistake. I have a pretty good feeling that store got a serious reality check when the boss's boss's boss's boss walks in from across the country with my 100% legit story and all the documents from both shops showing what that store had told me I needed and so on.. and the documents of the other shop getting in back into perfect alignment with nothing but regular adjustments. (I scanned everything in for him). Suffice it to say I'm not sticking my head back in that chain store again.. 1) Because I obviously don't trust them.. 2) If no one got fired.. they all probably got a warning that from bottom to top (in that single store) their jobs were on the line if this kind of crap happened again. Then a few days later.. the CEO called me back again, and left a voicemail (i didn't catch that call) -- and was so apologetic and wanted me to call him (insistently) to follow up with it and said everything had been taken care of from equipment to the technicians, and store manager etc.. My goal was accomplished -- I bet other customers in there aren't going to get BS $1000+ work done to their cars unless the employees of that store want to lose their jobs. (If you are curious the "bad" store was a Firestone -- lots of them in the US). I guess the moral of this story is don't hesitate to try a bunch of shops, mechanics.. make a lot of calls until you find a master mechanic you feel comfortable with both in their ability but also just sort of click with their personality -- If you care about your 350 as much as I do.. there are few people I'd trust to work on it,.. and this Master Mechanic "Kyle" (he's probably mid 40's or so) is the only one at this point. But I consider myself blessed to have found him with all the mechanics I've dealt with (I do all the handling of my Mother, Father, Sisters, 3 brothers, etc cars.. so I'm at shops a lot if I'm not doing a brake job, or other job myself).. out of all these places I've been to I have not felt "comfortable" with any of the mechanics. So a good mechanic who is honest and talented is really a gem to find (around here anyway). **End of the evil Shop story ** So exhaust arrives Wednesday,.. and if I don't get some itch to just do it myself Wednesday or Thurs.. I'll have it on Friday at the latest . I'll do a quick Stock vs Invidia Gemini exhaust Youtube video just to add to the collection as they do help when deciding between exhausts.. I'll use my Iphone and my digital Camera to see which one picks up the low notes of the exhaust tone better,.. As Iphone's I know have a built in high pass crossover cutoff at 200hz which limits a ton of the deep exhaust tones. Edited February 4, 2014 by Chromatic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 Just a heads up for ya, all the exhaust sections are labelled so you have no problems figuring out where they go. Just remember that the right hand side (looking from the rear) connector pipe goes OVER the swaybar. Here's a picture of it on mine 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 ^^ Good head's up. Good luck with the fitting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chromatic Posted February 4, 2014 Author Share Posted February 4, 2014 Just a heads up for ya, all the exhaust sections are labelled so you have no problems figuring out where they go. Just remember that the right hand side (looking from the rear) connector pipe goes OVER the swaybar. Here's a picture of it on mine Thanks.. this was a point I had in mind to point out to the mechanic on the rack.. as I've read many people who've let a shop do it and not known about this little piece and the shops invariably put it OVER that sway bar and while it works that way, it can create some clearance issues. This picture helps.. although I could have sworn that it was on the other side for my car.. lol.. may be a RH/LH drive thing? Or maybe I'm just wrong and it's the same on both cars.. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chromatic Posted February 4, 2014 Author Share Posted February 4, 2014 Looking at that.. man that exhaust is long.. Wonder if it's even possible to get it in my car in the original boxes. Hrmm.. I may have to pull out the pass. seat or something to transport it + bring my old nasty exhaust home with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 Nope, Invidia labels the exhaust for LHD cars only as they are US made Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Looking at that.. man that exhaust is long.. Wonder if it's even possible to get it in my car in the original boxes. Hrmm.. I may have to pull out the pass. seat or something to transport it + bring my old nasty exhaust home with me. Box is this size... Contents packed like this... I managed to put the Invidia box into the Zed no problem, and the original fits no problem too (Back box into trunk, mid pipe and y-pipe on passenger) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chromatic Posted February 5, 2014 Author Share Posted February 5, 2014 (edited) Man that box looks small.. but no reference. But if you've put the factory box with invidia exhaust in your Zed.. I'm good. The guy I bought it from kept it under a car cover, so gave that to me.. Seems like the perfect thing to put the old exhaust in to bring it home.. Then I'll lightly clean it up (stock exhaust).. and pack it up in some boxes and store it. I would sell it, but I may end up needing to put it back on the car when I sell it years down the road. Stock (vehicles) usually fetches more money than modded from my experience. Thanks for all this great first hand info though.. really is helpful! Edited February 5, 2014 by Chromatic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.