PLM Long Tube Header

[raven1231]

Originally Posted by Lithium

Mine arrived monday but to be honest I haven't even looked at it. the car is going on the lift Tuesday so I will let you know. Getting put on the rollers next weekend. Stay tuned.

Same here...I'm going back and forth between keeping the Borla UEl that is already on my car and selling this or putting this on and selling the Borla, as I'm going turbo now with the WORKS kit...

[KoolBRZ]

Originally Posted by Shady195

Said fuckit and ordered one..

Says delivery is next Thursday

I'll update my thoughts then after its installed.

I got mine back Monday from getting coated. 2 layers outside, and 1 layer inside. I'm installing mine this weekend. Don't forget to remove the dipstick before installing. I've got new gaskets, new studs, and new nuts. I'm anxious to find out how best to tune for low-end torque with RomRaider and my OFT. I'm also on the list for the ESC and I'm anxious to find out how it runs with this header. I'll try to get pics during the install for anyone who wants to see how to do it.

[RobertPaulson]

Originally Posted by KoolBRZ

I got mine back Monday from getting coated. 2 layers outside, and 1 layer inside. I'm installing mine this weekend. Don't forget to remove the dipstick before installing. I've got new gaskets, new studs, and new nuts. I'm anxious to find out how best to tune for low-end torque with RomRaider and my OFT. I'm also on the list for the ESC and I'm anxious to find out how it runs with this header. I'll try to get pics during the install for anyone who wants to see how to do it.

are you going to modify this header too?

[KoolBRZ]

Originally Posted by RobertPaulson

are you going to modify this header too?

The only mod is the coating. This already has longer tubing for more low-end torque, so I'll be doing my modifications to the tune instead. I can't wait for the weekend, I'm starting on it now.

[KoolBRZ]

Just installed my PLM long tube header with new studs, nuts, bolts, and gaskets. I have some pics from the install.

First I removed the old header and unbolted the overpipe, but left it in place.

I used the locknut method to remove the studs, i.e., I turned 2 nuts against each other then used them to unscrew the studs, see pics.

Then I cleaned up the head's gasket surface with a handy nylon bristle tool in my cordless drill.

Next I removed the dipstick holder from the block, 1 10mm bolt, because it leaves more room to get the header installed.

Then I moved the oxygen sensors from the old header to the new header.

Next I hung the gaskets on the studs, put them at a slight diagonal and they stay all by themselves.

Then I installed the header. It's a bit of a pain, but doable without the dipstick in place.

Next i bolted up the overpipe, using a 3" gasket and a 2.5" gasket to get it to seal, (man I've got to get a 3" overpipe now), see overpipe pics.

Then I reinstalled the dipstick and holder, plugged in the O2 sensors, and started the engine, checking for leaks. Warmed it up to operating temps, ~10 mins, and shut it off. Loosened and re-torqued nuts and bolts to final torque. Took it for a drive.

Wow it runs different. It has more low-end torque, but it hangs back in the midrange. I'll need to work on a revised tune tonight.

[Lithium]

What was the reasoning behind replacing the manifold studs?

[Digitalanalog]

Originally Posted by Lithium

What was the reasoning behind replacing the manifold studs?

He's special...

[Andrew025]

Originally Posted by Lithium

What was the reasoning behind replacing the manifold studs?

He stripped them or something. I don't remember exactly.


I've swapped around headers probably 5 or 6 times and mine are still perfect.

[raven1231]

Just incase anyone else wanted more pics of what this header looks like. Here is the one I ordered about a month ago. Still not sure if I will be using this or the Borla UEL that is already on my car with my Works turbo kit when it comes in.

[mad_sb]

Originally Posted by KoolBRZ

I got mine back Monday from getting coated. 2 layers outside, and 1 layer inside. I'm installing mine this weekend. Don't forget to remove the dipstick before installing. I've got new gaskets, new studs, and new nuts. I'm anxious to find out how best to tune for low-end torque with RomRaider and my OFT. I'm also on the list for the ESC and I'm anxious to find out how it runs with this header. I'll try to get pics during the install for anyone who wants to see how to do it.

Be interesting to see if these had the same issue as the original nameless design, in that the outlet flange "moves" during the cool down from the coating process. This is why nameless changed the design and added a brace.

[KoolBRZ]

It is definitely more sensitive to AVCS changes. I had to revert back to the original OFT OTS AVCS tables to get rid of a flat spot from 3000 - 4500 RPMs. It can have lots of launch torque if it's tuned anywhere close to good though. Wow, didn't think I could make stock tires squeal with an auto from a standing start. Whiplash!

[Lithium]

So, I finally installed my PLM header, over-pipe, and mid-pipe for the second time. I didn't want to blow up the forums when I noticed that the over-pipe inlet (2.5 inch) didn't fit the Header outlet (3 inch). After emailing PLM and speaking with Frank he assured me that all the components are correct..... This made no sense to me because why would you focus on making an efficient header system ( or steal it) if you're just going to bolt another pipe right behind it that doesn't match up correctly. Anyway I went ahead and installed it because I was already at the shop, here are some pictures to help make sense of this so called design....

Below is the exhaust manifold outlet at 2.8 inches ID


Next is the over-pipe inlet at 2.3 inches ID


That's a ridiculous amount of material to just "overhang" into the exhaust path. As you can see form this picture its a huge restriction. Take note of how little of that flange is actually compressing the exhaust gasket, its a few Millimeters


So after a night of thinking about how terrible this exhaust was designed I decided I wasn't going to just let it sit like that. I decided to take it apart again and weld on larger portions of 1/4inch plate steel to increase the surface area of the flange. This would allow for a much better seal against the exhaust gasket and it would also give me room to port out the inside of the over-pipe flange. This still isn't the ideal way to mate a 3inch pipe to a 2.5 inch pipe but with such little space its the easiest to do without completely modifying the header itself.

Here is a picture of what it looked like afterwards, not pretty but it will at least help me sleep at night.


So now onto the good things about this exhaust, it fits well despite the flange issue. The over-pipe is positioned perfectly and doesn't rub or knock against the sub frame. The exhaust manifold also fits perfectly, been using it for two days and it hasn't melted anything nearby which was a concern of mine. All in all fit and finish is pretty good. One of the better exhausts I've purchased for a car.

On to the sound; it sounds like shit to be honest. Or at least it sounds like shit on my Pro F1 cat back. Had a really bad drone right at 3k and a slight raspy noise through the entire RPM range. I spend this afternoon welding in a 26" Helmholtz resonator which fixed about 90% of the drone. This way you can actually drive without your dash falling apart. Friday I will be receiving another resonator that should fix the raspy side of things but we shall see.

Onto the power; It feels more powerful but I don't believe in butt dyno's so hopefully next week I will have actually numbers for everyone. So far my conclusion on if you should buy this exhaust.......No, unless you want to spend a large amount of money on a loud poorly designed exhaust that makes your car sound like its burning long grain rice. If I can fix the raspy sound it may just turn into a decent exhaust, I would be very surprised if it made impressive power gains but that's still up in the air. Even if it did make a good improvement I have spend 5 hours on a lift trying to improve a few small things that I don't believe the majority of you guys want to deal with. I sure hope PLM didn't steal the exact same exhaust design from Nameless, if they did than shame on you Nameless.

[KoolBRZ]

Did I forget to mention the 3000 rpm drone? It would rattle the whole car and everything in it. I'll have to check today if the drone is still there. I noticed the dead spot right after it much more. This header makes the engine very sensitive to valve timing and overlap. I reduced my overlap and removed most of the dead spot between 3500 - 4500 rpms. I only drove it once last night, so I'm sure there are other areas of the tune that could use improvement, and my MAF scale still isn't right on, so I'll keep working on that.

One thing this header has over other headers is, the O2 sensor ports are inset so the sensors read from the stream, rather then on extensions where the sensors read the back-wash. I just could never get my MAF scale right with the old header. Another thing this header has over other headers is room to breath before the pressure builds back up. With the right tune and a free-flowing intake, this can give a second or three of tire-burning torque, or what I like to call, "Whiplash"!

[Cross]

I made a thread for my review which reminds me I need to get sound clips. Since I only used the header I really didn't run into fitment issues other than making my own over-pipe.

While it does take some tuning work I have to say I have a catback known for being loud and I'm not as disappointed as I expected to be sound wise compared the the UEL tone I like so much.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88097