PPE Long Tube Headers installed

Agent K

Well, I couldn't wait for my FI exhaust to arrive so I installed my PPE LTHs. The headers were delivered in good shape and excellent packaging. They're ceramic coated with powder black. I knew going in that these were a tough install per forum members...they were not wrong. Let me clarify, the passenger side is fairly easy to install, the driver side is a MAJOR PITA. I'm fortunate the Z isn't my daily driver.

The Start:
I put the Z on jack stands in my garage on a Saturday. I began by taking off the cross brace, engine cover, air boxes, etc. to see the stock headers. My cuz showed up and we started unbolting the heat shields...yeah we broke off a few of those flimsy bolts. We then unbolted the stock headers. And dropped them out with some heat shields still attached. We thought this was the hard part getting the stock headers out...WRONG!!!

We wanted to put the driver side PPE LTH knowing it would be the toughest. For those of you that want to install these headers without taking the motor out, you'll have to take all the driver side studs out before installing the PPE; you'll also have to disconnect the steering knuckle and tilt the motor as far as it can go. And that's the easy part. Anyway, it took us two days to get the driver side headers in place. We then put the studs back in. My cuz was spent after we set the driver side header so I finished the rest of the install by myself. Well not exactly, I had my youngest daughter give me a hand setting the passenger side header. I was actually able to torque the studs on the passenger side before I set the headers...everything else was tighten-the-s**t out of it torque. There was just not enough room to fit my torque wrench.

The End:
I finished the install on Friday night. I took the Z down off the jack stands and fired her up with fingers crossed because I had cross-threaded the bottom rear bolt hole on the driver side. So the flange nut isn't exactly flush on the header. Anyway, I fired up the Z. It started right up. A little burn off but no leaks at least not after 100 miles. No SES light and everything else works like before.

Conclusion:
I would not recommend doing this job if the Z is your daily driver, you lack time/patience, you have limited tools/skills. You're better off paying a shop to install them, and if they have any sense, they'll pull the motor. Mind you, the majority of my time was spent installing the driver side headers...around 16+ hours. The driver side took approximately 2 hours. I did the rest a little bit at a time during the week.

PPE Review:
Well there's the hiss and of course the rich exhaust smell. It brought back memories of the aftermarket exhaust I had on my Audi. The hiss is really no big deal because it is so fleeting; it's something you'll get used to. The car feels a little faster in the mid-range per butt dyno but I haven't really pushed it yet. Right now, I get what sounds like a backfire but I think this is due to the restriction of the stock exhaust; I suspect most if not all of this will go away after I install the FI exhaust. It happens on downshifts and not every gear and not all the time; it's really only occasionally. Again, I think most, if not all this will go away with the FI exhaust.