thxone

Ok, I am looking into getting an inexpensive header to replace my factory exhaust manifold. I think at 196,100 miles my cat may be messed up. I don't have emissions testing here so I would like to do away with it all together. My car is a '97 200sx SE 5-speed. The header I am looking at... rather the design is said to be a "Direct Bolt On" header. After looking at my manifold I can't see this being true. The header looks to have the collector under and to the rear of the engine where as the factory manifold bolts to the exhaust right under the cat at the bottom front of the engine. Has anyone else put a header like this one on their Sentra or 200sx SE 1.6L? If so, is it a bolt on or not? Did you have to modify the exhaust?




The factory exhaust in front of the engine.

EvilPotato

you must have a california emissions B14 cause that exahaust manifold looks like a cat converter, and you have another one under the car. The aftemarket header will replace the stock exhaust manifold AND the collector/short pipe bolted onto it just before the secondary cat converter so it should work just fine. i have a hotshot header and the dimension is like the one you have on the pic although its a different design

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thxone

Thanks... I never even thought about California emissions... That for sure is a Catalytic converter. Maybe this pic will help determine if it is in fact a California car...




EDIT: I just checked with Courtesy Nissan of Dallas and their diagrams show the '97 - '99 FED exhaust is the same as the '95 - '96 CAL.

thxone

Either way the answer is right there if you look at that first pipe #20010. The header will for sure work. I hope this will help others as well. Will post pics withing the next week hopefully with the new header on the car.

CannibalCorpse

1-piece bolt on header type (from pictures)

PROS
- excellent price (95$ up)
- noticeable power gain
CONS
- Major PITA on installation. Alternator, radiator & fan assembly, front engine support and AC compressor removal is necessary
- secondary outlet diameter is reduced (1.75" ?)

2-piece or more Header types ( Pacesetter, OBX & Hotshot )

PROS
- No engine accessory removal is necessary on installation except for the stock exhaust
- Noticeable power gain

CONS
- price
- additional flange gasket has a lot of stress & can leak over time if tube is not properly supported

I dont think hotshot is still on business but OBX has a similar design (230$ shipped). Pacesetter has a lower price (180$ shipped) but the wrong primaries are siamesed together(1-3,4-2) but I dont think it makes a noticeable difference on a stock engine.

thxone

I actually got the header installed... the one I have pictured... yes it is a PITA but with a friend helping it is not so bad. Had to remove the fans and the radiator hose on the drivers side, that was it. Broke the top of the oil dipstick, the O ring part that you grab to pull it out to check your oil... no biggie, will use epoxy. Will have to make a custom EGR tube as that thing must be made out of tungsten carbide because three of us could not bend it to re-route it. Had to replace my factory original 198,800 mile upstream O2 sensor that was still working... stripped the threads pulling it out of the factory cat.

We had to squeeze the header in from the top with a little force but it went in. If anyone gets this header design and is bolting it to the factory exhaust as I did, go to Advance Auto Parts and get the WALKER exhaust gasket part number 31360. The flat gasket that comes with the header WILL LEAK if used on the factory cat back portion of the exhaust, This one is lead I think and sealed it perfectly.

What I did:

Installed header
New upstream O2 sensor
Walker Gasket
Re-Timed the engine as apparently I missed a notch - NOW at 10*
Yes, I feel a lighter pedal and the car pulls a lot smoother.

Will custom make a new EGR tube soon.

thxone

On the 200sx SE the removal of all items with the exception of the fans was not necessary.
The outlet at the collector is 1.5in and each individual tube has an inner diameter of 1.5in. I believe the factory exhaust is also 1.5in.

azkicker0027

do you have any added silencer after the header? i had to modify the post and pre-cat O2 sensors due to my relocated cat so i can pass emissions. sucks to have emissions testing here.

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thxone

My exhaust for now is all factory from the header back. It looks exactly like the diagram a few post up. The header replaced the manifold and the pipe labeled 20010. The next pipe which doesn't seem to have a number on it is the pipe in front of the resonator (looks like a small muffler) and is what the header bolted directly to.

thxone

When I do my cat back I will have to see if it is after the O2 pipe or if it replaces that too... I hope it is after and just replaces from the resonator back... that's what the pic of the exhaust looks like anyway.

thxone

My header installed... along with my freshly painted valve cover and my new black grill... NISMO! Strut tower brace and cat-back coming soon... already have the rear upper strut brace... not installed yet.

Centurion

Any good diff. in power?

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2005 NISMO Frontier

thxone

Noticeable yes... a great difference no. The pedal takes less effort to get me up to speed, the sound difference is not that noticeable but is a little different than the stock manifold. Before the header I could take second gear to 30mph now 35mph before it feels like it hits a limiter. I don't know what are normal shift points for this car for everyone else but I know my car has some demons that I have to track down.

I still have to do a compression check and I know my clutch needs to be replaced since it is at 195,000 miles. I don't know if we have some kind of variable valving on this engine either but with twin cams and 4 valves per cylinder I would suspect we do so I may need to look into that since this car has had head work done. Mind you, I don't have a functioning Tach. so I have no idea if I am redlining the car or hitting a fuel cutoff.

All the mechanical things I have done have done something for the better for each thing though... after the cat-back is done I will do a cold air intake... more air out means it needs more air in as well.

Update: Did my letters on the valve cover. Elmers paint pen with chisel tip "Metallic Silver" Under $2 at WallyWorld.

thxone

Wow, I was way off... turns out there are 6 timing notches on the crank pulley and I was at 5* of timing. I decided to do some research last night as my idle just didn't feel right to me. What I uncovered was also a rich fuel smell out of the exhaust so off to Google I went. I watched a few vids on YouTube of GA16DE engines running and compared videos of what mine runs like compared to "well tuned" GA16DE's. I found some pics of actual 1997 GA16DE crank pulleys and sure enough, 6 marks on them. -5 0 5 10 15 20*. Mine is now sitting smoothly at 11-12ish and oh my the difference.

I run 87 octane gas. Now I mentioned before my shift points... 1st gear dead on 20mph because at 21mph it felt like it hit a limiter... I took first to 25mph and it felt like it wanted to keep going and no limiter... 2nd normally I had to shift at 30-33mph... now almost dead on 40mph and again no limiter feeling. I am on to something here for sure. Should I go 15*??? I may run a tank of 93 octane with this timing and see if that does anything as well. A JWT ECU may be in my future but at almost $600 I am not sure I can justify getting it.

thxone