My Boost Brothers LT Review
04-18-2009, 11:44 PM
#1
3rd Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 518
My Boost Brothers LT Review
Ahhhhhh.... They're finally in... First and foremost I would like to thank Kyle for giving up his saturday to help me throw in the Longtubes. Took us twelve hours to get them in. I will start from the beginning of the whole story. I got the longtubes for $200 plus shipping $45 and they looked incredible when I got them. The headers are full 304 Stainless. All the welds were very nicely done. The collectors loo very nice and the headers also included an H-Pipe. I also ordered Prothane Motor Mounts, Stage 8 locking bolts, and 4 O2 extensions. Kyle and I started in his garage at around 9AM and everything started off nice and smooth. Took out the battery, the O/R H I had on the car followed by lifting the motor and taking out the motor mounts and brackets along with the stock headers. Then we removed the starter and went to lunch.
Passenger side LT went in with no hitches at all. I noticed somehting at this stage of the game. Because of the shape of the exhaust ports, which are shaped like a "D", the Stage 8 bolts are useless on the bottom row of bolts. The primaries are also shaped like D's and are flat on the bottom. I used them anyway and put the locks in. After losing a few bolts, we moved onto the Driver's side LT. We knew we would do some denting, and after mocking up the header, here is where the dents needed to happen.
-Dent on bottom tube for the steering shaft.
-Dent for the engine bracket, which I was not expecting to have to do.
-Dented the entire side of the collector to clear the frame rail.
We got the header on and lowered the motor. here is where we ran into a problem. Even though we dented the collector, the tubes coming out of it also rubbed, so the tubes need to be dented. Up next was the H-Pipe, and here is some advice; don't drop and of the pipes. From mocking up the LT and the H-Pipe on their ends, the end started to dent. We had a problem with the driver's side end of the LT where is had ovaled a little. The pipes wouldn't slip fit together so we just threw it on and clamped over it. I knew it was gonna leak but I plan on welding the entire system in a couple months anyway.
Note on the O2 extensions. I ordered four of them from American Muscle. According to the key on the connectors, they are meant for the Rear O2's. For the front ones, we had to snip of the little keys to get them in, which turned out fine. Started the car and the headers burned off the oil coating and smoked big time.
Here are my impressions. First, is the leaks that are all over the place. I knew going into it that leaks really wouldn't matter. The LT to H-Pipes connections leak, and I have had a leak in the Mid Muffler leaks too. No leaks at the header though! I have the Pypes MMS and that was a b**** to align in the first place and the hanger rods liked to vibrate against the hangers. I had it all aligned a long time ago, but all those vibrations are back now since the system is out of alignment once again. I can also feel the Driver's side collector rubbing on the frame rail, so we didn't dent it enough.
Driving thoughts. Loss of low end for sure. Not as drastic as I thought it would be, but it's there. I plan on doing 4.10's anyway so I can stand to lose torque. On the highway the car has some pickup and fifth gear now. I have yet to gun the car because I have a bunch of exhaust components in the back of my car. The exhaust is much quieter then before, which is great. It does not trumpet any longer which is also great. Took away all the rasp, and at idle the car sounds amazing. You can hear the motor thumping which sounds really nice.
Now all I need to do now is save up money and have an exhaust guy bend the collector part away from the frame or put something in there, weld the system up and get new tips.
The verdict:
This is a great deal even though work is involved. If you can afford it, go the route kingsofcrunk went and have a ship install it. If you're doing it yourself, get a friend who will help the entire time. The headers require work and certain tools that not everyone has (Acetylene torch), but in the end I like it and it was worth it.
If you have any questions/comments post them up.
Passenger side LT went in with no hitches at all. I noticed somehting at this stage of the game. Because of the shape of the exhaust ports, which are shaped like a "D", the Stage 8 bolts are useless on the bottom row of bolts. The primaries are also shaped like D's and are flat on the bottom. I used them anyway and put the locks in. After losing a few bolts, we moved onto the Driver's side LT. We knew we would do some denting, and after mocking up the header, here is where the dents needed to happen.
-Dent on bottom tube for the steering shaft.
-Dent for the engine bracket, which I was not expecting to have to do.
-Dented the entire side of the collector to clear the frame rail.
We got the header on and lowered the motor. here is where we ran into a problem. Even though we dented the collector, the tubes coming out of it also rubbed, so the tubes need to be dented. Up next was the H-Pipe, and here is some advice; don't drop and of the pipes. From mocking up the LT and the H-Pipe on their ends, the end started to dent. We had a problem with the driver's side end of the LT where is had ovaled a little. The pipes wouldn't slip fit together so we just threw it on and clamped over it. I knew it was gonna leak but I plan on welding the entire system in a couple months anyway.
Note on the O2 extensions. I ordered four of them from American Muscle. According to the key on the connectors, they are meant for the Rear O2's. For the front ones, we had to snip of the little keys to get them in, which turned out fine. Started the car and the headers burned off the oil coating and smoked big time.
Here are my impressions. First, is the leaks that are all over the place. I knew going into it that leaks really wouldn't matter. The LT to H-Pipes connections leak, and I have had a leak in the Mid Muffler leaks too. No leaks at the header though! I have the Pypes MMS and that was a b**** to align in the first place and the hanger rods liked to vibrate against the hangers. I had it all aligned a long time ago, but all those vibrations are back now since the system is out of alignment once again. I can also feel the Driver's side collector rubbing on the frame rail, so we didn't dent it enough.
Driving thoughts. Loss of low end for sure. Not as drastic as I thought it would be, but it's there. I plan on doing 4.10's anyway so I can stand to lose torque. On the highway the car has some pickup and fifth gear now. I have yet to gun the car because I have a bunch of exhaust components in the back of my car. The exhaust is much quieter then before, which is great. It does not trumpet any longer which is also great. Took away all the rasp, and at idle the car sounds amazing. You can hear the motor thumping which sounds really nice.
Now all I need to do now is save up money and have an exhaust guy bend the collector part away from the frame or put something in there, weld the system up and get new tips.
The verdict:
This is a great deal even though work is involved. If you can afford it, go the route kingsofcrunk went and have a ship install it. If you're doing it yourself, get a friend who will help the entire time. The headers require work and certain tools that not everyone has (Acetylene torch), but in the end I like it and it was worth it.
If you have any questions/comments post them up.
04-19-2009, 07:57 AM
#3
1st Gear Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 64
Ahhhhhh.... They're finally in... First and foremost I would like to thank Kyle for giving up his saturday to help me throw in the Longtubes. Took us twelve hours to get them in. I will start from the beginning of the whole story. I got the longtubes for $200 plus shipping $45 and they looked incredible when I got them. The headers are full 304 Stainless. All the welds were very nicely done. The collectors loo very nice and the headers also included an H-Pipe. I also ordered Prothane Motor Mounts, Stage 8 locking bolts, and 4 O2 extensions. Kyle and I started in his garage at around 9AM and everything started off nice and smooth. Took out the battery, the O/R H I had on the car followed by lifting the motor and taking out the motor mounts and brackets along with the stock headers. Then we removed the starter and went to lunch.
Passenger side LT went in with no hitches at all. I noticed somehting at this stage of the game. Because of the shape of the exhaust ports, which are shaped like a "D", the Stage 8 bolts are useless on the bottom row of bolts. The primaries are also shaped like D's and are flat on the bottom. I used them anyway and put the locks in. After losing a few bolts, we moved onto the Driver's side LT. We knew we would do some denting, and after mocking up the header, here is where the dents needed to happen.
-Dent on bottom tube for the steering shaft.
-Dent for the engine bracket, which I was not expecting to have to do.
-Dented the entire side of the collector to clear the frame rail.
We got the header on and lowered the motor. here is where we ran into a problem. Even though we dented the collector, the tubes coming out of it also rubbed, so the tubes need to be dented. Up next was the H-Pipe, and here is some advice; don't drop and of the pipes. From mocking up the LT and the H-Pipe on their ends, the end started to dent. We had a problem with the driver's side end of the LT where is had ovaled a little. The pipes wouldn't slip fit together so we just threw it on and clamped over it. I knew it was gonna leak but I plan on welding the entire system in a couple months anyway.
Note on the O2 extensions. I ordered four of them from American Muscle. According to the key on the connectors, they are meant for the Rear O2's. For the front ones, we had to snip of the little keys to get them in, which turned out fine. Started the car and the headers burned off the oil coating and smoked big time.
Here are my impressions. First, is the leaks that are all over the place. I knew going into it that leaks really wouldn't matter. The LT to H-Pipes connections leak, and I have had a leak in the Mid Muffler leaks too. No leaks at the header though! I have the Pypes MMS and that was a b**** to align in the first place and the hanger rods liked to vibrate against the hangers. I had it all aligned a long time ago, but all those vibrations are back now since the system is out of alignment once again. I can also feel the Driver's side collector rubbing on the frame rail, so we didn't dent it enough.
Driving thoughts. Loss of low end for sure. Not as drastic as I thought it would be, but it's there. I plan on doing 4.10's anyway so I can stand to lose torque. On the highway the car has some pickup and fifth gear now. I have yet to gun the car because I have a bunch of exhaust components in the back of my car. The exhaust is much quieter then before, which is great. It does not trumpet any longer which is also great. Took away all the rasp, and at idle the car sounds amazing. You can hear the motor thumping which sounds really nice.
Now all I need to do now is save up money and have an exhaust guy bend the collector part away from the frame or put something in there, weld the system up and get new tips.
The verdict:
This is a great deal even though work is involved. If you can afford it, go the route kingsofcrunk went and have a ship install it. If you're doing it yourself, get a friend who will help the entire time. The headers require work and certain tools that not everyone has (Acetylene torch), but in the end I like it and it was worth it.
If you have any questions/comments post them up.
Passenger side LT went in with no hitches at all. I noticed somehting at this stage of the game. Because of the shape of the exhaust ports, which are shaped like a "D", the Stage 8 bolts are useless on the bottom row of bolts. The primaries are also shaped like D's and are flat on the bottom. I used them anyway and put the locks in. After losing a few bolts, we moved onto the Driver's side LT. We knew we would do some denting, and after mocking up the header, here is where the dents needed to happen.
-Dent on bottom tube for the steering shaft.
-Dent for the engine bracket, which I was not expecting to have to do.
-Dented the entire side of the collector to clear the frame rail.
We got the header on and lowered the motor. here is where we ran into a problem. Even though we dented the collector, the tubes coming out of it also rubbed, so the tubes need to be dented. Up next was the H-Pipe, and here is some advice; don't drop and of the pipes. From mocking up the LT and the H-Pipe on their ends, the end started to dent. We had a problem with the driver's side end of the LT where is had ovaled a little. The pipes wouldn't slip fit together so we just threw it on and clamped over it. I knew it was gonna leak but I plan on welding the entire system in a couple months anyway.
Note on the O2 extensions. I ordered four of them from American Muscle. According to the key on the connectors, they are meant for the Rear O2's. For the front ones, we had to snip of the little keys to get them in, which turned out fine. Started the car and the headers burned off the oil coating and smoked big time.
Here are my impressions. First, is the leaks that are all over the place. I knew going into it that leaks really wouldn't matter. The LT to H-Pipes connections leak, and I have had a leak in the Mid Muffler leaks too. No leaks at the header though! I have the Pypes MMS and that was a b**** to align in the first place and the hanger rods liked to vibrate against the hangers. I had it all aligned a long time ago, but all those vibrations are back now since the system is out of alignment once again. I can also feel the Driver's side collector rubbing on the frame rail, so we didn't dent it enough.
Driving thoughts. Loss of low end for sure. Not as drastic as I thought it would be, but it's there. I plan on doing 4.10's anyway so I can stand to lose torque. On the highway the car has some pickup and fifth gear now. I have yet to gun the car because I have a bunch of exhaust components in the back of my car. The exhaust is much quieter then before, which is great. It does not trumpet any longer which is also great. Took away all the rasp, and at idle the car sounds amazing. You can hear the motor thumping which sounds really nice.
Now all I need to do now is save up money and have an exhaust guy bend the collector part away from the frame or put something in there, weld the system up and get new tips.
The verdict:
This is a great deal even though work is involved. If you can afford it, go the route kingsofcrunk went and have a ship install it. If you're doing it yourself, get a friend who will help the entire time. The headers require work and certain tools that not everyone has (Acetylene torch), but in the end I like it and it was worth it.
If you have any questions/comments post them up.
04-19-2009, 11:03 AM
#9
1st Gear Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 64
I've been thinking about this. I noticed that you installed the Prothane mounts along with these headers. Do you think the extra height of the mounts could be causing the clearance issues? I also have the mounts but if cutting a little off of them will make the install go easier, I'll make sure and do that before the car goes into the shop.
