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Texas Speed Headers Install

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Old 08-03-2015, 11:41 PM
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Default Texas Speed Headers Install

After a few missteps I got my headers installed. I did this in my garage on jack stands. Hopefully this thread will contain some information for someone looking to follow in my footsteps. The torque values, which I had a tough time finding, are included. First, a review:

PROS: The headers are beautiful. It is apparent that they are well designed and built. They fit nearly perfectly. They go in easier than the old ones came out. They require no custom modifications to install. All of the factory equipment bolts back up.

CONS: No instructions!!! Talk about irritating. I put the dang x-pipe and other pipes on backwards before I figured out why they were fitting poorly. One of the O2 bungs was messed up- it had slag on the inside so my O2 sensor wouldn't install. The spacers for the factory tunnel cover are barely adequate- do yourself a favor and buy the aftermarket one. Even after spacing it out it still rattles against the driver's side header. I ordered my headers last Monday so they'd be here for this last weekend. I called on the weekend to find out why they weren't here. They neglected to ship them. Days taken off to install headers: 2. Headers installed: 0. They shipped them out and I got them (FINALLY!!) just before this weekend.

Install: This is how I did it. YMMV! Disconnect the battery in the trunk. It takes a 10mm. Take off both plastic covers on both sides. The top ones just pop off, the lower ones have two star bolts that hold them on. There is one hose on the driver's side that has to be removed and a number of them on the passenger side. Remove the fuse box on the passenger side. The top portion pops off the bottom after disconnecting the battery and starter wires and then the bottom can be removed with three nuts. They all remove easily. Take all the spark plug wires and spark plugs out.

Get under the car. Do yourself a favor and jack it up so the bottom of the car is around two feet off the ground. Or preferably, use a lift lol. Take the tunnel cover off. Remove the frame braces. Disconnect the exhaust between the cats. Disconnect the rear of the exhaust. Pull this section down. Remove the four bolts holding each manifold to the first cat. Remove the starter. It's two bolts, a plug-in and a battery cable. If you remove the studs from the manifolds I think the cat-section will come out at this point without loosening the manifolds. Remove manifolds- with a little wrangling they will come out the bottom.

Install new headers- I put loc-tite on the bolts at this point and tightened them down so that the headers could still move around a bit. The driver's side sucks to do by yourself because it wants to fall out. The passenger side is kind of a bear to get in but you can do it without removing the dry sump lines. I used a rope to hold up the rear section of the driver's side so I could get the bolts started.

Tie the O2 cables up in the transmission tunnel. Put the front O2 sensors in the x-pipe. Put the x-pipe in under the car. The tabs for mounting the rear tubing face down!!! Use this to determine which side of the x-pipe connects to which header. Don't forget to put your clamps on first. Put the stock rear hanger back in place. Put the rear pipes on. Rotate them so they are flat and force them all the way back on the rear section of stock exhaust. Put your clamps on first!! They are little protrusions on the stock rear exhaust that show you how far to push the new pipes on them. Tighten these 2.5 clamps down TIGHT or they will leak. Force the rear pipes apart and secure the mounts. The bolts go up, with the nuts on top. Tighten all the clamps up. My passenger rear pipe had only minimal (1/16) clearance between it and the transmission pan.

Re-install the starter. Starter bolts are 29 Newton-meters. Re-install tunnel cover. I used two spacers for the three front bolts. It barely clears on the driver's side. Re-install frame braces.

Tighten headers. Torque is 23 Newton-meters. Torque from center out. Re-install spark plugs. Torque is 20 Newton-meters. Re-install fuse box. Re-install covers and hoses. Viola! You're done. If that only took you five hours you rock. It took me around 12.

It seems like the headers and tune made a pretty large difference. There is definitely a sound difference now too. The sound, sometimes, is a bit tinny. WOT, it is monstrous! After I ran it to temp and drove around a bit the header bolts needed re-tightened. I also have to pull the tunnel cover off to tighten some connections, space the pipe that had minimal clearance on the transmission and put on a new tunnel cover.

I'll try and update this with my final thoughts. I took a bunch of pictures but don't have the motivation to put them up just now. Cheers!
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Old 08-04-2015, 04:08 AM
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Originally Posted by robbieroflcopter
After a few missteps I got my headers installed. I did this in my garage on jack stands. Hopefully this thread will contain some information for someone looking to follow in my footsteps. The torque values, which I had a tough time finding, are included. First, a review:

PROS: The headers are beautiful. It is apparent that they are well designed and built. They fit nearly perfectly. They go in easier than the old ones came out. They require no custom modifications to install. All of the factory equipment bolts back up.

CONS: No instructions!!! Talk about irritating. I put the dang x-pipe and other pipes on backwards before I figured out why they were fitting poorly. One of the O2 bungs was messed up- it had slag on the inside so my O2 sensor wouldn't install. The spacers for the factory tunnel cover are barely adequate- do yourself a favor and buy the aftermarket one. Even after spacing it out it still rattles against the driver's side header. I ordered my headers last Monday so they'd be here for this last weekend. I called on the weekend to find out why they weren't here. They neglected to ship them. Days taken off to install headers: 2. Headers installed: 0. They shipped them out and I got them (FINALLY!!) just before this weekend.

Install: This is how I did it. YMMV! Disconnect the battery in the trunk. It takes a 10mm. Take off both plastic covers on both sides. The top ones just pop off, the lower ones have two star bolts that hold them on. There is one hose on the driver's side that has to be removed and a number of them on the passenger side. Remove the fuse box on the passenger side. The top portion pops off the bottom after disconnecting the battery and starter wires and then the bottom can be removed with three nuts. They all remove easily. Take all the spark plug wires and spark plugs out.

Get under the car. Do yourself a favor and jack it up so the bottom of the car is around two feet off the ground. Or preferably, use a lift lol. Take the tunnel cover off. Remove the frame braces. Disconnect the exhaust between the cats. Disconnect the rear of the exhaust. Pull this section down. Remove the four bolts holding each manifold to the first cat. Remove the starter. It's two bolts, a plug-in and a battery cable. If you remove the studs from the manifolds I think the cat-section will come out at this point without loosening the manifolds. Remove manifolds- with a little wrangling they will come out the bottom.

Install new headers- I put loc-tite on the bolts at this point and tightened them down so that the headers could still move around a bit. The driver's side sucks to do by yourself because it wants to fall out. The passenger side is kind of a bear to get in but you can do it without removing the dry sump lines. I used a rope to hold up the rear section of the driver's side so I could get the bolts started.

Tie the O2 cables up in the transmission tunnel. Put the front O2 sensors in the x-pipe. Put the x-pipe in under the car. The tabs for mounting the rear tubing face down!!! Use this to determine which side of the x-pipe connects to which header. Don't forget to put your clamps on first. Put the stock rear hanger back in place. Put the rear pipes on. Rotate them so they are flat and force them all the way back on the rear section of stock exhaust. Put your clamps on first!! They are little protrusions on the stock rear exhaust that show you how far to push the new pipes on them. Tighten these 2.5 clamps down TIGHT or they will leak. Force the rear pipes apart and secure the mounts. The bolts go up, with the nuts on top. Tighten all the clamps up. My passenger rear pipe had only minimal (1/16) clearance between it and the transmission pan.

Re-install the starter. Starter bolts are 29 Newton-meters. Re-install tunnel cover. I used two spacers for the three front bolts. It barely clears on the driver's side. Re-install frame braces.

Tighten headers. Torque is 23 Newton-meters. Torque from center out. Re-install spark plugs. Torque is 20 Newton-meters. Re-install fuse box. Re-install covers and hoses. Viola! You're done. If that only took you five hours you rock. It took me around 12.

It seems like the headers and tune made a pretty large difference. There is definitely a sound difference now too. The sound, sometimes, is a bit tinny. WOT, it is monstrous! After I ran it to temp and drove around a bit the header bolts needed re-tightened. I also have to pull the tunnel cover off to tighten some connections, space the pipe that had minimal clearance on the transmission and put on a new tunnel cover.

I'll try and update this with my final thoughts. I took a bunch of pictures but don't have the motivation to put them up just now. Cheers!
What's the sound differents Vs the ARH or Kooks
Old 08-04-2015, 07:59 AM
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I haven't heard the other 2, but I can't imagine there would be much difference. If you went with a catted version there might be a difference, but otherwise I'll bet they are very similar.
Old 08-04-2015, 05:22 PM
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Originally Posted by robbieroflcopter
After a few missteps I got my headers installed. I did this in my garage on jack stands. Hopefully this thread will contain some information for someone looking to follow in my footsteps. The torque values, which I had a tough time finding, are included. First, a review:

PROS: The headers are beautiful. It is apparent that they are well designed and built. They fit nearly perfectly. They go in easier than the old ones came out. They require no custom modifications to install. All of the factory equipment bolts back up.

CONS: No instructions!!! Talk about irritating. I put the dang x-pipe and other pipes on backwards before I figured out why they were fitting poorly. One of the O2 bungs was messed up- it had slag on the inside so my O2 sensor wouldn't install. The spacers for the factory tunnel cover are barely adequate- do yourself a favor and buy the aftermarket one. Even after spacing it out it still rattles against the driver's side header. I ordered my headers last Monday so they'd be here for this last weekend. I called on the weekend to find out why they weren't here. They neglected to ship them. Days taken off to install headers: 2. Headers installed: 0. They shipped them out and I got them (FINALLY!!) just before this weekend.

Install: This is how I did it. YMMV! Disconnect the battery in the trunk. It takes a 10mm. Take off both plastic covers on both sides. The top ones just pop off, the lower ones have two star bolts that hold them on. There is one hose on the driver's side that has to be removed and a number of them on the passenger side. Remove the fuse box on the passenger side. The top portion pops off the bottom after disconnecting the battery and starter wires and then the bottom can be removed with three nuts. They all remove easily. Take all the spark plug wires and spark plugs out.

Get under the car. Do yourself a favor and jack it up so the bottom of the car is around two feet off the ground. Or preferably, use a lift lol. Take the tunnel cover off. Remove the frame braces. Disconnect the exhaust between the cats. Disconnect the rear of the exhaust. Pull this section down. Remove the four bolts holding each manifold to the first cat. Remove the starter. It's two bolts, a plug-in and a battery cable. If you remove the studs from the manifolds I think the cat-section will come out at this point without loosening the manifolds. Remove manifolds- with a little wrangling they will come out the bottom.

Install new headers- I put loc-tite on the bolts at this point and tightened them down so that the headers could still move around a bit. The driver's side sucks to do by yourself because it wants to fall out. The passenger side is kind of a bear to get in but you can do it without removing the dry sump lines. I used a rope to hold up the rear section of the driver's side so I could get the bolts started.

Tie the O2 cables up in the transmission tunnel. Put the front O2 sensors in the x-pipe. Put the x-pipe in under the car. The tabs for mounting the rear tubing face down!!! Use this to determine which side of the x-pipe connects to which header. Don't forget to put your clamps on first. Put the stock rear hanger back in place. Put the rear pipes on. Rotate them so they are flat and force them all the way back on the rear section of stock exhaust. Put your clamps on first!! They are little protrusions on the stock rear exhaust that show you how far to push the new pipes on them. Tighten these 2.5 clamps down TIGHT or they will leak. Force the rear pipes apart and secure the mounts. The bolts go up, with the nuts on top. Tighten all the clamps up. My passenger rear pipe had only minimal (1/16) clearance between it and the transmission pan.

Re-install the starter. Starter bolts are 29 Newton-meters. Re-install tunnel cover. I used two spacers for the three front bolts. It barely clears on the driver's side. Re-install frame braces.

Tighten headers. Torque is 23 Newton-meters. Torque from center out. Re-install spark plugs. Torque is 20 Newton-meters. Re-install fuse box. Re-install covers and hoses. Viola! You're done. If that only took you five hours you rock. It took me around 12.

It seems like the headers and tune made a pretty large difference. There is definitely a sound difference now too. The sound, sometimes, is a bit tinny. WOT, it is monstrous! After I ran it to temp and drove around a bit the header bolts needed re-tightened. I also have to pull the tunnel cover off to tighten some connections, space the pipe that had minimal clearance on the transmission and put on a new tunnel cover.

I'll try and update this with my final thoughts. I took a bunch of pictures but don't have the motivation to put them up just now. Cheers!
Thanks for the write up. Are you planning to tune the car or dyno it at least because this would good data for comparison with different brands.
Old 08-04-2015, 06:31 PM
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I live in the middle of nowhere so no Dyno. I got a Trifecta demo tune but went back to stock. It made the car almost undriveable. I'm currently working with them to resolve the issue. I'll post here when I get it totally done and come to some conclusions.
Old 08-04-2015, 10:43 PM
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Nice write up!
Old 08-04-2015, 11:26 PM
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Here are some pictures of the headers. Some minor issues, but overall a nice product.













Old 08-05-2015, 11:28 AM
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Please report back if you develop any leaks from the slip fit connections. That was one thing that made me choose a different company, plus the fact that they don't really fit on the car.
Old 08-06-2015, 12:41 AM
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My TSP headers fit perfect, better that a brand that the shop normally installs. Made them a believer. No leaks here either...
Old 08-06-2015, 08:04 AM
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You should have installed the x pipe like how you had them sitting on your floor

Mine leaked at every joint no matter what I did with those clamps, got them welded and no leaks now, but would suck having to go back to stock
Old 08-06-2015, 09:04 AM
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Originally Posted by sycraft
My TSP headers fit perfect, better that a brand that the shop normally installs. Made them a believer. No leaks here either...
I thought you had to space the floor plate thing down, or buy a new one?
Old 08-06-2015, 11:14 AM
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Originally Posted by crazybiker51
You should have installed the x pipe like how you had them sitting on your floor

Mine leaked at every joint no matter what I did with those clamps, got them welded and no leaks now, but would suck having to go back to stock
That's how I installed them initially, but that is backwards. The rear portion of the single pipes then angles down and wont connect.
Old 08-06-2015, 09:38 PM
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Default Leaks

Originally Posted by 10mm_
Please report back if you develop any leaks from the slip fit connections. That was one thing that made me choose a different company, plus the fact that they don't really fit on the car.
I'm pretty confident that I had some leaks after the initial install. I used an electric driver to tighten down the band clamps. Today I threw it on the lift and used a ratchet and tightened them very tight. All good now! I sprayed them down with soapy water and no leaks. It still sounds like I have a header leak but I'm thinking that is just the DI engine noise. I've re-torqued headers twice so I can't imagine they are.
Old 08-06-2015, 09:41 PM
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Default Tunnel Brace

Originally Posted by 10mm_
I thought you had to space the floor plate thing down, or buy a new one?
Just do this:




No more rattles!
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Old 08-06-2015, 11:05 PM
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Originally Posted by robbieroflcopter
Just do this:




No more rattles!
Why does the left header look longer then the left befor it bends inside
Old 08-07-2015, 08:54 AM
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Originally Posted by 10mm_
I thought you had to space the floor plate thing down, or buy a new one?
due to their long collectors, you know this going is going to happen. They supply the spacers. The new belly plate they offer is nice too, still way less expensive than the others, with as good , if not better performance and fit.
Old 08-07-2015, 09:00 AM
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Originally Posted by sycraft
due to their long collectors, you know this going is going to happen. They supply the spacers. The new belly plate they offer is nice too, still way less expensive than the others, with as good , if not better performance and fit.
Sorry but that means they don't fit. I know it's a simple fix to "make" them fit, but I wouldn't want to give up any ground clearance at all.

They are for sure a good value, but I think they could have done flanges and tucked them a little better and charged a few more bucks and it would be a lot better option.

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Old 08-07-2015, 09:09 AM
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Originally Posted by 10mm_
Sorry but that means they don't fit. I know it's a simple fix to "make" them fit, but I wouldn't want to give up any ground clearance at all.

They are for sure a good value, but I think they could have done flanges and tucked them a little better and charged a few more bucks and it would be a lot better option.
they tried different primary lengths and found the length to produce the most torque. So they do fit as designed. If you know this going in, then they do fit as sold.
Old 08-07-2015, 09:27 AM
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Originally Posted by sycraft
they tried different primary lengths and found the length to produce the most torque. So they do fit as designed. If you know this going in, then they do fit as sold.
That's true they are very up front about the fact that the headers don't fit lol
Old 08-07-2015, 09:56 AM
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They have very long primaries but still don't limit ground clearance. The tunnel brace bends upwards exactly where the collector is. The wheel wells are still much lower.


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