sup,
here's my first diy build-thread, hope you enjoy
and maybe learn a thing or two from me.
happy building..
alrite, so basically i decided that i did NOT want to keep my crappy/cracked-in-half
oem header that was intertwined with my rusty/pos catalytic converter, and instead
wanted to upgrade and up my street cred with this....
this my fellow civic enthusiasts is the skunk2 megapower RR exhaust.
this beautifully crafted steel piping is at a full 76mm, japenese n1 style,
with a 110 mm tip! and if that isnt enough to convince you that this exhaust means
power, take a gander at this! http://cms.skunk2.com/id/420/MegaPower-RR-Sound-Trip/
trust me, bigger is truly better.
so, in order to fit this chunk of steel on my ej, i had to do the infamous ex-exhaust swap,
similar to what the homeboy addiction2bass did,
http://www.hondacivicforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=73504
this is a great write-up btw!
this is a diy for those 96-00 dx/lx/cx/hx owners who are tired of their pos exhaust header
and want to get that clean engine bay look!
basically, what you would need for this conversion is:
1. cat-back exhaust system of your choice (here i will show my skunk2 exhaust)
2. some trendy headers (megan 4-2-1 header was enough for me)
3. oem honda civic 96-00 "ex" catalytic converter (i purchased a direct-fit magnaflow hi-flow cat.)
4. (1) 16" o2 sensor extension and (1) 32", both purchased here:
http://passwordjdm.com/PasswordJDM-O2-Sensor-Extension-Kit-P1767C320.aspx
5. basic hand tools, socket wrench with 10mm and 12mm sockets handy, etc.
6. torque wrench (this is a must! dont plan on going any further until you have one of these
babys in your posssession)
7. misc. ish like new nuts and bolts if necessary, brake cleaner and sand paper to clean the area
where you will be mounting your new header. also some anit seize always helps!
now, in my case, my gigantic exhaust piping was too big to mount directly onto the hi-flow cat.,
so i had a buddy of mine do some welding for me. here are some before-and-after's:
-this was a 2 point flange that was generously included in my exhaust system
-this is the end of the cat. in which would be bolted onto the resonator pipe
-and this is the flange welded on
now with the hard part out of the way, the fun starts...
i layed out all my materials in front of me ready to be installed.
before you start anything! safety first!...i recommend some good gloves and
eye-wear because i came out of this conversion with rust filled, bloodshot eyes and
torn up fingers...i'am not responsible for your stupidity, be f*ckin safe!
moving on....
be sure to allow engine to cool for some time..
i jacked the car up, and secured it. and also removed my splash guards.
then i began to simply remove my old/crappy oem header...
some skill may be required here to remove certain stubborn nuts,
orrr you can also buy a set of irwin bolt-grips to aid you.
so far so good, i removed the 9 bolts holding the header in place, now
i needed one more that was further down below attached to the left side of the cat.
then, after that, the mid-pipe slowly followed with ease.
fuuuuhhh dirty right?! this is where the brake cleaner and sand paper come in,
i sanded down the outer gaps a bit and then sprayed it clean with brake cleaner.
to keep the car legal, not only do you need the catalytic converter (especailly in f*ckin cali)
but also these wonderful freakin o2 sensors at either ends of the oem cat/header that are
truly gonna be a b***h to take out...so try to find yourselves some o2 sockets if you can to make
your lives easier!
i used the jdm 16" extension for the bottom of my header, and the
32" for the cat.
now that the head is clean of scraps and dirt and grease stains and blah blah blah you can mount on
your new header! you can use the oem gasket but just be sure to clean it and make it look nice lol
i also used a little anit seize for the threads on the cylinder head.
WARNING: time to bust out that torque wrench, because from here on throughout the build
you will being needing to make each bolt to oem standards!
for the bolts connected to cylinder head = "start off from the center and make your way outwards"
(tighten) to 22 ft-lbs.
for the bolts connecting the header to cat. = 33 ft-lbs.
now ladies and gentlemen, it should all be downhill from here..
remove the stock exhaust system by unbolting and removing
oem rubber holdings BUT DO NOT THROW AWAY!! you will need
these rubbers for the new exhaust lol
this is my stock exhaust removed and in comparisson to my new beauty..
and in we go!
its all pretty self-explanitory from here gents.
just bolt on everything correctly and you'll be ready to go!
reminder: be sure to re-torque ALL bolts and nuts to oem standards AFTER your first
joyride at the head and mid-way flange once your hot new toy cools down.
hope this has helped some of you..
good luck with all builds on this forum! civics fcukin dominate and rule
the higways!
check out my vid please
and always remember:
GO FASTER.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txF5fHhe2Vk
to yo mother.end.
