anyone ever install one? can it be done by a decent home wrench monkey like me? like in the driveway?


http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-Stainless-...53.m1438.l2649




any tips appreciated

 

Yea its two bolts from the rear exhaust manifold and two on the other side right after the u-bend..


What I found amazingly helpful was using a socket wrench with about 15 extentions attached to it because its not a "straight" shot from under the car to the bolts on the rear manifold..

Please tho, for the price of that downpipe look at this.. These come with a 3" DP..

STAINLESS SS RACING MANIFOLD HEADER/EXHAUST GRAND PRIX/GTP/REGAL/IMPALA 3.8L V6 | eBay

 

Ohhhh how tempting!! that's a good deal . Ill have to think this over

 

I did a ZZP downpipe swap on my Monte years ago. Found it to be pretty straight forward. But I was also lucky that nothing was seized/snapped/rust-welded together.

As long as things come apart as they should, basic tools should do it and as mentioned, a bunch of extensions help. I had a couple really long extensions that worked well.
Here's some info on when I did the swap:
'04 Monte Carlo SS - ZZP Downpipe

As for the 3" DP, I am not a master on this, but I believe you need to watch about creating issues with back pressure since it's not a boosted car.

 

Thanks... so maybe the 2.5 wouild be a better choice? I was just thinkin bout doin this plus a CIA.

 

I would go 2.5 unless you are planning on switching with a turbo or supercharger.

 

I put the ZZP downpipe with high flow converter on my 2003 and it is currently on my 2004 Supercharged. The stainless headers with downpipe are a great deal but with no converter won't be legal in any states with emissions testing. Also it will throw codes in your computer and give you a ses light.

 

Yes I think ill just try the 2.5 downpipe with cat... see how that goes
thanks for the info guys

 

was watching Road Kill Garage and they did a episode testing exhaust and their conclusion was anything under 500 HP gets no benefit from 3" vs 2.5" They were testing using some hooked up 350's

 

I put a Magnaflow on my 02 and it made a noticeable difference. No problem swapping it out, but make sure you have some PB Blaster or WD40 for the bolts, soak them well. On mine, the bolts on the flange under the car to the catback were toast and had to be replaced.