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Review of PaceSetter Y pipe

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Old 05-01-2007, 09:26 AM
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Default Review of PaceSetter Y pipe

After a lot of trouble getting my adjustable TSP catted Y to adjust correctly I decided to say "to heck with it" and I got a new Y pipe. I ended up going with the pacesetter because of the clearance it is suppost to provide.

*Note, this is a review for the TWO piece ORY Pipe*

There were always a few concerns with the pacesetter Y pipe:

The flat spots: Yeah, they have to take away from the performance. How much? I have no idea. But I will say this, I have so much ground clearance that I can almost get an entire coke can to stand up ANYWHERE in my exhaust system. It hits on the rim of the can at the top. If I were maybe an eighth of an inch higher then the whole can would go under (I am at stock ride height). If you were considering long tube headers and lowering the car then I would have to recommend this Y pipe. With stock ride height I will take on the nastiest of speedbumps without worrying. Not so much with my TSP catted Y ( the dents and scrapes all over it will tell you about those speed bumps too!)


Bumping: Well, If you were to attack this with no other mods to the car other than Long tube headers, then you may bump. I've got poly mounts already and it hasnt banged yet! Keep in mind, I had to set my bumpstop aside (yet another purchase indication of how well the fit is with the tsp catted Y), mainly because the flat spot on the Y pipe didnt fill in the band that makes up the bumpstop. It might work, but I decided to chance it and go with just the poly mounts at first. So far no banging!

The Merge: Yeah, the merge sucks. But then again most of the merges leave something to be desired. I do feel, however, that if a man was so inclined to get out a dremel or some type of grinding device that this problem could be corrected. The problem is that the hole that the drivers side pipe has to enter the merge is too small. If the metal on the passenger side pipe was trimmed then I dont think this would be an issue. Plus, with the new two piece construction you can actually reach the merge with tools. I just didnt care...I was so cought up in the fact that putting on a y pipe didnt involve adjusting a million different joints (Personally I think "adjustable" is a clevar advertising trick that allows it to be shipped in a box 1/10th of the size. I cant imagine why you would want to adjust a y pipe in 6 different places anyway)

The fit: No complaints at all. They slid over the headers like they were made to be used (imagine that, pacesetter headers fitting a pacesetter Y ), the cat back (hooker) fit right together without ANY issues. I didnt have to do anything to it out of the box to make it fit on my car. Period. It was the easiest thing I have ever dont to the exhaust on my car. No grinding, no cutting, no filing...nothing.


Other: Like always, I will say to chuck the U clamps. If you want to retain the ease of use with this Y pipe, or you ever want to sell it and would like to disassemble it then you better use band clamps. U clamps crimp the pipes and make it almost impossible to seperate them. So needless to say, I used ALL band clamps. You will need the two that come with the headers (thanks TSP!) and then Two more....for a total of 4...to include the clamp that connects the Y to the catback. The "adjustable" Y pipes will need a lot more because of all the adjustment points. So, you will save a considerable amount of money on band clamps by using this Y pipe. Another note to consider, there is a hanger next to the transmition that the stock Y pipe used. The pasetter Y has a provision to use this hanger. I dont know why I was so thrilled about this, but it just seemed like an awsesome idea! Once that bracket was lined up you knew that you had installed the Y pipe on at the correct spot (no more adjustment onto the headers or toward the catback needed). Plus this little dude would keep it from sagging or rattling.

*Heres an interesting note: When I changed over from my TSP catted Y pipe and Loudmouth to the PaceSetter ORY and Hooker catback there was a noticeable seat of the pants gain. I dont know how, but it honestly felt faster. That might actually be the difference in the Catted Y versus the ORY, even with a crappy merge and flat spots*

The beauty of this Y pipe is that If I can get this kind of clearance, then you can too. It wont require any "working with it" to get the best fit and clearance. It doesnt go on but one way!

I'll post some pics soon.

Last edited by KurtRardin; 05-01-2007 at 07:31 PM.
Old 05-01-2007, 09:54 AM
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Yeah I have the U clamps on now, but want the band clamps due to a possible small leak near the middle.
Old 05-01-2007, 10:11 AM
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Unless your pushin a TON of HP that flat spot isnt goin to affect HP at all, and yea My pacesetters Y pipe fits better then stock
Old 05-01-2007, 11:46 AM
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I recoomend the Pacesetter Y pipe to all the owners of the cars I work on. It fits like a glove and the flat spots are smooth inside and in no way hurt performance at all. Where the flat spots are the pipe actually is wider there so the overall diameter is probably the same.

The merge isnt that great because of the swag left inside. It can be cleaned up with a die grinder and a 6" long burr.
Old 05-01-2007, 02:08 PM
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I'll get some pics up soon. I went out to the parking lot but its like parking in an old mine field. Sure the clearance looks great when you park over a crater.

You know, I noticed that about the pipe being a little wider. I tried pusing my bumpstop on it in the begining and it didnt want to go on it at all.

Over all, I am in disbelief over how much clearance I have.
Old 05-01-2007, 04:23 PM
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I love the clearence of mine. My spohn TA actually hangs down lower- crossmember. Absoutly no complaints here.
Old 05-01-2007, 06:04 PM
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Heres a picture of the drivers side header and the clearance:

Old 05-01-2007, 06:05 PM
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Heres the passenger side clearance:
Old 05-01-2007, 06:06 PM
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Heres a pic of it under the merge:
Old 05-01-2007, 06:08 PM
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That picture should speak for itself. A little over a half an inch to go before it hits the merge... hmmm this should settle the question of which y pipe to get if you're looking for clearance and only want to spend about a hundred bucks.

Last edited by KurtRardin; 05-01-2007 at 06:19 PM.
Old 05-02-2007, 12:36 PM
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I got my first whiff of gas today. It was right after I started it up and the wind was blowing from the back to the front of the car. I must say, its not as bad as I hear people complaining about. I actually enjoyed smelling what a musclecar is suppost to smell like
Old 05-02-2007, 06:56 PM
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A 3" Y is actually overkill. Everyone just gets so hung up on it. Those 2 3" pipes dont merge into a 6" pipe so its no big deal. Both sides merge into 1 3" pipe. The flat spots dont huirt anything.
Old 05-02-2007, 07:04 PM
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I really like the pacestter y pipe. But after about a month it has started banging just a tad when you really get on it. I did use the crappy clamps though so it probably shifted a bit. I will probably switch to band clamps and readjust it soon. Ground clearance is great. I am at stock ride height and have no worries at all.
Old 05-02-2007, 07:47 PM
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i want to buy a pacesetter ORY will it work with QTP headers? or do i need to cut and grind?
Old 05-02-2007, 07:47 PM
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I have a Pacesetter Y-pipe "clone" (SS Autochrome) and it hits the floor like a bitch.

The problem is that the drivers side header collector is angled upward, while the Y-pipe is straight with a flat spot on top for clearance. So the Y-pipe is flush against my floorboard, and it still won't slide all the way onto the collector straightly because its hitting the floor.

The only thing I can think of it that the Y-pipe should have a slight downward bend in it coming off the drivers side collector for clearance.

Its pissing me off, I just need to get true duals and be done with this Y-pipe crap
Old 05-02-2007, 07:50 PM
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Originally Posted by SLP Firehawk
i want to buy a pacesetter ORY will it work with QTP headers? or do i need to cut and grind?
Al lot of guys with non-Pacesetter headers have good luck with the Jet Hot ORY for whatever reason. Might want to look into that instead.
Old 05-02-2007, 09:13 PM
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Originally Posted by ONEBADASSWS6
The problem is that the drivers side header collector is angled upward, while the Y-pipe is straight with a flat spot on top for clearance. So the Y-pipe is flush against my floorboard, and it still won't slide all the way onto the collector straightly because its hitting the floor.

The only thing I can think of it that the Y-pipe should have a slight downward bend in it coming off the drivers side collector for clearance.

Its pissing me off, I just need to get true duals and be done with this Y-pipe crap
PaceSetter headers? Mine arent angled up at all. The Y pipe doesnt bend down any that I remember. I think you've got an issue with your headers, they're suppost to just fit together like a glove. Look at the pic of mine at the top, I think you can see the drivers side header. Its flat. I've also got poly mounts too, but I've heard a few people talking about how that is suppost to raise the engine up...well, I didnt notice any of that either. If you've got pacesetter headers, then I think you've got an issue with one of them.
Old 05-15-2007, 09:30 AM
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Okay...after the hotcam the gas is definately a lot stronger than I expected, but then again I have no clue how rich I am running. Once I figure out where my fuel mixture stands I will adjust and then comment on the smell again.
Old 06-06-2007, 10:33 PM
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Still no scrapes. I drove around with some large individuals in the car not too long ago and found myself in a parking lot with speedbumps that made rock crawling contests look easy. This Y pipe has been the best $125 I have ever spent on this car. Period!
Old 06-07-2007, 08:04 AM
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Originally Posted by Country Boy
A 3" Y is actually overkill. Everyone just gets so hung up on it. Those 2 3" pipes dont merge into a 6" pipe so its no big deal. Both sides merge into 1 3" pipe. The flat spots dont huirt anything.
Actually, it all bottlenecks down to a 2.75" connection at the I-pipe. The y-pipe was designed to hook up to the stock exhaust system incase it was retained just like any aftermarket catback was designed to hook up to the stock y-pipe. Because of this, most any y-pipe or aftermarket catback has a 2.75" connection where the 'y' and 'i' go together. Good info for when you're buying clamps.

My PSY was slightly modified so I didn't have to spend 8 hours wrestling with motor mounts. Plus, those flex couplers help it fit like a glove with my QTP headers. Ground clearance is great, sound is great, and it all goes through the CME out back.
Attached Thumbnails Review of PaceSetter Y pipe-dscn2866.jpg   Review of PaceSetter Y pipe-dscn2867.jpg   Review of PaceSetter Y pipe-dscn2868.jpg  

Last edited by SSpdDmon; 06-07-2007 at 08:22 AM.


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