Just finished up my Hooker LTs and will hopefully be installing the Y pipe and welding it to the Catback tommorow. Is it okay to drive the car for 15-20 miles with open headers? Just don't want to mess anything up or hurt the car at all. Thanks guys

 

post up the vids! lol

 

It might heat up really quick, but other than that it should be ok. Just say hi to the cop that pulls you over as it's gonna make a hell of alot of racket on the road.

 

If you are going to be running open headers with the 02 sensors in then I believe you need about 12in. of piping after the long tubes for the oxygen sensors not to burn out. I am not sure if that would occur within only 15-20 miles like you will be doing or not but just letting you know.

 

Actually i should be driving 10 miles at most tommorow, and i have heard about it not being so great for the o2's, but its only 2 miles to school and 2 miles back, then another 2 miles to the shop to do the rest of the exhaust.

DAVE:
I did notice that it heated up pretty quick today, but once it got to the 3/4 mark on the gauge it never went any higher.

 

thats 6 miles, you should be fine imo.

 

well i was thanking about running open headers everynow and then ,so are u guys saying this will be bad for my o2 running in like this...iam making it so i can just undo my y pipe...

 

Just get a cutout.

 

My car ran like absolute crap with open headers, only drove it a few miles but that was enough. I went back home and added about 14"-16" of exhaust pipe behind the collectors and it ran perfect again.

I drove 60 miles in one day with just the extensions after the headers, it ran just like I had a full exhaust connected... just a **** ton louder!

Once fresh air starts hitting your O2's, the PCM will go batshit trying to compensate, bad news for your car.

 

When you run open headers the O2 will likely cool at lower RPMs if the O2 is too close to the opening. The O2s have an internal heater and open exhaust allows the O2s to cool, and a cold O2 will read erratically (reason why the ECM stays open loop until they are both 'ready').

When most people run open exhaust if they collect data they find when idling the O2 reads a false lean condition, this causes the ECM to compensate and add fuel to WOT, this leaves the O2 covered with black soot like anytime the car runs rich.

The common solutions are to correct this in the tune (lock BLMs ONLY recommended on a known CORRECTLY tuned vehicle) or ensure the O2s are far enough back from opening to allow them to stay heated.

 

My buddy and I ran his the other night and I think we pissed everyone off within a 10 miles radias Sounded like a BIG block about take off to the moon!!

 

i have a cutout just still desiding if i want to put it on or not yet. open headers would be so much louder tho..but i didnt know the o2 will get all messed up.

 

ok sorry for the thread jack
i deleted my muffler and disconnected the piping from it to the y pipe. is there still enough piping so that my o2's dont cool down? cause i did notice the other day that the underside of my car is getting rather black from the open exhaust. the car seems to be running fine and really sounds great at WOT, although it is almost as loud as a harley at idle.

 

You're good to go.

 

COOL THANKS MANG! LONG TUBES AND SOME DYNOMAX BULLETS ARE ON THE WAY AS SOON AS I GET SOME MORE CASH. DAMN MONEY PIT!