Megan Racing Downpipe Install (Pics, 56k warning)

[scottsee]

I dont know how many great things i have heard about these downpipes. from dsmtuner, dsmtalk, AF. everyone seems to accept Megan Racing as the Exception to the law of "you get what you pay for".
Bull shit!! Absolulty wrong. this downpipe is crap. hands down not worth buying unless you plan on drilling out larger holes in the flanges, install a diffrent 02 & custom catback becasue it just dosn't fit on the stock 2g gsx!


Taking the downpipe off wasn'l any work at all. i used a breaker bar and 19mm to bust all the nuts loose. the last one gave me a little difficalty but not for more then 30sec's. it came out clean and in about 30mins. it was my first time ever doing this so it took a while.

i took some pictuers of the stock downpipe next to the Megan Racing Downpipe.





From this point everything went downhill. first i tryed to mount up the downpipe & gasket to the 02 housing. no go. it wouldnt fit. the o2houng bolts wouldnt fit through the downpipe Flange and the stock downpipe bracket was rubbing aginst the downpipe not letting the downpipe to fit in place. so i broke out my Mac tool Porting bit and made the Flange holes wider (see in photo). then i went to town on the bracket. after about an hour of fileing and grinding it barley fit but was still scratching the Downpipe. Fuck, so i just took it off. That was a major waste of time and it sucked ass. i had metal shavings allllll over me...




(Fucking bracket)

Once i got the downpipe to fit aginst the 02 housing the gasket that they sent me started coming apart. that was dumb. crappy gaskets. here is a pic of the gasket aginst the 02 housing. looks like there is a little porting that needs to be done!!!



After i took care of all that shit, it was time to bolt it on, and finish it up. i figured it was all down hill from here and i'd be done in 20 mins. I probably would have if the stock bolts would have fit. the 3in dowpipe is to wide and there wasn't enough room for the nuts to mount the Downpipe the Exhasut Studs. Im going to have to grind the Downpipe to make the nuts fit. I did not want to do that!! at that point i was like "fuck, what a waist of time, im so close to done and this shit happens. figures". i double checked, and tripple checked. and ended up getting one nut to screw into the stud. but the other one was a lost cause. just not enough room. so i figure i'd just bolt it up really tight and worry about it tomarrow because i just want to be done..

I use a 19mm wrench that took Forever menovering it around and getting it tight. i slide back to put on the Hanger thats welded to the downpipe. Shit, no nut for the stock bolt. its welded to the Body of the downpipe. All right, we'll move on to the home stretch and be done with it. Haha. this is how Megan Racing mounted its flange for the stock 2g GSX. not even close!!



I ended up taking it back off and puting the stock downpipe back on. i was extreamly supprised with all the shit i had to do to make it fit correctly. i hope anyone who is considering buying a Megan Racing Downpipe thinks twice about it.

I did get a nice picture of my leaking Autometer Electric Oil Pressure Sending Unit that i T-ed and remote mounted to the firewall via 3foot steel braided hose. i think its time to add more teflon tape.

[metalhedskater]

Damn dude...that sux....Take that shit back and get a better dp. Hope everything works out man!

[97_3clipse]

i can see how the craftsmen ship is good on the down pipe ....it would probally be better with a new o2 housing (tubular) and a exhaust shop catback...

[scottsee]

yeah. if somone were to replace everything at once it would be a fine Downpipe. But i was under the impression it was a dirrect fit onto the stock 2g.

[sganc4life_4]

I got a megan racing DP and it bolted onto my o2 housing perfectly, I also has a 3" catback ordered too and it fit right onto the catback no problem.

[Nayr747]

That really sucks. But I don't understand why you would try and put that on a stock exhaust. I got my Megan dp and it's been sitting in the box for a couple months now waiting for the N1 cat-back and cat (cutting up the dp). So how did the gasket fall apart? It looks fine in the pic. And with the mounting flange, would it be closer to the mounting point if it was bolted to an aftermarket cat-back?

[scottsee]

i put it on becasue its still better then the stock downpipe & cat. it was 7am and i had nothing better to do. The top layer of the gasket started pealing off. you cant see it becasue i took that picture before i tried mounting the Downpipe.
i guess im just shareing my dissipointment in this Downpipe. i was expecting it to fit my stock cat-back. its marketed that way.

[JoeWagon]

What's your plan... custom catback?

[scottsee]

i think thats the only option. whats the point of welding a flange onto that stock catback?? i've got to heat up the o2 suds with a torch and bend them out so i can get it on.

[Nayr747]

Why not an N1 or similar?

[hellah fresh]

Dude for the O2 sensor... My dad cut out the stock O2 sensor screw from the stock piping and then he drilled a new hole and welded the Os senser screw onto my new piping. Anyone in here ever do that besides me??

[ez1286]

you can buy o2 bungs at autoparts stores and weld it on that is if you have a welder.

[scottsee]

im going to buy the evo3 02 housing. i'm just going to leave everything alone right now. put on the housing, downpipe, catback at the same time as a turbo upgrade. im done fucking around with my car piece by piece. i feel like a junky going in for his fix, day afte day, never satisfied with whats been done, only whats to come!

i've almost 100% settled on the scm61. i like the idea of a 2year retard warrenty. unless an un-names hero i know of steps up to the plate and scores me a brand spaking new FP3065 for $899.

[scottsee]

Round 2

Got under the car at 11:30 this morning. Got done 6:30. Very bad day. Good thing was i had a better Idea how things came off this time! Where to start.

Got the stock downpipe off in about 10 minuets. Lucklely one of the o2 studs came out with the nut. So I slid a new bolt from my Megan Racing downpipe kit in its place and actually got them both to fit! I was antisipating on having to take the o2 housing off and drilling both studs out.

Anyway, I got 30min into it and 3mins from being done and somehow i stripped, crossthreded the o2 stud. So I took the 02 sensor off, heat sheild both top o2 bolt and lower rear nut. But that one o2 bolt
with the collant line running right over the top, what a bitch ass mother fucker. I've takeing the o2 housing off before so I knew what I was up agenst, but fuck! Ended up just draining the collant, and dissconnecting the line at the top of the T-housing & at the bottem at the oil filter housing. Took me about 50 min's McGivering my way with 3 extentions and a swivle. Finally busted the thing loose with 2 wrences connected together and 4 soaks of Nut Busters!.

Got the bitch on my vice and hacksawed and drilled the o2 stud out with my cordless drill. After cleaninf it back up, I test fit both new bolt on the o2 housing and matched it up with my downpipe to make sure it all fit before i put it back on! Got the o2 housing installed tryed putting the bolts in the holes and relised the Hot side of the turbo was blocking my way. While taking the o2 housing back off I noticed the upper rear bolt sezed on me. Somewhow it got cross threaded, It took me 20mins and some sore fucking hands to get it off.

Got the downpipeand o2 bolts on, and began tightining my o2 bolts. got both front top and lower ones snug. And while trying to Mcgiver my creation out of extentions and swivles up to the bolt with the collant line ontop of it I soon realised (30mins) that It wasnt going in, the threads would not catch. So I Died the bolt with my set and tryed agian. No go. So. My Megan Racing Downpipe is installed! Running oppen downpipe, and onle 2 o2 bolts holding! Yay fucking me!

Oh yay, got coolant in my eyes (both) twice from the open collant line that was in my way every time I tryed to get that o2 bolt on! After getting everything put away I looked in the mirror and saw somthing on my retina. Couldn't flush it out in the shower, so I went to the Urgent Care and had a doctor remove a metal fragment from my eye. scratched my Corneia. Can't see a fucking thing out of my left eye. Sorry about the bad grammer. I just can't see the screen!

Getting my 3in catback welded on tomarrow at the muffler shop. Looking forward to running strait pipe for the 3 miles. Meat'e

[Black97GST]

damn dude, sorry to hear about your shitty day. Hopefully everything is ok with your eye, and everything gets fixed with your exaust soon! today must be a BAD day, my girlfriend had a shitty day also.