Just got done installing my header and O2 housing. I have the Invidia. Very nice piece but I just want to mention that the size of the Invidia O2 housing REQUIRES taking the hotside off the turbo. We thought we were going to be able to do it quick and dirty since I was changing the manifold anyway but the size of the Inivida housing makes it impossible to even get the bolts and nuts back on with everything in place. Fortunately taking off the hotside sounds difficult but is really quite easy. Just make sure you bolt down your wastegate actuator before you go on a test drive and wonder why you're making almost no boost

Just to save some people some headaches.

- Patrick

 

I did this yesterday and just wanted to post what i found. I didn't remove the turbo inlet pipe, didnt find a reason to remove it. I didnt remove the o2 sensor in the car because i had previously tried to remove it on a friends car and it was almost ruined removing it in the car so i snipped the heat shield underneath the car so it could be removed with the o2 sensor in place. The heat shield wont be used again anyway. The o2 housing bolts and o2 sensor were a lot easier to remove in a vice then in the engine bay.

Otherwise everything went smooth. I forgot the bracket attaching the O2 housing the car so that prevented me from getting the mani off but that was my mistake.

 

dont u need new gaskets when reinstalling the header and o2 again? Will theyll be an exhaust leak? And i got my downpipe and testpipe al wellded to the catback so it would be a pain removing the the downpipe. Is there a way to do it whithout taking that out?

 

depending on the condition of the gasket, you can re-use them.the downpipe has to come off the 02 housing to do this. you may not need to remove it totally but it will get in the way if you just drop it

 

thanks for the info

 

I'm in the middle of doing this install and I wanted to know how tight to you tighten down the v-band clamp? Just until it won't go anymore?

 

there's a torque spec for it.

 

Very awesome write-up. Impressive.

 

good info

 

ok i have the buschur TBE and the O2 housing from his site also but now my downpipe seems to not want to match up to the housing anymore anysuggestion the flange on the downpipe seems to small to go around it i dont know why

 

quick tip. If you loosen the wastegate but keep it still mounted it makes putting the acuator arm back on to the flapper a lot easier.

 

This might be a stupid question but do you think its the same for the VIII?

 

it is all the same for the EVO VIII. I have never experienced one that did not fit. As far as I know they are pretty much all the same. The lowest bolt that is a pain in the*** is tricky. If you put the housing on and pull it back a little bit you will be able to start threading that bolt and work it on as it gains clearance. Again I am not 100% on this for the invidia piece, but I know that is how I have done every other one in the past. Glad you got it together though.

 

I completed this install with great success in about 5 hours and I am pretty dang good with a wrench too. Anyway, I want to totally agree with the before mentioned notes about this install and add a couple.

For the record, I used a dual puck 10.5 hotside and a megan racing 02 housing. My car had 45k miles on it.

Exhaust studs - As opposed to using STUDS in the turbine housing on the 02 housing side, I used bolts. I actually had some bolts from my old DSM days. These bolts and washers are exactly like the stock ones (tapered ends and all) and they fit just fine in the Megan 02 housing - no studs needed there.

Manifold studs - BOY was that tough working the manifold out off of these stock studs! That was a workout that I didn't want to perform AGAIN, so I decided to again use some good grade bolts as opposed to the studs through the exhaust manifold into the turbo. It took me a couple of extra minutes to line up the gaskets, but the bolts seem to be working fine.

02 sensor - Do yourself a favor and get a new one of these off the bat. I had so much trouble getting this out that I must have somehow damaged it. And let me tell you that there's nothing more disappointing than getting a CEL right after all this hard work. I wired in a Bosch Universal (58.00 at Autozone) and it cured my problems.

Also, I did NOT remove the compressor outlet from the turbo (mentioned already).

OH YEAH and my turbine housing CLAMP BOLT was stripped too! Good thing I had an old 14b one lying around.

About the performance:
I actually saw a noticeable DECREASE in boost threshold. In 4th gear I can hit full boost at 2800 rpms now! strange. I did, however, notice a decent decrease in transient boost response (LAG). It is barely noticeable. I will also track the mileage and let you guys know what it shows. The car is noticeably faster throughout the power range especially on top end. I think it was worth the money and time.

Next up CAMS.

thanks,

Patrick

 

just resurrecting this thread a bit, I can't seem to pull out the hotside from the turbo.even when i pry it with a flat screwdriver!! does it affect anything if i spray a little pb blaster on it? thanks!