it's differant here in oklahoma, as i don't "have a guy". So i got charged the higher end, of the average. but the car sounds awesome, and i got an alignment and some other car goodies out of it, might be why they did all that for free. lol just sucks seeing 700 dollars, cause it makes me think i could have saved 200 bucks.

Btw PPE headers and Joe Z exhaust is yummy

 

Where did you end up going?

 

Extreme lube on council and NW expressway, they are all ex hudiburg toyota techs, they did a decent job

 

Wow, I wouldve never thought to bring it there. I dont even take my car to the city to get serviced even though its closer lol.
Maybe I will give a second thought to oklahoma mechanics.. Ive always just had bad experiences with them with my 350z..

 

yea there is just one part of the install i have a question about, i think the plastic part just under the engine cover where the sensors are is broken, or it wouldn't fit, i put a email in to PPE but haven't heard back

 

so no one has tempted fate and done this install by themself? I have done "difficult" jobs in the past, upgraded Ko4 turbos on a b5S4, and had some difficulty but learnt a lot along the way and had an unreal sense of acievement at the end.

i am considering doing this, and if i can get some help from my buddies a DIY seems to be in order.

 

I'd do it myself, but it's not something on my list right now. Penske suspension and limited slip differential are more important to me.

Dropping the front subframe is really not for the faint of heart though. Getting it back in place and correctly positioned isn't a simple as just bolting it up and tightening everything down again. I dropped the front subframe on my Supra to fix a leak at the rear of the upper oil pan. It was a bit of a pain to get the wheelbase the same on both sides again.

 

There must be A method to dropping it though, such as marking the initial mounting locations with a grease crayon etc.. This is something I am invested in as the shops around here would murder you on install costs.

 

Ideally you'll have less than 0.10" left to right. It's not impossible, it's just a PITA. There's a reason it isn't cheap...

I did a couple of 2JZ-GTE heads (ported, oversize valves, and some other stuff) for people I know and had someone I didn't know ask me how much to do the same. I told him I pick up my die grinder at no less than $3k. He said it's too much. I said, I really don't want to do it, so the price reflects this. I imagine you're running into the same problem.

FWIW, I know my work is worth it though. A GE head I did is on an 8 second car...

 

supposedly Paul at PPE says you can somehow do the install without dropping the subframe......

 

I might be able to, but I've got a lot of practical experience with taking things apart and putting them back together. I'm not so sure about the average shade tree mechanic being able to do this without help from someone like me.

 

I'm debating back and forth about doing the install myself or taking it to a shop. I just had a shop quote my 950 dollars (with a 99 dollar high flow cat installed). I think for that much I'll just do it myself.

 

On a 350 it was 400$ , ISF max is 700$ seem about rite...

 

I've heard the local shop here will charge $800 and that does not include welding of any cats in. Someone mentioned they wanted to charge slightly more to wire in the o2 conditioner grrr. We're onto doing our second set; it would be possible with one person and no lift but it wouldn't be as fun. As far as doing it without lowering the subframe; just isn't feasible or even logical see the pic below for clearance with the subframe up and subframe down, left/right engine mounts are in the way and need to come out too. If anyone in the Seattle area needs a hand or gets stuck let me know! I've encountered a few different angle of attacks to installing these when theres a tough spot, like the darn dip stick tube!

Subframe up: iphone pic


Subframe down:

 

Anyone do this in south florida?