im with ya buddy, broke the 1k mark last month. i also drive the car pretty hard. still no CEL
CVT? No tune? Have you made any other upgrades or modifications? Any particular brand of fuel you tend to purchase? When PRL revoked their tentative guarantee of being CEL-Free I got some jitters (RE: Emissions Inspection). Even though my new home affords me state inspections that allow for one not-ready status, I was not particularly enthused about needing to have ktuner just to kill a CEL. That not being the case, I'm stoked about the upgrade.
yup CVT. currently using Flashpro but it is unable to disable the CEL like Kturner does. ive been using Shell vpower 91 oct, but for the past week im trying the 91 octane at the 76 station.
Ah. Nice. Started with my last car, but this little lady has only had Sunoco to drink. They don't differentiate the additives they blend by the grade or octane rating of their fuels, and the Sierra Club tends to favor them amongst petrol companies.
you can get whatever pipe you want but its cheaper to get both of them at the same time.
i have a catted piped but you can only smell it from behind the car. if your smelling something underneath the cabin then theres a exhaust leak
it still smells with a catted version? do you know if you can still pass smog? a cat doesn't necessarily mean you can pass smog
if they were to stick a probe in your tail pipe i can see it failing, but fortunately we dont require smog test down here, lol
There is really no difference between stores with the same octane, besides additives and whether they take care of their storage tanks.
This is an awesome and Very helpful write-up!!! Hats off to you for the time and effort you put into this!! Taking time to share and the detailed info is going to be most helpful!! Thanks @chiefbrodySince PRL hasn't released an official installation guide, i'm making this to help out anyone who preordered the Downpipe / Front Pipe.
Total Time: 3 Hours
Tools Needed:
Flat Head Screwdriver
Phillips Head Screwdriver
14mm Socket
12mm Socket
10mm Socket
Breaker Bar
5mm Allen Key
12mm Wrench
14mm Wrench
Put your car on ramps or jack stands and make sure its cooled down before starting.
Remove 6x flat head screws that release when you turn them 90 degrees.
Remove 4x phillips head screws on the front edge of the metal cover.
Then you should be able to remove it by sliding it backwards off the 4 plastic hangars.
Remove:
2x 5mm allen key screws
2x 10mm hex head screws (front left not pictured so thats why the blank circle is there)
Remove:
14x Push pin clips (I'm missing one so it isn't pictured)
5x 10mm hex head screws
The panel will pretty much just fall out once you've gotten most of the clips/screws out
I started in the back and removed the 3x 14mm hex nuts securing the OEM front pipe to the rest of the exhaust
Then I removed the 3x 14mm hex nuts at the front of the OEM Front pipe.. turns out the whole threaded stud came out. I needed to use a breaker bar up here.
I pulled the exhaust bushing off at the circled peg that is connected to the chassis
I had to take these two 10mm hex head screws out so give the front pipe a little more wiggle room to get out.
I also had to push down on this heat shield to give the front pipe the last bit of clearance in order to come out.
The OEM front pipe should come all the way out now.
Remove the exhaust bushing and put it on the PRL Front Pipe the same way you took it off.
Remove 2x 14mm bolts from the mounting brackets at the bottom of the cat
Also loosen 2x 14mm bolts connecting the bracket to the engine so there is room for the cat to drop through when you remove it.
Now to the engine bay:
Remove whatever air intake you have, I have the Injen SRI so all I had to do was disconnect the sensor, remove the nut securing it to the block, and release the hose clamp closest to the turbo.
Remove 2x 10mm nuts holding this bracket to the engine so you have room to get to the cat.
Disconnect the two O2 sensor plugs from this bracket and remove the bracket.
Remove 3x 12mm bolts securing this heat shield to the top of the cat.
Forgot to take a picture but there are 2x 14mm bolts and 2x 14mm lock nuts holding the cat to the turbo, I had to use a breaker bar to get them loose and then take your time here and loosen them all evenly.
NOTE: Please acquire new lock nuts or standard nuts (M10x1.25) for when you attach your PRL Downpipe because I now have a permanent lock nut on my downpipe/turbo so good thing I don't plan on putting the cat back in.
After you have the 2 nuts and 2 bolts off make sure you disconnect the secondary O2 sensor plug and then the cat should be able to drop through the bottom as long as you loosened the 2 mounting brackets.
Use a crescent wrench (Idk what size the nut is on the O2 Sensor) and remove the O2 sensor from the cat and install it on the PRL Downpipe before you install.
Make sure you keep the OEM exhaust gasket on the studs on the turbo and then start reinstalling everything in reverse order.
I didn't take any pictures of reinstalling it because I was really excited and there wasn't anything challenging or different about the reinstallation.
The other pictures below show the direction in which I used the provided nuts/bolts, yours might fit through one way better than the other but as long as you get them nice and tight i don't think the direction really matters.
There is no torque specifications available as far as I'm aware so I just tightened them until i couldn't anymore. You'll have to use a backup standard 14mm wrench to tighten the nuts/bolts.
Obviously make sure you put the supplied exhaust gaskets in between the connections of the PRL Front Pipe at the downpipe and exhaust.
Not sure the proper way or time to put the exhaust bushing back on but I did it last and it was a pain in the ass but I still got it on there.
Reinstall the bottom two panels the same way you took them off, you shouldn't have any issues.
Enjoy!
**I've never written one of these before so please let me know what I can do to make the guide better and if I left anything out.**
Absolutely true. If you have Marathon stations, they have the best additives IMO. I fill up with Sunoco every time. I think they may be the only brand that applies the same additive/detergent package to all their pump fuel, and reserve high octane fuel for those that need it. They also sell the highest octane pump fuel (93) where I live, so with a tune I would still use them.
