Fast Motorsports Headers and Solid Up Pipe have horrible fitment

I was doing a poor college students budget build on my 08 and I thought it would be a great and cheap and easy install but boy was I wrong. The Fast Motorsports UEL headers may look like its built with quality but it did not fit very well at all. It looks like it was built with some quality welds and and bends but the fitment was way off. Even the gaskets it came with didn't fit the bolts where a pain to put in. When mounting it on the bottom of the motor to the holes on the flange of the headers, it didn't even come close to lining up with the ones on the motor. We had to modify it alot to get it to line up with the holes. The up pipe was the biggest pain in the ass to install. We actually had to pull the turbo and rotate it slightly and to make it work. Now my turbo is a little crooked. When put putting on the up pipe I had losen the bolts on the lower part of the header to get to line up with the header becuase it had a huge gap distance that was leak central right there. It even messed with my ERZ downpipe. That downpipe fits like a glove but after installing the header and up pipe it was a huge hassle to put back on since it was more rotated then normal. The gaskets it came with were very cheaply made. They bent and broke because the wholes werent properly measure or anything when trying to put them in between header to up pipe, then up pipe to turbo. I had to use grimmspeed gaskets to install but then we even had to modify the all the gaskets just to make it work. This header is ridiculous. Im rather disappointed. I don't know if Fast Motorsports messed up on the building rig or what. The fitment pissed me off so bad and was such a bitch to install.

 

Thank you to Mike and Todd for the installs @ Infamous Performance and Tuning

Wow that sucks jay. Looked good under the hood tho'. Wish you had a better option at the time.

 

Impressive that it was able to be made to work huh? Good to see you today. We need to hang out more often (not at my house with a pregnant, irritable wife).

Will look to upgrade later down the line gtspec el headers, and the avo intake inlet pipe then that is the 99% true finish of stage 2.5. It was great seeing you today too. Yeah we should hang out more often

I had the same problem with my fms up

 

Not to mention the hardware they sent with it much longer had to grind all the studs near the dp atleast 3/4 inch

This is why I no longer buy cheap parts.

This is why I no longer buy cheap parts.

 

QFT.

 

Why are you surprised?

This is why I no longer buy cheap parts.

 

QFT.

 

Why are you surprised?

 

 

Amen...

 

Thats why I try to stick with name brand companys. I'd rather pay more for a proper fitting part then pay less and have issues trying to install it.

Why are you surprised?

 

Why are you trollin'? Jay was not suprised, he was disappointed.

Not trollin'. Just saying.

 

If you buy a cheap, knock-off part, why would you expect flawless fit/finish? Expect fitment issues, and quality issues, anytime you buy anything made in China by people who have likely never even driven a car.

 

I think the track record of FMS parts has shown terrible quality and fitment. Heck, quality was so bad that Infamous Performance nixxed the offering of the FMS TMIC (branded differently) before even selling a single unit.

You are preaching to the choir about cheap parts! I wholeheartedly agree that cheap parts = poor fitment + cheap materials and agree that FMS = headaches.

All I am saying is Jay for being a "poor college student" and wanting more than his means was not about expectation, it was hope.

 

The truth is that he had a crackpipe for an uppipe, it needed to go, and all his friends (like me) are terrible influences since he sees their cars modded to the hilt. The fact is, his car is running stronger and harder than it was with the leak.

 

Sorry for the stupid somantic argument. Just tell me to stop acting like Hmmrdwn next time

^ exactly. Expensive mods are for later when I have a solid job and have graduated. At least it looked better then the ebay ones with a cleaner finish on the insides. The Ebay ones look horrific on the insides but just disapointed.

 

I knew it was going to have an issue or two I was just wishfully think that it would fit like a glove. I have no idea how I cracked an oem up pipe. Must of been me boosting really high on the old modified rallitek tune. Well it is in the car now so yea it runs like a champ more or less. It has boost creeps like a mother. Once it kicks it gives me a big surprise every time the car starts flying. My cars pretty good for a budget build its spooling alot faster then I had expected.

FMS headers were my first header 'upgrade'. I found an older DIY thread for installing headers, read it over and did the damn thing. The problem was they didn't line up. I ended up getting an incredible shoulder and back workout wrestling with those damn things and at one point I was expecting the damn welds to crack. Yet when I got the ProSport UEL and eventually the GTSpec ELH they fit like a damn glove. When it came to FMS though, I was told 'Oh they're just like <enter name brand here>, but cheaper.' Right. Just like them, except they don't f'ing fit .

We introduced a hand sledge hammer to header to get it to fit and banging it on foam mats to go in further at the mid joining points. Well theres no seperating them apart now and we had to use the grinder on some of the bolts. Thank god no cracks or dents in the pipes or welds. Definitely kind of fit now with all the muscle we used to make it fit. Like I said above everything is slightly rotated. Kind of drives me nuts. Wrapping these headers was a pain too. If I could do it all over again I think I would of been better off with a pair of ebay synics EL headers and up pipe since those got a bunch of good reviews on nasioc and they fit nice or I would have bought more expensive headers but would of took a year longer to procure my build. I'm a poor college student so I try to build and get as much power as I can for as cheap as possible.

Yeah no doubt man...not knocking you at all, just saying I know EXACTLY what you're talking about when it comes to those crappy fitting FMS headers

HAHA yea I know . Just wished my oem up pipe didnt crack inside its own heat shield. I seriously hope FMS/Import Image Racing reads this thread so they know to make modifications and produce better fitting products.

This is so funny it should be a sig:

 

I seriously hope FMS/Import Image Racing reads this thread so they know to make modifications and produce better fitting products.

 

Anyhow, suprised your oem up cracked. Sorry it did. Wish you had just replaced it with an sti up to save yourself some skrilla. At least you are finally getting that kick in the pants you have been wanting when the turbo hits!!! FWIW, I know of 2 sets of synics locally that have been cracked.

 

...

 

And don't forget that most of your boys with highly modded cars are at least 10 years your senior. In 10 years you will be able to afford more car parts that I can now, I'm sure. Hell, if you can make me 10 years younger, you can HAVE my car.

I seriously hope FMS/Import Image Racing reads this thread so they know to make modifications and produce better fitting products.

 

Don't hold your breath. They don't care about anything but taking your money. If something doesn't fit, no returns. If you get it and then find out they fit horrible? 15% "restocking fee". Scam, plain and simple.

Yup a thieving company

Also had the poorly fitting FMS Uppipe..what a waste of money.

Was a pain to install it. Fit was far from perfect. In the end we made it work. Another quality exhaust componant that a sledge hammer was needed to install, lol.

Was a pain to install it. Fit was far from perfect. In the end we made it work. Another quality exhaust componant that a sledge hammer was needed to install, lol.

 

Yeah I couldn't say they got anything right with this up pipe. Too long of studs, mis cut gasket, an absolute pain in the ass to install. STAY AWAY!

 

Dave

Thanks again Mike. Even the header wrapping was a pain hahah not enough spacing between the header pipes. It took an more than an hour to wrap the damn thing

Yeah no doubt man...not knocking you at all, just saying I know EXACTLY what you're talking about when it comes to those crappy fitting FMS headers

 

Yours of which I now own...

 

I will be doing a test fit to find out what issues they have and I will be correcting them before going in for a final run.

 

I think it will make it easier for me since I have access to a lift and well my whole catback system is "ebay" type knock off.

 

Funny part is people think FMS can fix the issue... They are only re-sellers... I would almost guarantee you that their parts are all supplied by M2. The up pipes are EXACTLY the same.

Yours of which I now own...

 

I will be doing a test fit to find out what issues they have and I will be correcting them before going in for a final run.

 

I think it will make it easier for me since I have access to a lift and well my whole catback system is "ebay" type knock off.

 

Funny part is people think FMS can fix the issue... They are only re-sellers... I would almost guarantee you that their parts are all supplied by M2. The up pipes are EXACTLY the same.

 

I thought you installed them already after coating them and whatnot? As far as I can remember, if you put one side on the other side wouldn't line up so it took some wrestling to get them on. I'm not even joking when I say my back and shoulders were workout sore after I got done. It was crazy.

 

You're dead on about FMS not doing anything. Perhaps there's a friendly manufacturing plant in China that will repair them....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:lol::lol::lol::lol:

Yours of which I now own...

 

I will be doing a test fit to find out what issues they have and I will be correcting them before going in for a final run.

 

I think it will make it easier for me since I have access to a lift and well my whole catback system is "ebay" type knock off.

 

Funny part is people think FMS can fix the issue... They are only re-sellers... I would almost guarantee you that their parts are all supplied by M2. The up pipes are EXACTLY the same.

 

Want to help a fellow legacy brother out with a right fitting one. FMS dont even respond to emails