4:00pm.
That was the time that I decided to take on this daunting task…….to complete the installation of my Stage IV upgrade from Imagine Auto. Little by little I whittled away at the bolts and nuts and clips and hangers to eventually release the K16 turbos from their prison in my 2002 996 Twin Turbo. After speaking with several people including Stephen at Imagine Auto and Colin at PES Tuning, I began to understand the nature of this endeavor. 12 hours to do this I was told. I said, who are they kidding? How could this possibly take 12 hours to do? I had the lift, all the parts, the tools, the wrenching experience…….I’ll show them!! Well, after removing the muffler, the exhaust manifolds, heat shields, and turbo air ducting, I finally was at a point where all I needed to do was remove two oil lines and a hanger bolt.
Finally, the turbos were free!! This was, of course, after several telephone conversations to Stephen for advice with certain aspects of the removal. Saturday night, 11:00pm, and Stephen in Kansas is taking telephone calls from this backyard mechanic in New Jersey. Kudos Stephen! Where else could one expect this type of service?
So, back to the story. K16’s are out and K24’s are now ready for installation. Attach the turbo oil drain tanks…..oh wait, the attachment bolt is INSIDE the tank, what’s up with that? Leave it to them Germans to figure out a way to save space. OK, K24’s are hung and oil lines connected. What time is it? 2:00am!!! Man I am tired. Focus Ken, focus.
Taking my time to insure that I don’t miss anything, I trudged along piece by piece reinstalling everything. One of the last things is the Europipe. Man this thing is heavy. The initial installation was much easier since I did it on my back on a creeper with the muffler on my chest. Can anyone say bench press?
Lifting this muffler up over my head for the install after 10 hours of overhead wrenching and not much sleep the night before was not easy. It is done though….phew!
OK, checklist, everything torqued, no extra parts, oh yeah, oil….can’t forget that.
8.5 quarts Mobil One 0W40. 0 weight. What is up with that? How can you have 0 weight? Does that mean it has the same viscosity as water? Anyway, filter and oil are in and time for bed. What time…….
4:00am.


I took a few pictures during the installation for your viewing pleasure. Don’t and I repeat, don’t, try this without a lift. To do this installation on your back under the car would be suicide.

This is a picture of the old exhaust manifold vs. new header. Stephen pointed out that the collector, where all the pipes come together is better designed. When you see it up close, it is clear that the exhaust flow will maintain its velocity and not undergo turbulence at that joint.


This is picture of the right side with the exhaust manifold removed.


This is a picture with both exhaust manifolds removed.


This is a picture of the K16(left) impeller vs. the K24(right) impeller. You can clearly see the steeper angle of the vanes.


This is a picture of the exhaust hanger bracket. Oui!


This is a picture of the K24 installed.


This is a picture of the right side header and turbo installation completed.


This is a picture of the left and right sides completed. All that is left is the Europipe.


This is a close up of the K24 vanes.


This is a close up of the left side header and turbo.


If you are planning to do this upgrade, I highly recommend you let the pros do the installation. I found myself calling upon little tricks I have learned from years of wrenching. A novice would come upon many roadblocks along the way. Having the right tools to complete the work is equally important. Fortunately, I have collected many over the years. I even bought a flare nut wrench set specifically for this installation with respect to the oil lines upon Colin’s advice. Thanks Colin.
I also want to thank Stephen for his patience and help with my several telephone calls throughout Saturday night.

Now I have to try this puppy. I will report back later……………Stay tuned!!

 

This is a picture of the final installation including the Europipe.

 

Ken,

Do you know the gauge thickness of the material from which headers are fabricated?

 

Very impressive Ken!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Ken, first of all, congrats on the upgrade. You make it sound so easy, hope it's everything you wanted it to be

 

You are a brave man...You must have a great sense of accomplishment. Can't wait to hear you impressions.

 

Very impressive. I veiw what you did up their with brain surgery. Hope you find it does everything you want.

 

Wow. That would have taken me a week, ten calls to Stephen, and the install would still probably have been done wrong...

Very impressive.

 

Well don Ken Stephen rocks like that...

 

Thanks for all of the compliments guys. The funny thing is, it is just nuts and bolts. All cars have them!! Rearrange their layout and change their sizes and they are all the same.

Seriously though, I took it for a ride and everything is A OK! I went out to the highway and kept an eye on the oil pressure gauge, temp gauge and kept my ears open for anything that looked or sounded weird. No problems.

So, I pull onto Route 78 (it is a major west/east highway that crosses NJ, which also happens to have the highest average traffic speed in the state in my opinion) and decided to let it rip.
Well, just before I did, this sparkling red Ferrari 355 cabrio flys by. Now what kind of car crazed nut would I be if I didn't give chase. I caught up to him and he moved from the left lane to the middle lane to allow me to pass. I did. He jumped in right behind me. I picked up the pace a little and he still followed very closely. Now, keep in mind, I haven't given it the right foot treatment yet because I wanted to make sure everyhting was right before doing so. Well, what happened next was nothing short of storybook folklore. With the urging of my right foot, the red mass that filled my rear view mirror became nothing more than a speck the size of a water droplet on my rear window.
I cannot believe how brutally fast this car is. I say brutally because the power is delivered in such a burst it defies description. You have to experience it to understand what I am talking about. Those in the know, know exactly what I mean.
All in all, I am extremely pleased with the product and its performance. However, I think I need better brakes.

 

Nice wrench work , Ken ! Oil changes and simple brake stuff is all I do in the garage these days , other than the DVs which were a bear, but satisfying to do because of their degree of difficulty due to tight space. Not having a lift, I'm getting too old to crawl around on a creeper , but it does bond you to your car when you can turn some wrenches on it and get grease under the nails to remind one that a Porsche Turbo or a '72 Skylark ( my first car ) are basically the same thing held together the same way.

 

nice kill

 

Chad,
I don't know the thickness of the header walls. I believe they are the EVO headrs purchased through Stephen. I am sure either Stephen or Todd can tell you.

MKW,
I am getting too old for this too! With regard to your Porsche/Buick comment, I would only say that the differences are in the engineering of the parts. I have noticed that the Porsche parts are very well engineered in general.

 

Congratulations on doing a job well done! It seems like you were rewarded with the meeting/dusting of the ferrari! Have fun, keep us up to date!

 

Very nice job on the headers and K24's. Now time for some video's and new pictures of the car.