Are 360 headers an issue like on the 355?

They work on the 99 F360. Website needs to be updated.

 

Will Fabspeed offer 430 headers in the future? TIA

 

They are in the works as we speak.

 

There are other threads on here that document the issue, but if you have a Tubi or Capristo, or Hyperflows, or any other after market exhaust component, I understand that Ferrari will use that fact to void the normal Federally-mandated pre-cat warranty, with the argument that reducing back-flow prematurely ages the pre-cats. I recently had an exhaust issue, having difficulty passing the emissions test, and the first diagnosis was pre-cat failure and FNA was already lining up to deny a warranty claim, but it turns out the pre-cats were fine. Most gear heads don't think putting on a Tubi should have any effect on the pre-cats, but the federal statute states that the warranty in in place as long as the original parts have not been modified or replaced with non-original equipment. It may be an unsettled legal point whether a downstream component can void the warranty on an upstream component. Rifledriver has a lot of information on this topic.

 

Are owners of CS and 360 with the optional factory sport exhaust who have 'unplugged' the valves on their exhaust, at risk of prematurely wearing out their headers?

 

Guys,

I guess my main point in question is this

1) what % of the 360's have had precat issues by 5k miles?

2) what is the cost of replacing them officially from ferrari? if they do fail?

Are bad cats a big issue? big expense? we talking 3k here or 10k?

 

what are the signs of precats going bad?

 

I've been researching this issue as well as a few others. I don't have answers but it seems that the factory headers have pre-cats on them as well as air injectors. What this plus Ferrari markup means is that headers cost $10-12k in parts to replace (plus labor). Fabspeed headers are wonderful, but you might not pass a California smog inspection if the inspector knows to look for aftermarket headers and doesn't see a CARB approval on them or he/she notices the lack of the air injector (the injector only runs for the first 30 secs. to a minute but it's important to cold-start emissions to light off the cats faster; that said, it's not something that affects the sniffer test because that's done when the car is warm and on rollers). I say "might" not pass only because it's certainly possible an inspector doesn't notice. The presence of the headers should not actually affect tailpipe emissions so they should still pass the sniffer; they just won't get by the eagle-eyed visual inspection.

How common is the problem of cracking headers in 360s? Hard to tell. I think many haven't been around long enough or have enough miles to find out. I will say that in looking at a lot of 355s that almost all of them have had header failures at around 15k miles. Since a lot of people (experts, not me) seem to say that 360 headers aren't built any better than 355 headers, it seems likely that 360s will experience similar problems, only more expensive because 355 headers are about 1/2 the cost (no pre-cats on 355s, which keeps cost down; cats have very expensive rare metals in them), and with more risks since a reversion wave on a leaky header could suck cat material into the engine. So it seems prudent for a 360 owner to (1) set aside $12k for "when" the headers need replacement, unless you want to roll the dice on aftermarket headers and smog inspection (or live outside California!); and (2) have them inspected at each annual service interval by someone who knows what they're doing (the flanges are buried under layers of shielding, so the only way to do this is via a "smoke" test, where they introduce diagnostic smoke into the engine and see if any comes out near the headers instead of out the tailpipe). Or, roll the dice on smog inspections and get Fabspeed headers (they are soooo gorgeous!).

The other thing to do is either revert to stock mufflers or not get aftermarket ones until after your 8 yr. 80k mile federal emissions warranty runs out (with no guarantee Ferrari will honor that without some fight, especially if you have been running an aftermarket muffler). Most cars are rolling off expiration of that now. 360s only were sold through what? '04 or '05, so that means the last of them will have their emissions warranties expire in the next couple to three years. FWIW, I've also read that 430s have the same problems. One more thing. There is some talk about how it's crucial to mount aftermarket (or OEM) mufflers without putting any pre-load on the headers. There is some thought that the added stress from pre-loading the headers with the weight of the muffler causes the headers to fail earlier.

 

Would it be possible to remove the existing OEM headers and gut out the pre-cats to avoid any issues? Will putting aftermarket headers such as Fabspeed bring on a CEL due to the missing pre-cats(I guess same question applies to my first one).

 

Rumor has it you can do either, remove pre-cat or go with fabspeed without CEL IF you have your computer reflashed... I guess the new program ignores that first set of O2 sensors..?

If anyone has info on the availability of service reflash & cost... please post. We really need complete valid info as many of us 360 owners will need to address this issue in the future..

 

If you are going to "gut" the factory manifolds, you might as well replace them with an aftermarket set. The factory manifolds will eventually crack, just like the 355 manifolds do. Keep in mind though, the factory manifolds are covered by Federal Emissions Warranty for 8 years or 80k miles, which ever comes first.