These kits are very well designed and not difficult to install. They will take you a bit of time but that's half the fun. It took me about 30 hrs for the HO kit and three a-pillar gauges including relocating the intake air temperature sensor. Installing that sensor requires drilling and tapping the intake. I built a special jig for my drill press to secure the intake prior to drilling the hole.
If you have any skill at all, you and a buddy can have the 400 HP kit installed in a weekend.
It's not all that difficult if you have an entire weekend to devote. The 400 kit doesn't even require the vehicle to be lifted and a hand full of tools.
These kits are very well designed and not difficult to install. They will take you a bit of time but that's half the fun. It took me about 30 hrs for the HO kit and three a-pillar gauges including relocating the intake air temperature sensor. Installing that sensor requires drilling and tapping the intake. I built a special jig for my drill press to secure the intake prior to drilling the hole.
If you have any skill at all, you and a buddy can have the 400 HP kit installed in a weekend.
I drilled mine into the #6 runner (2nd from front on driver's side). The sensor is a 3/8" NPT. The standard hole size for that is 37/64". I didn't have one and couldn't find one over the weekend I was doing the install so I used a 9/16" which is slightly small. The intake is made from relatively soft aluminum so it tapped fine in the smaller hole. Take your time when tapping and back the tap in and out lots and use threading oil liberally. When drilling the hole, I made a wood jig to bolt the intake to; then I bolted the jig and intake to the table on my drill press. The jig keeps the intake from swimming around as you cut the hole. After you've drilled and tapped, you need to thoroughly clean the intake inside and out with soap and water and more water and pressurized air to make sure that all cuttings are gone before installing it on the car. It wouldn't be good to get any stray cuttings into the cylinders.
The 3/8 NPT pipe tap is shown in the following image (note - the nickel anti-seize is used on the barrel portion of the spark plugs used in the '05 - '07 heads.
The sensor is shown as installed in the #6 intake runner. The IAT wires are connected to the MAF harness and the MAF IAT sensor leads are dead-headed.
It's not required on either kit but it's a good idea on both. It's easier to do the relocate before the intake is installed on the car. Otherwise you have to pull it completely off to drill it, tap it, and clean it. If you don't actually want to do the IAT sensor and wiring, I would at least drill and tap the hole and plug it so that you don't have to pull the intake back off the car if you change your mind in the future.
Over the winter I've installed a computer (Magden M1b) that will allow me to monitor the IAT temperature. I'll be able to see the difference between ambient temp (which is what the unrelocated temp would be) and the IAT reading from the relocated sensor. Over the summer, I'll post up the differences so people can make their own judgement about the necessity of the relocate.
I drilled mine into the #6 runner (2nd from front on driver's side). The sensor is a 3/8" NPT. The standard hole size for that is 37/64". I didn't have one and couldn't find one over the weekend I was doing the install so I used a 9/16" which is slightly small. The intake is made from relatively soft aluminum so it tapped fine in the smaller hole. Take your time when tapping and back the tap in and out lots and use threading oil liberally. When drilling the hole, I made a wood jig to bolt the intake to; then I bolted the jig and intake to the table on my drill press. The jig keeps the intake from swimming around as you cut the hole. After you've drilled and tapped, you need to thoroughly clean the intake inside and out with soap and water and more water and pressurized air to make sure that all cuttings are gone before installing it on the car. It wouldn't be good to get any stray cuttings into the cylinders.
The 3/8 NPT pipe tap is shown in the following image (note - the nickel anti-seize is used on the barrel portion of the spark plugs used in the '05 - '07 heads.
The sensor is shown as installed in the #6 intake runner. The IAT wires are connected to the MAF harness and the MAF IAT sensor leads are dead-headed.
If I were you I would do it with atleast 2 other guys...helps alot and you get plenty of other things done at a time. I had a total of 6 friends of mine work on the thing at a time. One would work on the fuel pump, while one would work on the guages, while the most "mechanically inclined" would work on the supercharger. Save time trust me. Took us about 3 full saturdays. Great kit though.