We do installs of products quite often. We have a shop, tools and highly trained experts doing all of our installs. We love hearing from customers who have done their own installs. Most customers tell us that the install went well, or if they had issues, but it is rare that we get such an in depth pictorial of a customer install.

It’s no secret in the Ferrari community that the F430 lacks in exhaust manifold quality. You would think that with that price tag, this thing should be able to make you breakfast too! It is because of these flaws that the aftermarket industry exists. Our goal is to find the flaws, in an otherwise perfect vehicle, and not only mitigate them, but enhance the overall performance of the car.

Here is his pictorial install. If you’re a fan of this pictorial or his in depth analysis, check out other articles by him here. If you’re interested in purchasing Agency Power parts for the Ferrari F430 shop here.

1. Take off the engine bay panels – see the beginning of this post for details on how. Also disconnect the battery so the ECU adaptive parameters are cleared.

Next the undertray needs to be removed. I did this by jacking up one side at a time and undoing the bolts by reaching under.

2. I removed the rear wheel arch liners so I could photograph the manifolds more easily and also I wanted to clean them up. They are held in place with a number of screws and a single bolt at the top accessed from inside the engine bay. However, it is not necessary to take these off.

3. Working from in the engine bay, disconnect the oxygen (Lambda) sensors from the wiring loom. You will need to remove the “P” clips holding the wiring in place to the chassis.

4. Next undo the Lambda sensors from the manifolds (22mm spanner). Put the sensors in a safe place taking care not to damage them.

5. Undo the temperature probes (17mm spanner) and move them out of the way taking care not to damage the tips.

6. Undo as many of the bolts that join the manifolds to the cats as you can from the top. I only managed one per side, having to remove the others from underneath. Mine were badly rusted so I replaced with new stainless steel bolts (M8 x 65mm) and all metal self locking nuts (M8). I retained the springs, shafts and large washers.

7. Now the work has to be done from underneath. I raised one side at a time and worked by sliding underneath the car. I jacked up the side using the rear jacking point and rested the front jacking point on an axle stand. I also rested the front wheel on a couple of blocks of wood.

8. I rested the rear of the car on two axle stands under the chassis and used some wooden blocks under the wheel.

9. The jack was right where I wanted to slide in under the car so I moved it to under the chassis cross member just forward of the front of the engine.

10. The way you have to slide under the car means that if it were to come down on you then a painful death is almost certain. Most of the weight was taken by the axle stands but I had the jack as a backup and the wooden blocks as a last resort. Please make sure you have adequate support before going underneath.

I started on the right hand side (this was the easiest as the AC compressor is in the way on the other side). Firstly undo the remaining cat-manifold bolts discussed above. Now that leaves just eight 12mm nuts to undo (per side). You will need an assortment of tools – I used every single one in the picture below. You wouldn’t be able to do this job without a really short spanner and a flexible head ratchet spanner as well as regular sockets and spanners.

11. This is what you are working with – the engine mount is right in the way.

12. The problem is compounded by the heat shielding which makes access a nightmare. Another issue is that the studs will undo which means more turns to free them (if you can make a turn – most came out 1/8 turn at a time). Just be comforted by the fact that the replacements manifolds go on a lot easier.

Once all eight bolts/studs are off the manifold can be withdrawn from the car.

13. Now the studs need to be separated from the bolts. I soaked them in PlusGas and doubled nutted the other end in order to get the bolts off.

14. Before going any further I took the opportunity to torque up the cam covers (10Nm). I had a slight oil weep from the gasket ends so thought I’d take the opportunity to see if tightening the bolts up would cure the leak. The heat shield needs to be removed first (two 10mm bolts).

15. Now the studs can be put back into the head.

16. I bought new OEM gaskets which were slid onto the studs.

17. I also bought new “doughnut” gaskets that fit between the manifold and cat. Fit these to the new manifolds before getting them into place. The manifolds are fitted by inserting them into the cat and then rotating them onto the studs.

Rob supplied new 12mm copper plated self locking nuts – these were put into place (easier typed than done). The workshop manual calls for a tightening torque of 25nm but I’ve got no idea how you’d get a torque wrench into a position to give anything like accurate reading. I just did them up tight.

18. Now the manifold can be bolted to the cat with the new bolts.

19. Now the temperature probe can be refitted and the lambda sensor put back into the car.

20. All that’s left is to repeat for the other side. There is the added complication of the AC compressor – here’s what you have to deal with.

21. Access to the bolts behind the compressor is very tight. At one point I thought I was going to have to remove it in order to get the bolts off. However, after a short break, I tried some new tool combinations/positions and manged to get them all off. Access to the bolts towards the rear of the car seemed positively roomy afterwards.

Once everything is back together the engine can be fired up. Reconnect the battery and wait at least ten seconds with the ignition on before cranking. Whilst the exhaust is cool, put your hand down by the gaskets and feel for gas leaks.

Straight away I noticed an increase in sound – the exhaust note was much more “throaty”. I’ve not driven then car yet but am expecting some decent performance gains – Agency Power claim an extra 25bhp which would be useful in tipping the car over the 500bhp mark. I will report back once I’ve managed a road test.

If you’re interested in any Agency Power products shop online here or email sales@agency-power.com.