The truth about headers

[headbussaboi]

OK, So all headers are made of stainless steel, right? So what matters if I bought x brand rather than say...DC Sports? What is the truth behind all this? Same goes for an intake system; they are just bent metal tubes, correct? Besides the filter, what is the difference? Someone lighten up this question for me.

[93EXaesthetic]

i know if you get ceramic...they are lighter...<weight reduction good>...also they channel the heat produced by the engine...out the exhaust..instead of dispersing it into the engine bay...cooler engine = more power.

[Gen4Acclude]

i know if you get ceramic...they are lighter...<weight reduction good>...also they channel the heat produced by the engine...out the exhaust..instead of dispersing it into the engine bay...cooler engine = more power.

actually its justa coating of ceramic

[93EXaesthetic]

actually its justa coating of ceramic

oh

[starchland]

Many of the stainless headers (megan,etc) are just copies of the DC sports header. Im probably going to order the megan header off ebay soon, ive heard good things. I believe the quality and construction of the welds are important on a header, where as a generic intake pipe has no welds, nothing to break down, unlike a header. Im not a huge fan of ceramic headers, because apparently it can chip off and expose the metal...

[headbussaboi]

So new information says Megan and OBX are companies that "copies" DC Sports, any objection on that statement?

[TÜNE.FREE]

maybe not a direct copy but hey, all they make is a replica of the stock but better and bigger primaries and a bigger downpipe, so u tell me, if they make this header better than stock and it has to fit almost certainly it has to be the same shape and such, depending of course on how much they cost for instance, SMSP and Bisimoto, hell they r expensive, and thwey r better, and DC, megan, OBX are cheaper and replace a direct stock.. same thing.. later-

[headbussaboi]

Looks like it's either OBX or Megan then. I might get the Megan since I already have their strut bars.

[cb7-R]

OK, So all headers are made of stainless steel, right? So what matters if I bought x brand rather than say...DC Sports? What is the truth behind all this? Same goes for an intake system; they are just bent metal tubes, correct? Besides the filter, what is the difference? Someone lighten up this question for me.

True about the intakes but not about the headers. Good headers are developed by researching diffrent harmoinc frequencies,tube sizing and bends in the header. Even diffrent welding and coating techniques are studied. Thats why a DC sports header may give you 3-7 hp while say an SMSP header will give you around 18-22 hp. Header choice should reflect you overall intentions with your motor.

[owequitit]

A couple falsities here:

1) They are not all stainless steel. Most of the ceramic coated ones are mild steel. They don't need to be stainless because the ceramic coating prevents them from corroding. The ceramics are lighter than the stainless versions, but they are both significantly lighter than stock.

2) On a header such as DC Sports, the primary/secondary relationships are about the same as stock. Where these headers really see their gains is in the collectors, which is partly why they don't make much power. (SMSP's etc, are engineered from the ground up to make the most power possible, and they cost accordingly). The primaries on a DC Sports are less than a wall's thickness larger than stock, and you will only "notice" more power in the top end. I say "notice" because the only thing that noticably improves is passing power/ times, and even those you have to pay attention to.

3) As far as gains on the copies go, it depends on the header. I know someone who had an Ebay header that made less or equal power to the stock A4 manifold he has on now. He said it feels about the same. My DC Sports did make a slight improvment over the stock A4 Manifold, so beware. If it doesn't make more, you would be better off just finding an A4 manifold in the junkyard and putting that on, or keeping it if you already have one.

[KillerCam282]

I rocked the OBX headers 2 years ago. Huge diff over the stock. (completely stock too)

[starchland]

isnt a6>a4?

[deckeda]

So far what I'm reading is that any hp gains are minimal. And torque? You guys do this for weight reduction over the stock cast iron unit? To look cool? What?

Haven't seen anyone mention heat. These things don't have heat shields, so unless you wrap them (and even is you so ...) what's the heat output like?

[accord91lx]

isnt a6>a4?

In the case of exaust manifolds and headers, no. The a4 is an actual header, as its not cast iron.. I was able to obtain one cheap at a junkyard so thats what I put in place of my a1's cast manifold. The a6 is a cast manifold. I believe there is a thread here on the forum complete with pics.. If you wanted, search and you'd see the difference.

[starchland]

So far what I'm reading is that any hp gains are minimal. And torque? You guys do this for weight reduction over the stock cast iron unit? To look cool? What?

Haven't seen anyone mention heat. These things don't have heat shields, so unless you wrap them (and even is you so ...) what's the heat output like?

Of course with any bolt on mod, all gains will be minimal, its when you add all these parts together that you pick up a bit here and there, or more importantly, you are tuning your power curve for high end. I havent heard anyone say they do this for weight reduction, although i guess every little bit helps, of course it looks cool after too. I dont think heat is such a big issue, I mean when the car is moving, air is flowing throughout the engine bay.