headers: SS vs Ceramic & 4-2-1 vs 4-1
03-Sep-2003, 04:58 PM
#1
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Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Toronto
Posts: 978
headers: SS vs Ceramic & 4-2-1 vs 4-1
Just wondering what the advantages are to each of these differences.
- SS vs Ceramic
- 4-2-1 vs 4-1
what kinda power increase am I looking at here ? besides DC(expensive) is there anything out there that will make a difference that is moer reasonably priced, I know the old addage "you get what you pay for" but we all have budget limitations and would like to stretch our dollar as far as we can stretch it.
oh and is there such thing as an OEM b16 SS header from honda ?
thanks in advance!!
- SS vs Ceramic
- 4-2-1 vs 4-1
what kinda power increase am I looking at here ? besides DC(expensive) is there anything out there that will make a difference that is moer reasonably priced, I know the old addage "you get what you pay for" but we all have budget limitations and would like to stretch our dollar as far as we can stretch it.
oh and is there such thing as an OEM b16 SS header from honda ?
thanks in advance!!
03-Sep-2003, 05:06 PM
#2
OEM headers are best, but hard to come by... like JDM ITR and CTR ones. Mucho $$$ as well.
Believe it or not, Kamikaze is the next best brand (given value for dollar). There are better ones, but with more compromises... and MUCH MUCH more expensive, and are tuned for only one area - redline power. You can read up on this on Endyn's site after extensive testing, they chose Kamikaze for their supercharged app's.
IMO 4-1 is better than 4-2-1 though most ppl will tell you 4-2-1 is more of a "street" design, but other than being 2 peice for easy install... I really firmly believe 4-1 is better by design.
SS>ceramic always.... last longer (though not forever) and look better... ceramic is bound to flake in several years no matter what, and if you damage it (scrape on bottom) it'll rust whereas SS won't.
whether it's worth the money is your own decision to make.
Believe it or not, Kamikaze is the next best brand (given value for dollar). There are better ones, but with more compromises... and MUCH MUCH more expensive, and are tuned for only one area - redline power. You can read up on this on Endyn's site after extensive testing, they chose Kamikaze for their supercharged app's.
IMO 4-1 is better than 4-2-1 though most ppl will tell you 4-2-1 is more of a "street" design, but other than being 2 peice for easy install... I really firmly believe 4-1 is better by design.
SS>ceramic always.... last longer (though not forever) and look better... ceramic is bound to flake in several years no matter what, and if you damage it (scrape on bottom) it'll rust whereas SS won't.
whether it's worth the money is your own decision to make.
03-Sep-2003, 05:11 PM
#5
2.5 inch collector is one way to tell... as for config... to be honest I forget. Not a B-series *****, so it never stuck 
Wait for ryuujin or one of the other JDM ****** to come by and they'll know best. I don't wanna mislead you. 
Wait for ryuujin or one of the other JDM ****** to come by and they'll know best. I don't wanna mislead you.
03-Sep-2003, 11:23 PM
#6
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Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 3,084
Originally posted by bbarbulo
2.5 inch collector is one way to tell... as for config... to be honest I forget. Not a B-series *****, so it never stuck Wait for ryuujin or one of the other JDM ****** to come by and they'll know best. I don't wanna mislead you.
2.5 inch collector is one way to tell... as for config... to be honest I forget. Not a B-series *****, so it never stuck
Wait for ryuujin or one of the other JDM ****** to come by and they'll know best. I don't wanna mislead you.
Anyways, I had those long *** write up just now and the stupid server tells me I have too many images so I couldn't post it, and when I clicked back it deleted my whole damn post
ANYWAYS...
Ways to tell the difference from a JDM ITR OEM header...
1. Virtually indestructible.
2. Weighs as much as a whale.
3. You can't see your own reflection (unlike SS)
4. It's a 4-1 design and not a 4-2-1 design
That's all that I can think of right now
04-Sep-2003, 01:58 PM
#11
no... these two don't complement each other, but rather replace each other. A header is a tubular contraption designed to space the exhaust pulses out evenly such that it creates a nice pulse in the exhaust system with just enough backpressure to scavange exhaust gasses while the valve is open. This is why equal length headers are primo... length/diameter of primaries is key to good tuning, but nothing beats dyno results... sometimes a nice step in the primaries is needed, sometimes that chokes the engine. An exhaust manifold just dumps into a ... exactly that... manifold. All the gasses from each cylinder are dumped into one place, and then routed out through the "downpipe".
An exhaust manifold just dumps into a ... exactly that... manifold. All the gasses from each cylinder are dumped into one place, and then routed out through the "downpipe".
04-Sep-2003, 02:17 PM
#14
ohhhhh yeah that's a manifold... cast iron... cheap as hell, durable as anything... problem is, on the 6th gens they have this catalytic converter built in... making them like a $700 replacement part 
phew... ALSO really ***** with your emissions cuz then if you get a header, the cat goes further down the line, so it takes longer to reach operating temp, which means the secondary o2 may be getting anxious... and it COULD result in a CEL. I didn't say will... cuz god knows enuf ppl run headers w/o problems, but it could trigger an infeffective cat code!
phew... ALSO really ***** with your emissions cuz then if you get a header, the cat goes further down the line, so it takes longer to reach operating temp, which means the secondary o2 may be getting anxious... and it COULD result in a CEL. I didn't say will... cuz god knows enuf ppl run headers w/o problems, but it could trigger an infeffective cat code!
04-Sep-2003, 02:23 PM
#15
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Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Toronto
Posts: 978
hahah yah ... i had that problem ... when i did my swap.... i was running straight pipe because of where the cat was placed on the stock D motor. went up on a lift for some regular maintenance and I was like WTF?!
LOL
LOL
05-Sep-2003, 01:19 PM
#18
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Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Toronto, ON
Posts: 1,562
Originally posted by bbarbulo
ohhhhh yeah that's a manifold... cast iron... cheap as hell, durable as anything... problem is, on the 6th gens they have this catalytic converter built in... making them like a $700 replacement part phew... ALSO really ***** with your emissions cuz then if you get a header, the cat goes further down the line, so it takes longer to reach operating temp, which means the secondary o2 may be getting anxious... and it COULD result in a CEL. I didn't say will... cuz god knows enuf ppl run headers w/o problems, but it could trigger an infeffective cat code!
ohhhhh yeah that's a manifold... cast iron... cheap as hell, durable as anything... problem is, on the 6th gens they have this catalytic converter built in... making them like a $700 replacement part
phew... ALSO really ***** with your emissions cuz then if you get a header, the cat goes further down the line, so it takes longer to reach operating temp, which means the secondary o2 may be getting anxious... and it COULD result in a CEL. I didn't say will... cuz god knows enuf ppl run headers w/o problems, but it could trigger an infeffective cat code!
