Locally made headers vs. Branded headers

[hectik_7]

Now now this may be a stupid noobish question, but that's beside the point. Can somebody please explain to me if and why are locally made headers from your exhaust shop are a waste of time and money,

AND

Would it be better to invest my money on imported goods such as buddyclub etc..

Would i be missing out on potential kw? increase air flow etc.., and if someone with experience of both goods give me there personal opinion on both, like for example if they've tried both on thier car, and noted obvious differences.

Thanks,,
Khaled

[hectik_7]

bummbbbbb

[B18cEG]

Bigger brands normally do alot of R&D to create good headers where as most local places just make the headers to make them if that makes sense, Bigger brands = equal length, better welds, made for power.

[EG5]

Locally made in Australia , JDMyard K swap header
Equal tuned length 4-2-1 header , hand made collectors , fully tig welded
Proven 11.82 sec down the 1/4 mile on my EGK24A

[Limo]

if your going to go local, look into the quality of the product and any previous proven performance, then you have to compare the prices.
also not many local exhaust shops will stock honda exhaust manifolds, mainly fords n holdens. so you may have to goto a shop like JDM yard to get one.

[Benson]

Have a look at the US market for headers. Brands like SMSP, SSR, ASP are a few good ones

[Slaz]

There are very few Australian header makers out there, rather exhaust shops that are able to make a good looking header, but very few people that work in exhaust shops arnt that clued up on the science in headers, manifolds or exhaust systems in general, they just throw something together that looks right or similar to something else, they can get around this by testing many headers, but the number of people here just dont allow for the r&d like previously suggested, thats why the states have the rep and experience they do, as do Japan but they are particular in design and testing, stemming from motorsport but i wouldnt apply that tag to all Japenese headers, but some are very good at what they do, some have made that many that they got there performance wise in the end.

The copied headers out of the states are just copies of proven headers like TODA, SMSP, HYTEC, RMF, SSR to name a few.

Unless your 100% in the ability and experience of the person making your header then id suggest spending your money on a copied proven product if on a budget, or get a real TODA, HYTEC, SMSP, DTR/SSR header if after the most from your set-up.

Research and look for examples of headers on engines close to your build to guide you, but it doesnt stop there either, your exhaust system affects your performance aswell.

Good Luck.

[EK1.6LCIV]

Alot of local shops can produce some rather good designs in terms of headers, I've always bought my exhaust from OZ shops made in house, never been disappointed

[Slaz]

Are they good looking ones, or ones that back to back on a dyno will out perform the ones mentioned?

Maybe some pics, info, dyno figures and where built would help, all the ones mentioned you can find hundereds on posts on different combo's and dyno proven results/differences.

[EK1.6LCIV]

dynos are only a tool, and the same variables arent going to be there the same time usually

dont go by dyno figures alone as most are misleading... alot of ppl will put additives in their fuel (to boost octane), etc which is not a good way to make judgement as it's not what I would call 'day by day' use

on a stock Honda (B16/18) engine not much will better the factory jdm item, which is why it's still retained a good value today

[Slaz]

Dynos are only a tuning tool, but i did mention back to back tests.

The JDM 4-1 is a good header as you say, but i wouldnt say best performing header on a stock engine.

Not trying to argue here, rather inform Hectik abit, to spend his money wisely and do research opposed to trusting some guy who says, i can make a header.

[roar]

agree with alot of whats been sed so far....

any aus exhaust shop knock-up header can vary in quality/performance greatly, depending on the knowledge/skill of the maker as well as materials used.

larger aftermarket parts manufacturers will make a science of it, ensuring that their header pipes are equal length/perfectly suited for the application. However, once again the quality/performance can differ, tho even xforce headers will have a semi-decent quality/performance, tho not as precisely (and expensively) made as jdm parts.

In terms of performance, the more defining question is whether or not ecu settings will be adjusted post-install. On a stock ecu setting, the jdm 4-1's perform almost as well as the jdm header pipes (toda, spoon etc). Once the ecu has been properly tuned to adapt to the new parts, thats where the true potential of expensive high quality jdm/usdm headers will show...

Often you'll find off-the-shelf high-quality headers will "fit" alot tighter than custom/xforce headers as the tolerancing will be much much tighter. You often see this in the bolt holes that connect the header pipe to the block. Xforce use larger holes to compensate for a non-exact fit. Toda/Spoon/Maximworks/etc will have precisely machined holes for an exact fit.