headers

[mokeOne]

just wanted a quick opinion on which headers would be a good buy. i'm getting a MAM mid-pipe w/cat so i can keep the 2nd cat at least. but i'm stuck deciding if i should get the obx headers or the awr headers (although i read that you have to remove the a/c fan for the awr?) the price difference is making me lean towards the obx, just wanted to hear from you other hawaii dudes on this one. peace.

oh yeah, and do the obx headers eliminate the 1st cat? it doesn't say on the protege garage site, but in the pic it looks like it's outta there.

 

[vapors]

i think for either header install, your going to have to remove the fans because of the lack of space to slide the header into the engine bay. or you could keep the fans in and take out the upper and lower radiator hoses. but unless you decide to flush your cooling system, taking the fans out is the best option. i have the awr header and it was a task trying to get it in place. i had to go from underneath the car and slide it in. as far as quality-wise, the awr one is awesome it has bungs for both O2 sensors and for the EGR, i haven't had any experience with the obx header or heard about it from anybody in hawaii, so i can't really say anything about it. either way you go, expect a CEL. not right away but maybe after so many miles or drive cycles.

 

[Mazdamia]

I just bought a ractive header from Justin (KYMP5) in the group buy section. It was 163 shipped (to Michigan)!

 

[JOS3]

get the obx.

no, you dont have to remove the fan to install it.
yes, it removes the first cat.
make sure you do a MIL fix to prevent the CEL from coming on.

im not from hawaii, but i had the obx in my p5 and i loved it.

 

[mokeOne]

what's an MIL fix? i really like the awr headers, but they're about twice as much as the obx headers, and you know how the budget goes. also, if i do need to remove the fan to install, is there room for it to go back on later, or would i need a slimline type fan? gotta retain that a/c in hawaii, you know how the summer gets. sorry for the lack of knowledge here, i do lots of work on cars, just never with anything this new. haha.

 

[L8R]

get the obx.

no, you dont have to remove the fan to install it.
yes, it removes the first cat.
make sure you do a MIL fix to prevent the CEL from coming on.

im not from hawaii, but i had the obx in my p5 and i loved it.

exactly. no fans, no cat. youre car will get obnoxiously loud also... irritating kine.

MIL = no check engine light from the removal of the 1st cat and the resignator. u can search for a 'CEL fix' on forums. i think the how to section has something about it.

 

[daKiNeP5]

exactly. no fans, no cat. youre car will get obnoxiously loud also... irritating kine.

haha I can vouch for that. You heard Chris's car right? hahaha j/k man. I had the AWR and that was loud as **** without the cats and resonators. I put a resonator in the system and there was no rasp, the exhaust got softer, and you don't really lose power by doing so.

 

[mokeOne]

damn, even with the 2nd cat still there, and a resonator in the cat-back (i've got a megan exhaust sitting the garage right now) it's gonna be super loud eh? maybe i should just keep the 1st cat and get one of the shorty headers?

 

[Lord_Zath]

If you go for a shorty header, what's your purpose for modifying the car? Do you want sound or performance? If you want sound, don't even bother modifying it at all. Your midpipe will increase sound too, you know.

I agree w/Protejay5 - You do NOT need to remove any fan (I have OBX on my p5 now). There's also a 2nd option for avoiding a CEL. It's called the spark plug nonfouler fix and it is mechanical - in other words, you don't need to splice into your o2 sensor wire and solder a resister or two in.

Search for "testing new method of catless cars" or something similar to that for the thread.

AWR is more expensive and you lose a fan so I'd say go for the OBX. And it does have two bungs for both o2 sensors as well as a bung for the EGR valve.

LZ
Z

 

[daKiNeP5]

If you go for a shorty header, what's your purpose for modifying the car? Do you want sound or performance? If you want sound, don't even bother modifying it at all. Your midpipe will increase sound too, you know.

I agree w/Protejay5 - You do NOT need to remove any fan (I have OBX on my p5 now). There's also a 2nd option for avoiding a CEL. It's called the spark plug nonfouler fix and it is mechanical - in other words, you don't need to splice into your o2 sensor wire and solder a resister or two in.

Search for "testing new method of catless cars" or something similar to that for the thread.

AWR is more expensive and you lose a fan so I'd say go for the OBX. And it does have two bungs for both o2 sensors as well as a bung for the EGR valve.

LZ
Z

I had a both fans installed on my car with my AWR header. I just had to take them out for the install. You can have a monster of a car without it being very loud. Look at twilights car for instance. He has what? one of the fastest NA 3rd gens on the boards and IIRC he has two inline resonators. You figure if quieting the noise made that much of a difference in power, he wouldn't do it. I put a resonator on my car after the header after talking to him. He said as long as the diameter of the resonator is the same as the exhaust piping, the power loss is minimal.

And just curious but what do you mean when you said whats the point of modifying the car with a shorty header? Hasn't there been proven gains for them?

 

[mokeOne]

i'm of course going for more power (thumb) but i'm also conserned with the exhaust note. like chris said, it's gonna get loud, the irritating kind. i don't wanna have the gross tin can sound, but i don't mind being louder if it'll give me a nice power gain. there's this one white miata i see on the freeway a lot, SCCA stickers and whatnot. kinda loud, but in a nice way. deep and stuff. wouldn't mind that kind of sound. thanks for the tips on getting rid of the CEL light also.

 

[L8R]

get an exhaust with a silencer if u go the cat less/resignator less route. Apexi n-1 or hks will do the trick.

 

[Lord_Zath]

I had a both fans installed on my car with my AWR header. I just had to take them out for the install. You can have a monster of a car without it being very loud. Look at twilights car for instance. He has what? one of the fastest NA 3rd gens on the boards and IIRC he has two inline resonators. You figure if quieting the noise made that much of a difference in power, he wouldn't do it. I put a resonator on my car after the header after talking to him. He said as long as the diameter of the resonator is the same as the exhaust piping, the power loss is minimal.

And just curious but what do you mean when you said whats the point of modifying the car with a shorty header? Hasn't there been proven gains for them?

There's a recent thread about a fan bein taken out from a header. Don't know all the specifics, except for the fact that it's gone.

Shorty header does have gains, but the 1st cat and its airflow restriction is still there. As long as you don't get an exhaust that buzzes, you should be fine with sound. If it's that much of a problem, learn to like the radio .

LZ
Z

 

[vapors]

enough with all the stories already, if you wan't to hear a car with an awr header, MAM midpipe w/ high flow cat, and an hks exhaust, lmk. that's what i'm running and i'll be more than happy to demo it for you if you like. to me it sounds nice. it may be somewhat loud, but not high pitched/irritating/riced out/civic loud. it has a nice deep, hallow sound. and since your thinking about getting the MAM midpipe, there is an O2 sensor bung behind the cat so you can always run your second O2 sensor there and the CEL shouldn't be a problem. shoots, hope this helps

***edit*** oh yeah, just so that you know, daKineP5 is right, you will (more than likely) have to take out both fans and put the coolent resovior on the side when you do the install. so don't worry about having to take it out and having to leave it out, because you won't have to. but i would recomend getting the heat wrap from rons or something because your fan will be sitting pretty close to your headers and it will get hot in there. oh and don't worry, taking the fans out, its two shakes. like i said, lmk if you have any questions or if you'd like to check out my set up. shooties

 

[mokeOne]

enough with all the stories already, if you wan't to hear a car with an awr header, MAM midpipe w/ high flow cat, and an hks exhaust, lmk. that's what i'm running and i'll be more than happy to demo it for you if you like. to me it sounds nice. it may be somewhat loud, but not high pitched/irritating/riced out/civic loud. it has a nice deep, hallow sound. and since your thinking about getting the MAM midpipe, there is an O2 sensor bung behind the cat so you can always run your second O2 sensor there and the CEL shouldn't be a problem. shoots, hope this helps

***edit*** oh yeah, just so that you know, daKineP5 is right, you will (more than likely) have to take out both fans and put the coolent resovior on the side when you do the install. so don't worry about having to take it out and having to leave it out, because you won't have to. but i would recomend getting the heat wrap from rons or something because your fan will be sitting pretty close to your headers and it will get hot in there. oh and don't worry, taking the fans out, its two shakes. like i said, lmk if you have any questions or if you'd like to check out my set up. shooties

ahh thanks duder, your post cleared up a lot. i don't mind removing the fans for an install. i thought that maybe i'd have to leave one out, and i didn't want that. i was planning on getting some header wrap anyway, just to help with underhood temp and all that other good stuff that comes from wrapping up your headers. (yes) also, i didn't know the MAM mid-pipe came with an O2 bung after the cat, that helps a ton. yay! oh yeah, maybe i can sample the sweet sounds of your car if the cruise happens on the 15th. thanks again.

 

[vapors]

ahh thanks duder, your post cleared up a lot. i don't mind removing the fans for an install. i thought that maybe i'd have to leave one out, and i didn't want that. i was planning on getting some header wrap anyway, just to help with underhood temp and all that other good stuff that comes from wrapping up your headers. (yes) also, i didn't know the MAM mid-pipe came with an O2 bung after the cat, that helps a ton. yay! oh yeah, maybe i can sample the sweet sounds of your car if the cruise happens on the 15th. thanks again.

yups, no problem. hopefully everybody can make it out to the cruise on the 15th. but if you can't wait and want to hurry up and buy your header and mid-pipe, and still want to know what its going to sound similar to, lmk. shooties.

 

[daKiNeP5]

Oh one more tip if you decide to take out the fans. Cut a piece of cardboard the size of the radiator and use it to protect the fins when installing the header. I damaged a section because I was frustrated and just wanted it installed.

 

[mokeOne]

hmmm... sorry to start this up again, but i just saw a GB going on for the wagner shorty header. claims 7whp gain. anyone know what the gain is on the obx/awr headers? i'm thinkin more, but i could be wrong.

 

[Lord_Zath]

um it's more because the OBX loses the first cat. Doesn't matter what Wagner claims; less restriction will usually = more hp.

 

[vapors]

i say just stick to the original plan. awr/obx header, mam midpipe, exhaust. if your going to get headers and looking for hp gains, you might as well get a full set. of course with 2 cats, there is going to be restriction. and we all know restriction is hp loss. oh and i know i mentioned to you that the mam midpipe has an O2 bung after the cat. but just so that you know, when you order one, you have to tell them you want an extra bung made. it cost $10 more, but it's well worth it. anyhow, the cruise is this sunday. you're gonna go right? i'll fill you in more then. shoots