Injen CAI w/ Ebay Header -> Megan Frontpipe -> Megan Catback - Thoughts?

[TmP]

What up.

I have a lot of questions, but I will try to keep my rambling to a minimum.

- Would the setup described in the title make for a full exhaust system, or would anything be missing (over pipe)? The nomenclature on these cars' exhaust parts is kind of confusing to me for some reason...

- Will just a cat-less front pipe trigger a CEL?

- I am certain a cat-less header will cause a CEL. Are spacers sufficient to take care of the problem, or does one need a programmer like the amazingly dope looking tablet I found in the SW section?

- Is the Injen CAI any good with this combo?
Love the looks of it and the price is right.

- Finally... Anyone tried any of the ridiculously cheap ebay headers?
There are a couple of "brands" on there, like "Manzo" that I have never heard of before.


I am sure I will get a programmer and FI down the road, but I can't drive a car with stock exhaust, that just doesn't work for me...
Any advise is much appreciated and I did use the search function, but this exact setup wasn't run by anyone (that I found anyway).

[WolfsFang]

-Seems you are missing the over pipe

-A catless front pipe will not trigger a cell

-It is random with the cell with a header, iv been running borla UEL for awhile and have yet to get a cel from it. If you do get a cell the spacer trick should work.

-I have the injen intake with a borla UEL and borla overpipe/frontpipe with a muffler delete (untuned) and no problem so far with it.

[TmP]

Thanks fro the reply!

Well, the description of the Megan front pipe, sounds like it attaches to the header.
Confusing stuff.

I'm used to long tube headers and glasspacks. LOL

[Lonewolf]

Ebay and Megan exhaust components sound like a recipe for exhaust leaks, rasp, and cel's...lol

[husker741]

Injen intake has had problems, Megan brand sucks, and it seems like you don't wanna spend money on good parts, so I wouldn't buy anything if that's true.

[IAmNotTheDriftKing]

Keep the stock catback, and get the following. Nameless DP/OP and JDL headers. Total should run you around 1400, which is a lot, but they are really nice parts! Or you can get some Borla headers for cheaper, just don't buy ebay headers!

[Panda Mao]

ya ebay knock offs aren't good for this car I heard the borla headers are garbage cuz of the crappy welds at the collector?

[TmP]

Don't these cars only gain like 20 hp from full bolt ons and a tune - at best?
Seems like a bit of a steep ticket to get just the header and DP for 1400 bucks.
Seriously, stainless steel long tubes with an X pipe for a Corvette are cheaper than that...

Appreciate the feedback, but to be honest, sounds like a lot of hear-say, not so much experience.

Megan parts have worked for me in the past and it's pretty hard to screw up a cat-back...

I don't have illusions of the ebay headers being primo, but has anyone actually TRIED them?

[husker741]

Originally Posted by TmP

Don't these cars only gain like 20 hp from full bolt ons and a tune - at best?
Seems like a bit of a steep ticket to get just the header and DP for 1400 bucks.
Seriously, stainless steel long tubes with an X pipe for a Corvette are cheaper than that...

Appreciate the feedback, but to be honest, sounds like a lot of hear-say, not so much experience.

Megan parts have worked for me in the past and it's pretty hard to screw up a cat-back...

I don't have illusions of the ebay headers being primo, but has anyone actually TRIED them?

People are starting to see 200 WHP with bolt ons and a tune. Considering most cars dyno at 155-165 WHP stock, it's a nice improvement. Then if you go E85, you could squeeze out even more power. You get what you pay for. A lot of companies have found ways to fuck up catbacks. Do what you want, it's your money. You asked opinions, and we are giving them.

[TmP]

Which is cool, I was just hoping to hear about some first hand experience.
There have to be a ton of people running cheap parts...
I was quite surprised to find hardly any info on them.

[Rican_D]

I personally have heard horror stories from people who bought cheap parts. Honestly out off all parts don't go cheap eBay knockoffs with the header. Remember headers are subjected to a lot more heat than the rest of the exhaust system. Last thing you want is the flanges cracking or the welds because of the low quality materials used. On top of that it's a dice roll as far as figment goes, last thing you need is to be under the car bolting the header on and you realize that it doesn't line up with the rest of your exhaust. Quality control is not exactly one of their top priorities. Not saying there isn't lower cost products out there that are good quality but that's not usually the case.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[TmP]

Fair enough.
I can see spending money on a header, more so than a cat back because of the actual importance of the part and the engineering behind it.

What's the best bang for the buck header in your guys' opinion then?

[husker741]

I'm sitting and waiting for my flight, so I'm gonna get you the perfect, cheap exhaust setup that will benefit you in sound and performance, while not breaking the bank. And these will also be backed by reputable companies.

Intake: Any drop-in filter. Don't waste your time with a "CAI". The intakes on these cars are great anyways and you can save your money by just doing a drop in. I have a TRD one with a Perrin inlet hose. Nice sound, and a little better airflow.

Header: Rev Works UEL header. Cheap, nice sound, but well put together by a great company. Not as cheap as some headers, but you go any cheaper and they start sucking. Plus with this header you can get an O2 spacer to get rid of a CEL without a tune. http://ft86speedfactory.com/rev-work...eader-900.html

Front pipe/overpipe: Nameless Combo Pipe. Cheaper than getting two different pipes, reduces the risk of a leak because one less flange, and it's great quality. Plus you can get them uncatted/unresonated, catted/unresonated, resonated/uncatted, catted/resonated. http://shop.namelessperformance.com/...e-factory-fit/

Catback: Invidia Q300. Very similar design to the Megan, but backed by a great company. It will also help to keep down rasp and drone from the uncatted UEL header. http://ft86speedfactory.com/invidia-...-tips-468.html

All these together should make a great sound, especially depending on what you choose for the Nameless pipe. This could all be had for around $1800, but cheaper depending on where you buy, or more expensive if you decide to add cats or resonators. If you buy from FT86SpeedFactory, they offer a discount for forum members. This is a great quality full exhaust, for under $2k. It'll sound great and perform great. Then think about a tune if you want more power.

[TmP]

That combo pipe looks almost exactly like the Megan Racing front pipe.
Yes, I have already found out it's popular around here to hate on Megan, but it's a straight piece of stainless pipe with two flanges and one bend... How can that vary in performance between the two brands. Makes no sense to me.

Example: I rock a hand welded american made side exit exhaust on my SRT4. I wanna say that thing was like 500 bucks. From the turbo - to the tip.

I'm not spending 2k on a 4 banger exhaust setup, that's nuts.

Again, don't take this personally, as I really do appreciate the detailed response, but I am a firm believer in spending money where it's needed, and saving it where I can.
There really isn't anything special about anything happening in an exhaust system from the header back... As far as performance is concerned.
So, there is no way IMHO that with identical headers a Megan header back system will give up a lot to what's linked above, that's just not how physics work.
Besides, I would never run fake duals on a 4 banger.
Maybe I should have clarified that, I want the Megan "drift" cat back, which is a singe tip system.

What's better about the Rev works header compared to the Borla?

I am used to car forums with header comparison threads that dyno all of them and show what's what.
Haven't found that here so far.