P&L Header install, review and impressions
 

Hello

I will attempt to do a quick review of the P&L EL Catted header that we are running in our supercharged FR-S.

First of all, a big thank you for @P&L Motorsports for sending me a header to try out and helping out with the sponsorship.

Realizing that there are many good options for headers out there, my options were really narrowed down to less than 3.

1. It had to be EL, since I was going for best power gains and didn't care about the 'boxer rumble' which does nothing for making a car faster.

2. It had to have a catted option since we are planning on running in classes that require a cat. Simple as that.
**As a bonus, this modular system allows me to run a non catted up pipe for those events that don't require a cat, which would only every be used on a closed circuit race track and never upon a highway**:bonk:

3. It had to stay as low in the engine compartment as possible. We needed as much of the area behind the radiator as free as possible. P&L does come up a bit, but it stays fairly low. Also, they offer a ceramic option which helps with cooling. A must IMO.

Let's see what the brown truck brought:
http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/DSC_1259.jpg

First impression: It was pretty heavy. Nowhere near as heavy as stock, but heavier than a F1 Inconel header. While most people might be concerned with that, I was relieved. It means it was built out of heavy gauge material, which means reliability on the track. The flanges were also quite thick, so I was very happy.
Welds were clean and even, ceramic coating was very well applied.

Install was quite straight forward, it helps when you have a 4handed monster helping you.
http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/DSC_1352.jpg

Header went on without a hitch and plenty of clearance everywhere. No rubbing.
http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/q...DSC_1355_1.jpg

I opted for the over pipe as well (at the very last minute) :laughabove: , and I'm glad I did.
Like the header, it was very well made
http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/DSC_1346.jpg

Fitting everything together, we had no clearance issues - nothing needed to be modified.http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/DSC_1351.jpg

http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/DSC_1360.jpg

Since I opted for the catted option, I wanted the extra bung for the onboard wideband.http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/DSC_1354.jpg

When everything was done, the engine compartment looked pretty close to stock..
http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/DSC_1356.jpg



After a few hundred dyno runs and a couple of track days, the silver ceramic coating will turn into much more purposeful light anthracite pewter color.
http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/DSC_1422.jpg

It tied in nicely to our custom, oval tubing exhausthttp://i437.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/DSC_1419.jpghttp://i437.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/DSC_1174.jpg

Install went very well, it was quite straightforward and uneventful. Boring even. Just like all installs should be.

Reserved for dyno impressions
 

test

Reserved for driving impressions
 

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Reserved for answering questions completely unrelated to this thread
 

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Big thanks to Ty @P&L Motorsports for making this whole thing happen!

Damn, I need to get some sponsored items...


My wife keeps spending my header money :mad0260:

Will have some shortly...

Putting the final touches on the car now for a 3rd track day in 3 weeks!

Reviews coming for:
Limited Slip diff install
3way coilover install
Tubular A arm install
:party0030:

I'm considering these headers as well but not many videos or reviews on them. I want to hear stationary revs at multiple rpm's. Also how is the interior sound, did it go up substantially since the install?

How much less does the pipe come up compared to JDL? I still worry about heat. Definately want to see the dyno numbers.

Also whats the longevity and durability of that cat and warranty?
I thought about doing a header but cant justify modifying the vortech bracket getting yet more tuning and worrying about fitment/longevity.

With how basically most every mod becomes some drama very sceptical doing this.

I have the P&L catted 4-1 header, overpipe and catted front pipe, with resonated Perrin 2.5" muffler...and a dyno tune by @JuniorAWD...really like the quality, power and sound

We have a few videos on our YouTube page in the Exhaust Sounds section. Unfortunately there's so many different types of exhaust combinations that people can do, it's impossible to get video of every one of them.

https://www.youtube.com/user/pandlmotorsports/featured

The cat used is a motorsports quality component sourced from one of the largest fabrication manufacturing companies in North America. As with all of our exhausts, we offer a 3 year warranty.


:thanks:

Ty @ P&L

I wouldnt be a good source to offer videos or soundclips.
Our exhaust is fully custom and totally different to anything else out there.

I dont have any dyno numbers to give out, but what I can share is that the header smoothet out the peaks and valleys quite a bit. We needed to add fuel in a lot of places so that means more power. Also, the engine revs quicker.

Gettng ready for Buttonwillow as we speak. Will post more later.

D

Mine with Jackson Racing SC read 272hp 200lbft on a Mustang dyno...pretty smooth curves, no dip

If you opt for the catted version + keep the stock cat-back, it just sounds like a very quiet aftermarket exhaust.. no rasp or drone either. You'll still eliminate the torque dip, and with a good tune you should hit or exceed 200 whp if you're on E85. :thumbsup:

I love my uncatted el from P&L. Paired with full Invidia exhaust and JR SC sounds like a beast!!!!

@D K @P&L Motorsports does the UEL header give a CEL on the car without a tune?

I had P&L install their catback for me, it's very nice. Good people there. If they had a UEL (i'm a sucker for the sound) I'd get it.

I dont know anything about the uel since its not as efficient as the el, but an O2 sensor is an O2 sensor, regardless.

We didnt get a cel, but everybodys results are different.

But in any case, the whole idea of the header is to make power, so to take full advantage of the header, you should get a tune.

Otherwise its like putting race gas in your tank and hoping for more power.

Thats pretty good. What psi?

I have a custom exhaust which is l.a.h. with the stock header. Going to this header didnt seem to increase the sound level much, if at all.

We had a very long day on the dyno today trying to ncover an unrelated problem.
Now that we found it (fuel pump) the engine revs much quicker than it did before.

Thanks again @P&L Motorsports

I don't know, perhaps @JuniorAWD or @Prime Motoring can chime in

weird my header from them did not lose the shiny powdercoated shine

who tuned your ECM and are you using ecutek?

Hey DK, was the header coated well on the inside as well as outside? I'm thinking of getting ceramic coated in the future and was just curious.

Thats a good question.
Im sure @P&L Motorsports can chime n and give you an answer

Ecutek by @JuniorAWD. Worked well at WGI track this Mo/Tu. Will go to moto-mike in PA this Saturday to try his tune and replace my ACT flywheel/clutch with Exedy Stage 2 (8-puck). Nothing wrong with tune by Jr, just want to try both.

Quick update, my car was tuned by Mike @moto-mike yesterday. They took time to evaluate the existing tune and check that mechanically everything was sound since my car wasn't making the power it should have. They discovered a header leak due to the two missing nuts (out of three) on the passenger side of the header, burnt header cat (they cut it open, removed the debris and shrunk cat element to prevent clogging in the future, welded shut, then re-tuned), and a slightly bent flange on the front pipe that will be flattened and fixed later.

New tune...simply amazing...had no idea what this setup (JR SC/P&L/Perrin) was capable of...completely different car. My exhaust tips and rear of the car don't have the carbon build up I had before, oil temps came down (we also changed to euro Castrol 0w30), and the power delivery is amazing, very linear. Mike walked me through every step of the tuning process, made me very comfortable. Delightful experience.

What was the deal with the cat? I'd like some more info on that. I'm running the black coated header with a cat. Fitment after the initial issue is great.

Also running a moto-east tune right now and like it quite a bit.

Don't know, could have been because of a defective unit (less likely) or the old tune (if flames were coming from the engine), pure speculation. The second cat on the front pipe looked good. Didn't have it for that long, perhaps for several thousand miles between the two cars it was on, and 3.5 HPDEs (track days). I heard that a cat so close to the header usually doesn't last that long, and that coating that cat can make the lifespan even shorter. Take it with a grain of salt, I'm not an expert. I wouldn't have the header catted if I were to do it again, though I like quieter exhausts...dual cats help...it's louder now when on power but good sound and tolerable, not loud when cruising.

P&L Header install, review and impressions
 

Update: ordered a new P&L header return pipe, this time without a cat, also new P&L catted front pipe, to make sure that at least one cat is in good condition. Mike will touch up the tune right after he installs these components, just to make sure everything is optimal. I wonder if I should also replace the Perrin muffler, given how much black soot was coming out of the exhaust before.

Thanks for the updates, dp1. Waiting for P&L to chime in on the cat issue...

I too am curious what P&L says about the cat issue.

It's very very unlikely that the header cat was defective. It shrunk so much and so many small pieces from the cat element came out of both pipes with cats from the header cat element roasting that it was much more likely related to the tune. I had noticed that the area in the engine bay around the header cat would get very hot after even relatively short drives but I thought that was normal.

Thanks for clarifying. I didn't think it was their fault. I guess I wanted to have P&L comment to show concern and stand behind their product. :iono:

My pleasure. I think their exhaust components are superb and I'm sticking with them. They use the same quality hi-flow cats as many others, forgot the name. My car pulls like crazy across a pretty wide RPM range with JR SC + P&L + Perrin 2.5" and custom tune from Mike @moto-east.

My finger has been hovering over the buy button on their site. I am looking at the EL catted header and overpipe. I am keeping the stock front pipe and I have the Perrin 2.5" catback. I plan on staying naturally aspirated though.

This is pretty much the exact setup I plan on going with as well, except a Tomei 60S catback. It will be awhile before I get it though, but I'd be very interested to see how yours turns out!