UEL vs EL...
 

So much to go through here...

from a performance perspective is there any real difference between the two or is there alot more to it than that? Never been a fan of the uel sound...

Building a car primarily for STX autoX and perhaps a little time attack on the side..

It depends on what you are trying to do. There is no set answer for all. UEL will tend to give a higher exhaust pulse every few exhaust strokes which can help turbos spool. EL tend to be higher flowing and less restrictive due to the timed exhaust pulses in the collector.

If you are staying na or supercharging, then the following will be more along the lines of where to look.

If you are doing nothing but staying in the upper rpm range and never in the lower, then check out the Ace 150, or if you are blown, then the Ace Anaconda 48mm.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Ace 350 is the most free flowing and gives great torque down low and power up top, but is LHD only. The Ace 400 Clubsport will provide torque low down, and fits both LHD and RHD.

The best EL headers outperform the best UEL headers.

If you don't care for the UEL sound, then, EL header it is! Look into the Ace A350 header.

Lines:
- Stock 2017
- Ace A350 ceramic + tune (stock FP, stock catback)
- Ace A350 ceramic + E85 (E70) + tune (stock FP, stock catback)

https://i.imgur.com/Rb0XQ6Z.jpg

Its possible you can do a graph of best UEL with best tune vs that you posted there? Just for shit and giggles

If we add the Ace Catless SS FrontPipe into the mix, how much more gain would it be? I'm assuming 5-10hp and a tid bit more torque if it's optimized with a tune.

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Yes it's proven the EL prduces more power. I have heard and ELs header frs next to me, sounds a lot like a honda IMO. If you don't like the sound of a UEL with this car idk why you bought a subaru. My UEL gives it that Subaru Rumble and I love it. Would pick this sound over 5-10 ponies any day.

If its a DD - get UEL for more rumble - 5-10hp at higher Rpm is meaningless.
If racing at the track, maybe more HP can help you.
Its really a personal sound choice because the power will not be felt under most driving situations.

Sounds like a misfire to me :D

And the new WRX's use EL - so "subie rumble" may be going the way of the dodo.

Seriously though, to answer OP question, yes there's a lot more to it than just UEL vs EL. Go by what you like to hear first, then go by brand that is proven. There are good UEL headers and good EL headers, and probably not all that much in between them. Some good brands: Tomei, ACE, Ptuning, JDL, P&L, Nameless. I think there might be a used Ptuning header in the classifieds - it's one of the best out there.

How do you want to tune and how much money do you want to spend?

Custom tune from reputable shop/tuner on their dyno for max gainz? Call them up and talk to them to see what they recommend. Get 2nd opinions. Talk to existing customers.


Cheap solution, canned/off-the-shelf tune, find a reputable header (look for build quality) and choose based what sound you want to live with on a daily basis. Don't overthink it, there's more time to be found in autox in driver and car setup than an extra 5-10 hp.


Somewhere in-between; make a judgement call, hell ping the STX build thread to see what other people are willing to share. There are quick STX cars still on stock headers and people who have dropped the big bucks for the ACE+custom tuning.

I expected answers to be more, "Well for autox you need mid-range, not top end, so consider UEL".

It's odd the first thing thrown in the mix is a $1700.00 header and nothing else. Would it not be true @CSG_mike that across the range of headers available, there is overlap in performance of UEL vs EL.

I wish I could just buy a Nameless and be done with this whole decision.

P.S. I'm back. 2017 WRB!

Hope to see you, though I'll be in a 2017 CBS, same color as last time, slightly different setup. Also wishing Nameless were an easy option just because I had that and a matching rest of the setup.. But it was the one expensive thing (besides the car) that didn't make it. So...

Its not really about either top end or midrange alone, but the long a long tube tri-y delivers across the board, and if its not Nameless, its Ace 350. Also, so very much more about the driver...

Once I get over sinking more money into a loss, I'll be trying the Ace.