Which header to pair w/$3,500 Amuse R1 CB?
 

So the previous owner of my FRS went ham w/the blue titanium Amuse R1 catback. I also have a Nameless Front Pipe/Over Pipe combo. Car sounds phenomenal as-is but I’d still like to remove any remaining torque dip with new headers.

My concern is the few YT videos I’ve seen with Amuse CB’s and a header is they sound horribly raspy - almost like an exhaust leak. The owners usually remark “yeah, it started sounding that way once I put the header on. That’s how a titanium exhaust ultimately sounds.” I find that hard to believe. I think they simply selected the wrong header.

I don’t want to screw up the solid setup I already have. Any insight on whether I should hold off on the header and/or what I should pair it with? I also currently don't have much cabin drone at all - not looking to turn this into an alarm clock for the neighbors.

Titanium exhausts definitely have a particular sound to them, and it can get loud when you open things up. See every S2000 with a J's Racing exhaust. Granted a big part of that is the F20/F22 engines, but S2000s are almost always one of the loudest cars at track days (especially those with titanium exhausts).

I'd suggest you spend money on something high quality, and keep the catalytic converter on. Is your Nameless setup resonated? That would help too. You may even want to look at the JDL Ultra Quiet front pipe setup.

The only header I'd pair with this setup would be the Fujitsubo Catted Super Ex header. It's expensive though ^__~

This was my primary worry....probably the only thing that will work with this setup is some ridiculous $3K custom import header...

Unfortunately it is incredibly hard for these cars to sound good. Performance wise, look at an ACE setup, but yes.... be prepared for it to sound raspy. Removing cats drastically changes the cars sound.

Yeah haha, well you can technically put on any header but you will run into issue with noise, rasp & drone with your current setup.

Another option would be to sell your OP/FP and get one of the following setups.

Apexi Header, Over-Pipe & Catted/Reonated Front Pipe
This is a great quiet setup. Lots of information on it on this forum.
https://frsport.com/Stainless-Steel-..._p_935110.html

Or

Fujitsubo Dual Resonated Catless Front Pipe (Proven to keep sound levels the same and not have any drone, rasp)
You could than try some sort of catted header from JDL or FT86 to see how that will be.
https://frsport.com/double-resonated...p_1213521.html

I would implore you to keep the stock header and the setup that you currently have.

Two things add noise with headers: removal of the cat, and thinner steel.

You can get catted headers, but they're not going to deliver quite so well on the gains. JDL does both EL and UEL, otherwise I think it's mostly UEL. But a catted header will probably leave torque dip. The best performing headers you can get any more are the Ace, if max gains are your goal. There are a few other good EL headers.

If your Nameless overpipe/frontpipe combo is not catted and resonated, switch to one that is. That will help a LOT. And a cat in the frontpipe is where you want it for performance, not the header.

The thin-ness of the material is a lot of why Ti exhausts are louder. So to a big degree, the only way to quiet it down is to change that. Adding resonators can help only so much.

There's a point at which selling the fancy exhaust may be the better road to your goals.

I'm just wondering who buys a $3500 catback. Maybe consider adding a resonater to your FP.

Welp, which do you want ........ a good sound and a little torque dip ...... or ...... a loud sound with very little torque dip ........ ??

I agree with @Clipdat (this time) ...... I'd just leave it alone ....... :)


humfrz

What do you really want, just to lose some of the torque dip? Have you had your car tuned? That may do enough of what you're looking for. Adding a header will make it significantly louder, and may make you hate your catback.

If you're looking to make more power and keep it at similar sound levels, I think you should maybe look into a different catback. If you want the same sort of style, I have an MXP SP I like but have been looking into selling.

Sell the Amuse exhaust, buy header and cat back that sounds the way you like, and have money left over for a tune.

I second this

But why $3.5k cb?