Help me choose an UEL Header (Subaru Rumble)
 

I have been researching headers trying to find what would best match what I am looking for, but as you can imagine, there are so many choices and combinations out there.

My main goal is to get that UEL Subaru Rumble, but I do not want it to be annoyingly loud, and do not want it to drone on the highway.

I am trying to find videos or opinions that are running an UEL with STOCK exhaust.
Everyone seems to have a different overpipe, exhaust, etc.
The catless seem to be too load, but again, most have other aftermarket parts.
I was considering a catless 1320 Performance header, but cant find a video of it on a stock exhaust.

Thanks for the advice.

I'm running Tomei UEl, Miltek OP and Berk fast cat FP, the rest of the exhaust is standard UK spec. Its fruity in the higher rev ranges only, pretty standard on the noise front when cruising.

I’m running a gruppe-s UEL with stock everything else right now. Definitely makes the car sound more rumbly. I personally want to get a catback or axleback with this to make it louder, but with the stock catback it sounds good too. You get nice rumble from like 2500-4000ish RPM under load. Cold starts WILL be louder than normal, and even a little raspy, but only for less than a minute so it warms up. After that it’s completely fine. And for what it’s worth, the smell IS there, but to me it’s not bad at all since my front pipe is still stock (catted)

I think most on the forum would agree it’s the best bang for buck header since it’s basicaly a Tomei clone but cheaper


Here’s a video of it with stock exhaust:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?t=389s&v=_LtCZLd1vKk

Tomei, JDL, or Gruppe-S UEL are all really good.

But what flavor?


https://i.imgflip.com/26ztoy.jpgvia Imgflip Meme Generator

OR

https://i.imgflip.com/26ztmv.jpgvia Imgflip Meme Generator


:cheers:

JDL absolutely!

https://cdn2.bigcommerce.com/server5...0.1280.jpg?c=2

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Pi-mWhMhMc"]JDL UEL header stock exhaust brz/frs/86 - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebSeY0PZxyQ"]JDL UEL Header, Stock Exhaust Sound Clips NARF's 2016 FRS Build - YouTube[/ame]

You should also consider JDL because of the high quality and lifetime warranty, neither of which you will receive with a 1320 or most others.
Avoid Borla at all costs, their quality is terrible and the welds on those break all the time.

Thanks alot, that doesnt sound too bad at all. Does it drone much at highway speeds?

That clip of the yellow BRZ sounds nice, its basically the sound I am after, ,,,, except that popping.
I dont care for loud popping or backfiring. That worries me about alot of these setups.

Absolutely not. It basically sounds stock volume-wise IMO unless you get on it, in which case it s a little louder. Definitely not obnoxious, but sounds good.

I will say that there is a “hissing-ish” sound when it’s under load that I originally thought was an exhaust leak. But it’s just because the metal is thinner than stock, and I don’t really notice it too much unless the windows are down. Not sure if other headers are like that, but take that as you will.

Thanks alot for the input.
Hmm hissing you say, yea that is interesting. I am thinking about wrapping the header before installing it to help with heat, so that could help the sound also if it was due to the thickness.

i dont wanna be "that guy" so i will probably just go UEL header as well and just get new exhaust tips for stock catback. i want the header for oft so i might convert to catback also if i can find a mild sounding combo. JDL seems to have lots of positive feedback

Not sure where you live, but if you see pretty good weather year round you may also consider the CNT uel header. Probably the cheapest header that is pretty good as far as the reviews on the forum goes. I think I’ve seen people run them for a couple years but start to have some surface rusting issues. Just look up CNT header review for our cars and you’ll see all the input on here. You never know what you’re gonna get in northern VA so that’s why I went with the Gruppe-s. If I lived in a warmer climate I might’ve went CNT

Good luck with your decision :D

West Virginia, so yea, 3 metric shitons of salt on the roads every year :(

So a few things. It sounds like you are going to be running Stock CBE. That being said adding a catless header will barely increase your volume. I ran this setup for a while when i moved (i live right next a police station) and my car was actually quieter than my stock Focus ST.

Videos wont really help with volume cuz there are too many variables (microphone, how close the camera is, volume of your speakers).

But from experience i can tell you its barely louder than stock. I could gun it next to a cop and the only thing he looked at me for was my big wing.


Second, DO NOT cheap out on parts, especially something like a header. While the 1320 price may seem awesome. the quality of their parts are only about average. There are just as many fail stories as there are success stories.

If you want a high quality UEL header for the price you cant go wrong with Gruppe - S, Tomei, Openflash header. If you can afford more and go with higher quality, then you can go for something like JDL.

Both JDL and FT86Speedfactory offer a Catted UEL header. But expect to pay around 900+ for that.