Which header / tune ? Can't decide
 

Hi guys! I'd like to get my 2013 GT86 tuned and my header replaced to smoothen the torque dip and the powerband

I searched around the forums and reddit and I gathered a lot of information but I still cannot decide what combo is best for me.

I'm looking to get the most performance out of my car while staying NA, but at the same time I don't want to waste a lot of money when I can get a reasonable bang for buck combo, i'd say my max budget would be 1600$ . (I'll be running e85 as it is deadly cheap here).
Also, I kinda want it to be quiet or at most not so much louder than stock, I want to keep my exhaust civil and don't want it to be a cop magnet.
For that I understand that you should keep your catback / frontpipe / overpipe stock, and that's what i'm gonna do.

So as for the headers, there are 3 that seems the best for me :

JDL UEL => Kinda cheap, I think is the best UEL header performance wise, afraid they might be too loud ?
FT86SF Catted => I love that it's super quiet, it looks like the torque dip is also gone with it, but I think i'll be disappointed with the power
JDL 4-2-1 => Looks amazing, and seems to be a performance beast but I have no idea on how loud it is, as they're always paired with some catback exhaust on youtube videos
Then i'm still hesitating between OFT and ECUTEK. I honestly don't need any fancy / gimmicky Ecutek feature, and I don't need flexfuel either as i'll be running e85 100% of the time.
The only thing that drags me toward ecutek is the customized tune, but i'm still trying to find out how much better than the OFS tunes these are.

I searched but I couldn't find any mention of an OFT tune for the JDL 4 - 2 -1. In that case i'd have to go for an Ecutek kit + tune. Total would be more than 2000$ which is way too much.

I know OpenFlashTablet can also do so remote tuning, how good are those tunes compared to Ecutek ones ?

I also heard about Wayne Roms, can he custom tune ?

Would either of these solutions be a good alternative to Ecutek ?

Would I feel a big difference between for example JDL UEL + OFT versus JDL 4 2 1 + Ecutek custom tune ? Knowing it's 1k$ more, would it be worth it ?

Thank you so much guys !

My person opinion would be to go with the JDL UEL and OFT or JDL 4-2-1 with Ecutek depending on budget and/or sound preference. I have had both. With the OFT I tweaked the off the shelf tune as per suggestions around the board including cam tables to best suit the JDL UEL. With the 4-2-1 I have a Delicious Tuning flexfuel tune. The seat of the pants feel is that the UEL had better low down torque but there was still a mild torque dip. The 4-2-1 with the Delicious tune has a smoother torque band with no dip and is stronger from 4k to redline.

Tune wise I liked being able to tweak my tune with the OFT but the Delicious tune is more refined especially when it comes to E85. Both are off the shelf tunes tho.

Is the extra for the 4-2-1 and Ecutek tune worth it? For me yes but mostly as I wanted the convenience of flex fuel. The power and drivability differences aren't huge. The UEL/OFT is 95% of the 4-2-1/Ecutek setup for significantly less money.

One other thing to mention is I found having an overpipe and resonated, hi-flow catted front pipe improved part throttle response very noticeably and combined with the stock catback was quiet to the point of you wouldn't notice it wasn't stock until you went full throttle.

I have a stock header with the cat removed, OFT, with a Wayneroms E85 tune. Love it! I don't think you can get a better bang for the buck.

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EL Header
Axleback (catbacks are mainly noise not power) Even the axleback is optional.
OFT for 90% of the power.
ECUTek for 100% or if you want to have the ability to get custom tunes in the future.
Buy once cry once.

Best header options that I can think off are ACE and JDL. ACE are very pricey and the gains compared with JDL are very little. I personally run JDL UEL Catted headers because emission standards in my state and noise level. I loose maybe 3-5 HP on potential gains on the higher band but oh well. Accompanied with the headers I have a stage 2 OFT. This puts me, adding the rest of my full exhaust, and filter, about 80-85% on the possible power gain compared to what I would get with EcuTek. It's a pretty good choice if you're trying to budget your customizations. I carry my OFT in case I want to switch to E85 tune to it's a great choice for the money spent. for $500 you get a Stage 2 and E85 tune that is a little under 2 minutes to write. You can get a custom E-Tune from OFT too. Eventually I'll be switching to a CSG tune via EcuTek. I need more power.

Are you planning on running E85 canned gas that will test at E85 all the time? If not, I'd budget for flex fuel.

Assuming you're getting E85 out of a pump, Ethanol content can vary and thus a tune set for 1 specific ethanol content isn't ideal. Flex fuel, even if you're running strictly E85 is a good idea unless you're 100% positive that your gas is okay, and you test it regularly before filling

Running OFT and Tomei UELs. I recommend them, but I've heard no complaints about JDL/ecutek. I really enjoy the boxer sound so I wouldn't go back to EL's, but personal preference.

Thank you guys, that's really helpful :) !

Gruppe-S. Header, overpipe and tuner for $1100 total.

JDL 4-2-1, flex fuel, ecutek and etune by Zach with csg

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ACE/JDL + Delicious.

You need to get the JDL header that has the rectangle flange at the top. If there's a hole in the middle of the rectangle, you have to block it off with a turbo.

Really though, can't beat JDL quality, get the header you like the sound of the best, get a nice tune, and don't worry about anything else; the less attention you give the torque dip, the less it's actually there. It's kind of like a pimple; it's only annoying and gross if you pay attention to it or keep touching it. If you forget about it, it's actually hardly a problem at all

First, choose which sound you like: EL or UEL. It's annoying to drive a car with a sound you don't like.
For UEL: from cheaper to more expensive, Gruppe-S, Tomei, JDL.
For EL: from cheaper to more expensive JDL, Ace A350.

Regarding remap: OFT for DYI, Ecutek for tuner.

Based on your comment about 2k+ being too much $$, a UEL + OFT is probably your best bet.

Gruppe-s + OP and OFT will cost around 1k which leaves plenty on the table to custom tune if desired.
JDL costs a bit more, I'd probably buy based on sound preference vs power difference since it will be minor.

OFT can be custom tuned as well, just a bit clunkier to upload to tablet, flash, log etc. Most reputable tuners prefer working with ecutek. a few members on here can dial in custom tunes with oft. Steve99, tomm.brz(did mine) to name a couple.