Which header to BUY!!!!
 

help me decide on what header to buy!

:search: and read.

No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lets keep it professional ;)

Perrin. I like mine quite a bit. Quality is top notch and there's easily a peak gain of 15-20whp. Only thing is its really hard to find a vendor that sells them.

Perrin has a shop 30min from my house. Lol hmm

Pretty sure Perrin abandoned their header project.

Can you show dyno sheets of that.. that's a pretty huge gain.....

Stay away from Borla.. the quality isnt that great and it sounds cheap. I have yet to find a header that I stand 100% behind. :(

This thread will be filled with people and their personal positive/negative experiences with certain companies. If you really want the best answer to the question read through threads and do plenty of research. There is no 'correct' answer to your question.

wait for nameless

Buy all UEL/EL headers out there And swap out each time

Go with third party dynos and information.

Wow, easily 20whp? Given a stock 86 is ~160whp on a good day, adding this simple breathing part nets 10%+ gains? Will you personally guarantee this?

The one that makes you happy...?

I didn't think that would get taken seriously by anyone. Refer to quote below

Erryday I'm trollin' trollin' trollin' erryday I'm trollin' @Laika

we just ordered the SARD header + SARD frontpipe four our project 86

I like the fa20 club because of its modular design.

I laughed :happy0180:

haha I was half asleep when I saw it :P

Rev Works UEL is awesome

My favorites are the FA20Club EL or Revworks UEL headers. However Nameless is sure to be a good one.

HKS EL headers make the car sound more like a proper purists sports car, if that's your thing.
Sounds pretty throaty and a bit raspy(when cold). Like a baby exotic.
I've got the HKS EL headers and the lightweight HKS Spec-L, so those two work pretty well together. Still yet have to install the MOTIV overpipe though.

Very well described. I am on my first day with HKS EL headers.

I have the Revworks UEL an its awesome!

You will love the exhaust MUCH better with a good K&N or if you can, the TRD USA Airbox. Free-revving from 3.5k-5.5k sounds good, but under load.. sounds throaty and angry.
2nd gear to WOT in a tunnel or small city alley way = OMG.
Smiles for miles is all that I can say.

imho, the BEST setup for our cars.. unless TRD release their Ti exhaust(as seen on their Griffon card).. I'm still hanging out for that.

*EDIT: INSTALL the supplied extension plug for the HKS headers, otherwise you will get consistent CEL warnings. You can remove them with a $10 ELM and Torque app. The car will still run ok with the CEL on, but having it off is better, runs SMOOTHER and has a nicer exhaust 'bark' *

:laughabove::laughabove: :dnftt:

I'm running the Nameless header right now. 207.4 whp last dyno run.

Is this on 93 or e85?

I wish it was on 93! I'm just trolling these endless "What header do I buy?" threads.

Header isn't released yet.

You win the Internets. You had me out at the nameless website and their header thread thinking "where the hell did he get their header already?"

I'm just trying to educate myself and you guys got me going all over the place :(

Where do I go to get better information about choosing/researching? Can't just read all the exhaust threads. There is a base level of knowledge concerning heat, flow, cat VS cat delete, etc. What is right for someone putting the BRZ on a trailer for SCCA events doesn't match someone who will take the car on road trips (with SCCA events in between).

Some non trolling pointers for the noob?

All trolling aside since you are a good sport.

Step One: Do you need Catted for emission reasons or can you do Catless?

Step Two: Are you big on exhaust note? Go UEL if yes and you enjoy the subaru rumble, otherwise, EL is the other option

Step Three: Look at the quality of the header and where it comes from. What kind of material does the shop use and where does it come from? Is there a warranty that backs the product?

Step Four: Yes, you need a tune. These things aren't impressive on their own.

Step Five: Read, read, and read more. There are pages and pages to go through with valuable information.


TLDR

Header popularity/quality in *SOMEWHAT* of a listed order

1. Rev Works
2. JDL
3. Nameless (Not released yet)
4. P&L
5. FA20club

All quality builders and quality shops. You have a lot of research to do my friend. Don't be afraid to ask questions to the vendors either.

Good advice. Not to confuse matters more, but you also may want to consider what your future aspirations are for forced induction. Don't invest in a header if you are ultimately looking at a turbo as it will likely be replaced with a turbo manifold. More and more shops are going the modular header route that will allow you to add a turbo in the future without completely throwing away your initial investment.

Don't forget PPE EL Header.

Yes, there are a few I missed. This is where the research part comes in. What @pixel67 said is important. There are headers made for SC kits for fitment and then there are headers which allow you to mount a front mounted turbo and interchange the wrapped flange to the turbo when you are ready to switch from N/A.

I have the nameless catted dp/overpipe and axleback. I really like the catted fa20header and the nameless header. I plan on going FI in the future that is the man reason why I like the fa20club header.

Fa20, P&L, and Nameless are all turbo compatible (with their respective turbo kits).

Stay stock,...there have been instances of actual power loses when headers have been installed,.Dyno proven...who amongst you is going to claim that all the research and development by Subaru Engineers will be trumped by some small aftermarket company, they squeezed the most out of these engines already NA, its all smoke and mirrors till this car has been around longer. Companies are scrambling to bring products to market to make a buck with very little R n D....

I'm not sure I agree with this. Nameless have been very up front with their research, dyno charts, etc.

It would have to be a pretty big conspiracy that it is standard practice (?) to upgrade the intake and output of the engine.

Each car can't be an Ariel Atom or an Aston Martin. The car will have a target market/price and the engineers will work within those confines. That means certain materials, builds, and limits on development time. The aftermarket starts to find those budget/time limited points and fill in more money/research time.

I'd need a much more technical explanation of why an exhaust system upgrade is moot.

1. I will :)
2. Have you not seen the many development and tuning threads related to headers on this site?

Tuning alone can make a very big and very noticeable difference in the torque dip on the higher rpm side of it. I have proven this to my self with my own tuning on the dyno.

Tuning + properly designed (correctly sized runners, decent collector, good pipe lengths) header have been dyno proven time and again to remove the torque dip all together or atleast reduce it to the point that it is only a few ft-lb deep.

The dip is a result of factory header design and tuning and yes i can improve on what the subaru engineers did in their lab, atleast for my purposes anyway :party0030: