Review: Ace Header Type-B / 350
 

Hey Guys, here's a quick review of my ACE header experience. I picked up this header from Matt at ACE while up in VA at 86Expo this year. I had not planned on picking one up, but after talking with Matt, I was really impressed to hear to story behind the making of this header, and was eager to give it a try. I ran this header on my car while it was N/A as well as now that it is boosted. So far, I only have dyno charts from prior to the supercharger, so I will update this thread once I get my car strapped back on the rollers with the Edelbrock kit.

Installation Time: 2 Hours

Installation Difficulty: **

Installation Items:
- ACE Type-B Header
- ACE 350 Overpipe

Previously Installed Exhaust Items:
- Borla Factory Axle Back
- Stock Frontpipe

Unboxing:
The header came well packaged in expandable foam, and included all gaskets and hardware packaged neatly on a piece of card stock with shrink plastic over all the components. Each header is serialized and even included a separate dog tag, which was a cool touch.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d2...psr9bi3jiv.jpg

Hardware Included:
The header included all gaskets necessary to install, which includes:
- 2 Head to Manifold Gaskets
- 1 Header to Overpipe Gasket
- 1 Overpipe to Frontpipe Gasket
As well as hardware for the unique header to overpipe transition:
- 3 Exhaust Studs
- 3 Exhaust Nuts
The gaskets included were nice quality and featured the fire ring around the ID to prevent gasket blow out. Very nice.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d2...psnrjypedi.jpg

Hardware Impressions:
The hardware included was a little lack-luster with standard nuts and studs. A set of stainless metal locking nuts or a set of split lock washers would have been a nice touch to add to this kit to prevent potential for the nuts to back off. The header to overpipe gasket seems to be a unique gasket that would not be available as an OTS part should you have any issues with it.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d2...pskwvhm5hz.jpg

Header Material/Weld Quality:
This is probably my favorite part of this header. The welds all look phenomenal, and were all back purged. The merge inside of the header looks flawless, as well as all of the pipe to flange transitions. The Type B header utilizes a MIG weld at the merges due to the angle of the merge, and it looks great as well. All flanges on the header are nice and thick, and are also of equal material quality as the header tubing.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d2...ps48zlyffa.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d2...ps3350k6x7.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d2...ps5nhax98h.jpg

Fitment:
The header fit the car very well, especially given the tight clearances from the 350 overpipe. As noted by ACE, the 350 overpipe does rub the subframe, but only under hard left hand turns, on stock engine mounts. They suggest stiffer mounts, which I have not tried yet to remedy the rubbing. I received the first production Type B header, and as such ran into one fitment issue. The primary o2 sensor bung was welded such that the sensor came in contact with a connector on the front of the engine when assembled to the car. After notifying Matt, ACE began working on a solution, and eventually sent me out an adapter to space the o2 sensor away from the connector on the engine. I chose to mount my secondary o2 sensor in the new adapter since I did not want my AFR readings to be skewed in the primary o2 by spacing it out of the exhaust stream with the new adapter. In doing so, I had to drill out the adapter to accommodate for the longer sensor tip in the secondary o2 sensor. I also removed the factory heat shield on the o2 sensor for some additional clearance, as this relocation is still a pretty tight fit.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d2...psrc8ftbsw.jpg


Dyno Facility:
Phantasm Motorsports
919 Capital Boulevard
Raleigh, NC 27613
DynoJet Dynamometer

Power Gains:
This is probably what most people are interested in, as the biggest selling point of this header is the claims made of 200whp on an otherwise stock car, with an appropriate tune. With that being said, I chose to compare this header to an OFT Stage 2 setup that I was running prior to making the change to this header, and as such utilized the same OFT Stage 2 tune, only tweaking the VVT tables to compensate for the new header, and adding a bit of timing across the board (~1 degree). I did start to see some knock in the higher RPMs so I didn't advance it any further. Below is a chart comparing a stock dyno run to my best OFT/OFH run to my best OFT/ACE run. While the peak numbers are not vastly different, the midrange is huge, and was VERY noticeable around town.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d2...psxu9yupj8.png

Sound Differences:
I prefer the sound of the UEL header on our engines, however I was willing to give up the sound for power. The EL header does make the car sound much more like a 2.0L high rev engine, so keeping a quiet exhaust on the car was my priority. I also notice a lot more 'mechanical' noise while driving around town, likely due to the wall thickness of the header tubing. I may try to header wrap the unit down the road and see if that helps with the sound.

Overall Impressions (NA):
I am happy I made the switch to the ACE header over the OFH. The midrange power and torque was dramatically improved, and the car was actually fun to drive throughout the entire powerband. Even without the advertised peak horsepower numbers achieved through a custom dyno tune, the power delivery from this header was awesome. I have since added an Edelbrock Supercharger Kit to the car, so I will post up some numbers after I have had a chance to get it on the dyno with this header.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d2...psn51bbzrz.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d2...psrmaymujy.jpg

Reserved for supercharger updates...

look at those terrible welds, and then there is that collector...Oh god!

@raven1231 you know you want one ;)

Wowzers! Check out the difference in torque at 4,250 RPM between stock and Ace. 30 foot pounds! That's nuts.
And there may be just a little bit more left in it with an ideal tune using EcuTek. Very impressive.

Weld porn! That serial # is a cool little touch too.

Do they make them for a 2016 wrx ! :)

If you're not on E85 in that car already, you should be! Definitely do that before a new header! They make SILLY gains running E85 and a downpipe.

In the process of it ha ha. Going to get a dyno tune from TIC once it's all ready to go, just collecting parts currently. Also, trying to make sure it stays as reliable as possible as it's my DD.

Current plan:

Cobb Accessport (have)
Invidia Q300 catback (have)
Depot racing J-pipe/Downpipe Combo (have)
Grimmspeed CAI
Grimmspeed 3 port BC
PRL EGR delete
Nameless BPV
AWD motorsports TGV deletes (have)
Unsure of Flex fuel kit

For sure! Yeah there are a TON of new WRXs running E85 on the daily and they're solid and reliable! They're quickly outpacing the previous gen WRX/STI in the power department while being .5 liters short in the engine department.

Looking good NotSoJDM! I just put in the Type B/250 OP. No dyno yet (except the butt dyno) but ripping through 2k - 5k rpms with this header is unbelievable!

Hmm, wasn't rubbing with very worn engine mounts mentioned in relation to Type A? Shouldn't it be non issue for B-s?

Well, we do have a 2015 WRX R&D car... :D

It's a hit or miss depending on the car.

The A and B position the piping identically. The only real difference is in the weight.

The rubbing has to do with the OP selection, 150/250/350. The Type A vs Type B differences are just the angle of the merges in the 4-2 step down, which results in the Type A being TIG welded and the Type B being MIG welded.

I'm listening lol

@NotSoJDM did Phantasm tune your car with OFT? I'm in NC and I'm looking for a tuner to do my car with the Type A/350 and OFT. This'll be done once I finish putting in my new engine. If so maybe could you PM me some info about them. Thanks! And awesome job!

Hey Jimmy, I did the tune changes for the ACE header on my car. I just used the facilities at Phantasm to Dyno my car. I'll shoot you a message.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Man...! I'm so looking forward to this setup for my BRZ....

Ed

I thought the difference was that the Type A is all butt joints, while the Type B has slip joints (overlap)? Don't think it really changes the first collector merge angle?

You'll notice on a Type A the merge is fully TIG welded where as on a Type B the merge is MIG welded. This is due to the change in merge angle.

Type B: - 20 Degree Converging Angle.
^ Reference: http://counterspacegarage.com/ace-mu...-frs-gt86.html

Type A: - 15 Degree Converging Angle.
^ Reference: http://counterspacegarage.com/ace-mu...-frs-gt86.html

So you are hearing the valve train noise through these headers but not the OFH? I wonder if this is more of a EL header thing than it is a "thin walled tubing" thing, since this noise can also be heard while I was running a Tomei EL.

It's probably a tune thing, are they using OFT stage 2 el canned tune? You hear a lot of valve noise with those tunes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah that's also a possibility since the UEL and EL tunes use different cam timing.

There is more power left on the table in the tune. My type A 350 makes 150-155 ft lbs from 3k rpm to 7k rpm dynojet on my track map. On dyno queen map it makes 160 ft lbs. :)

I would suggest having a really good tuner take a good amount of time to really dial in this header. My tuner said he was able to add a resiculous amount of timing over my uel header. The fact that you only added 1 deg makes me think that you have much more left un tapped.

Unless someone can design a header that will also fit with the factory heat shield. Otherwise it is no go for me.

I never invested much in tuning it because I already had my Edelbrock kit on order and made the switch to ECUtek. I agree there was definitely some room left had I had a chance to really invest in the VVT timing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

150tq from 3000?!? That's on E85 I'm assuming. And by timing, you mean ignition timing not cam timing, right? Very impressive.

Design a header that can fit the factory heatshied? Use the stock header! That will fit perfectly!
In all seriousness, you can ceramic coat this and be done with it! :) Why would a manufacturer try to do that and limit it self in terms of design (efficiency etc) just so can accommodate such an insignificant aspect of a header.

ceramic coating a header leads to less temperatures in the engine bay than the stock with heatshield. there is a thread on here somewhere that showed ceramic coated (uel I believe) vs stock header+heatshield, and the ceramic is a good bit cooler in the engine bay.

catless headers tend to run a bit cooler due no cat restricting flow and holding heat

yes

I hear more valvetrain noise with the ACE versus the OFH, and the pitch has changed due to the UEL/EL.

I was able to wring out 160-165ftlb of torque on E85 with this "other" header, but it's nowhere close to 150 at 3k. The power does not start to build up until 3500~3600, hitting 150 at 4000.

Is it the extra length of the secondaries that allow it to do this? Also, I've experimented with different size front pipes. Let me just say there is a very good reason why ACE headers went with a pregnant 3" FP.

Can you provide a link on that?

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=77107

just searched "ceramic coat temperature"

Can you elaborate? I've been wondering why they went with that design.

From my experimenting with different size front pipes I've found that the larger diameter actually produced more mid-range torque and throttle response without impeding flow or top end gains compared to a straight equal diameter exhaust from the the overpipe to catback. I really don't understand the physics behind why the sudden increase in diameter right in the middle of the exhaust has that effect on this car, but results are results. I'm not sure why it works, but I know it works. lol

Edit: Here you go @TorqueMan777 Stock FP vs 63mm FP vs 70mm FP
https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...50116338_o.jpg

It's not quite a 3" diameter, but I've no doubt the even larger pipe will have a similar result as I got with my 70mm pipe.

and E85 vs 91 petrol while I'm at it
https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...69822151_o.jpg

Do you still have this tune you used with the ACE before you went SC? it would be a good base tune for people using ACE 350 with OFT i think. greetz

I want to see it with E85