Borla Unequal Length Header Review and DIY

[Andrew025]

Originally Posted by TM

Yeah, that's exactly what it sounds like. I don't think it's a leak, because if it was, shouldn't the sound be there even when it's idling?


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That's what I assumed.

[Wepeel]

Originally Posted by TM

Yeah, that part was rusted like there was no tomorrow. Took me quite a bit of effort to get those two nuts off. Was a pain in the ass.

Now that I have the Borla UEL installed. There's a weird sound when I accelerate. Kinda sounds like air is going out somewhere. Only when I step on the gas petal though.

Originally Posted by Andrew025

I think I have that same sound.
Sounds like a rush of air? I only hear it at either certain RPMs or throttle position.
I didn't notice any exhaust leak while I was down there after installing but I'm going to check again when I get a chance.

Just installed mine on Friday. Piece of cake.

I had the rush of air sound, like a flutter or air pulses of exhaust. Only under load, couldn't replicate at idle or idle revving. At first I thought it might just be "header noise" due to thinner walls, aftermarket, etc, but it sounded too much like a leak to me. Couldn't feel any leaks during idle (held up thin plastic to see if it wavered anywhere at the joints), didn't find anything. Removed the header, checked gaskets, and there were soot blowby marks on 2 of the 3 gaskets (header/overpipe and passenger side header/engined). This was evident after only a day of driving. I used all new gaskets and torque'd to spec.

The car also seemed sluggish.

I'm in the process of contacting Borla. Luckily the swap is so easy that removing/replacing is not a big deal.

[Andrew025]

Originally Posted by Wepeel

Just installed mine on Friday. Piece of cake.

I had the rush of air sound, like a flutter or air pulses of exhaust. Only under load, couldn't replicate at idle or idle revving. At first I thought it might just be "header noise" due to thinner walls, aftermarket, etc, but it sounded too much like a leak to me. Couldn't feel any leaks during idle (held up thin plastic to see if it wavered anywhere at the joints), didn't find anything. Removed the header, checked gaskets, and there were soot blowby marks on 2 of the 3 gaskets (header/overpipe and passenger side header/engined). This was evident after only a day of driving. I used all new gaskets and torque'd to spec.

The car also seemed sluggish.

I'm in the process of contacting Borla. Luckily the swap is so easy that removing/replacing is not a big deal.

Thanks for the info.
I'll check mine out tomorrow. I've had it on for about 2 weeks so I'm assuming it should be fairly obvious to see the soot if there is any.
Let us know how the contact with Borla goes.

[TM]

Originally Posted by Wepeel

I had the rush of air sound, like a flutter or air pulses of exhaust. Only under load, couldn't replicate at idle or idle revving. At first I thought it might just be "header noise" due to thinner walls, aftermarket, etc, but it sounded too much like a leak to me. Couldn't feel any leaks during idle (held up thin plastic to see if it wavered anywhere at the joints), didn't find anything. Removed the header, checked gaskets, and there were soot blowby marks on 2 of the 3 gaskets (header/overpipe and passenger side header/engined). This was evident after only a day of driving. I used all new gaskets and torque'd to spec.

Yikes, I'll check mine sometime this week. I could replicate the air sound even during idle revving.

For me, it seems like the whooshing sound is coming from the right of where I'm sitting. I suspect it might be where I unbolted the front pipe from the midpipe to push the pipe back to pull the headers out.

[Wepeel]

Originally Posted by Andrew025

Thanks for the info.
I'll check mine out tomorrow. I've had it on for about 2 weeks so I'm assuming it should be fairly obvious to see the soot if there is any.
Let us know how the contact with Borla goes.

Oh, after 2 weeks it will def be noticeable if there is anything. I think I drove about 50 miles total lol

[Wepeel]

Originally Posted by TM

Yikes, I'll check mine sometime this week. I could replicate the air sound even during idle revving.

For me, it seems like the whooshing sound is coming from the right of where I'm sitting. I suspect it might be where I unbolted the front pipe from the midpipe to push the pipe back to pull the headers out.

Could be. I didn't disconnect the front pipe to midpipe, just unbolted the bracket and unhooked the exhaust and tucked it behind it.

[Andrew025]

Checked mine out, didn't see any signs of soot where it shouldn't be.
Tightened everything back to spec, went for a drive and it seemed less pronounce.
Probably just placebo since I just tightened it all, I dunno.

[TM]

I just checked the gaskets. Same here. No soot where it shouldn't be. Bolted everything back up and torqued to spec. Took my car for a ride and the sound is still there, louder than ever. I guess it's just a part of how it is. I'll have to learn to live with it.


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[Wepeel]

Originally Posted by Andrew025

Checked mine out, didn't see any signs of soot where it shouldn't be.
Tightened everything back to spec, went for a drive and it seemed less pronounce.
Probably just placebo since I just tightened it all, I dunno.

Originally Posted by TM

I just checked the gaskets. Same here. No soot where it shouldn't be. Bolted everything back up and torqued to spec. Took my car for a ride and the sound is still there, louder than ever. I guess it's just a part of how it is. I'll have to learn to live with it.

When you say "no soot where it shouldn't be" do you mean no soot outside of the the gasket circles? Borla sent a replacement, I put it on, and get the same noise. It was manufactured on the same day as the first one. I will check the gaskets today or tomorrow.

[Andrew025]

Originally Posted by Wepeel

When you say "no soot where it shouldn't be" do you mean no soot outside of the the gasket circles? Borla sent a replacement, I put it on, and get the same noise. It was manufactured on the same day as the first one. I will check the gaskets today or tomorrow.

My gaskets were clean, just the typical color change from heat.

[TM]

Originally Posted by Wepeel

When you say "no soot where it shouldn't be" do you mean no soot outside of the the gasket circles? Borla sent a replacement, I put it on, and get the same noise. It was manufactured on the same day as the first one. I will check the gaskets today or tomorrow.

I have some picture on my phone. Here they are:



I did a lot of searching on this whoosh sound. Some possible reasons may be the shape of the flex-joints deflecting the air a certain way, or the more likely reason, the thin tubing of the Borla being less effective at sound deadening than the OE headers. I did hear from one guy who switched from Borla to some other header commented on how thin the Borla headers are compared to others.

The next time I'm under the car, I might check around the welds and see if there are any leaks there. If you're still unsure, you can go to an exhaust shop and have them test for leaks.

[Moetivegt86]

Do we absolutely have to use a 02 sensor wrench? If we unplug it and drop the header can we just use a 22mm box end wrench?

[Andrew025]

Originally Posted by Moetivegt86

Do we absolutely have to use a 02 sensor wrench? If we unplug it and drop the header can we just use a 22mm box end wrench?

You don't have to If you have the appropriately sized wrench.

[akahenry]

Just out of curiosity, is it recommended to install a brand new header (UEL in this case) along with an overpipe at the same time? If not, would it be fine to simply install an aftermarket catless header while keeping the stock overpipe? I know for a fact an aftermarket overpipe isn't going to give any significant or noticeable horse power improvement over the stock overpipe, but is it worth it to upgrade to an aftermarket overpipe (performance wise)? Is it worth it to spend a couple hundred bucks on an overpipe for slightly better flow- is my real question. (I feel like this second question is redundant and voids my aforementioned question lol) Comments, suggestions, and opinions are greatly appreciated!