Headers Question

[mattyd97]

Hey everyone, can someone tell me the difference between equal length headers and unequal length headers, and what effects they will have on my car. I've also been told that I need to make sure my car has "equal back pressure," or something along the lines of that. I'm still learning about my car and I'm not sure what I'm looking to purchase next, so if headers seem more beneficial than a test pipe, I'm all in. Thank you in advance to all who help.

[mike7792]

I recommend reading this thread
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81493

[CSG Mike]

One has equal length runners, and the other has unequal length runners. Unequal makes the car sound like the typical subaru.

A header can give you more gains than a front pipe, but will cost more too. You want both for maximum gains.

[bfrank1972]

Effect from a quality header and a good tune will be maybe 8-10% average increase in power across the power band, except where you normally have the torque dip - there you will see gains much larger than 10% as a good header/tune will mostly flatten the torque dip. Aside from forced induction, headers and tune are the biggest bang for the buck for our puny motors. After headers and tune ($1400 +/- $200) your motor will be just slightly less puny, and louder (definitely more fun because no more torque dip).

Quality UEL vs EL design, both offer similar performance, just up to you which sound you like. Majority seem to like UEL "rumble", I'm in the minority that thinks it sounds like my car is misfiring


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[go_a_way1]

In general EL will out preform UEL however that is not always the case. I like the UEL sound and my car is still a street car not an all out racecar (yet) so I went with UEL. I think that the tune will have the biggest effect on your preformance so do lots of research on that too if you are new to this kind of thing.

[Mr.Impreza]

A lot of the EL headers seem to not remove that tq dip in our cars. A buddy of mine got a EL Tomei and his still stuck with the tq dip.

UEL seems to do better for the dip.

I'd personally go EL if your thinking of getting every little ounce of hp and if your track since when you track your generally at 5000+ all the time.
Also EL is good if you plan to have a 300whp+ car. So if your planning to Turbo the car n the future, EL would probably be better cause you will have more gains.

However for daily, I'd go UEL to improve the low end and mid range and improve that tq dip drastically. Because realistically, most of us are probably reving up to 4500-5000 on a daily drive and not up redline.

For me, I only hit redline when i go onto a highway which is not often.

Anyways yeah I was also debating this...but I'm going UEL. Will sound like my wrx which is bonus

[go_a_way1]

Originally Posted by Mr.Impreza

A lot of the EL headers seem to not remove that tq dip in our cars. A buddy of mine got a EL Tomei and his still stuck with the tq dip.

UEL seems to do better for the dip.

I'd personally go EL if your thinking of getting every little ounce of hp and if your track since when you track your generally at 5000+ all the time.
Also EL is good if you plan to have a 300whp+ car. So if your planning to Turbo the car n the future, EL would probably be better cause you will have more gains.

However for daily, I'd go UEL to improve the low end and mid range and improve that tq dip drastically. Because realistically, most of us are probably reving up to 4500-5000 on a daily drive and not up redline.

For me, I only hit redline when i go onto a highway which is not often.

Anyways yeah I was also debating this...but I'm going UEL. Will sound like my wrx which is bonus

It doesn't matter if you are planning on going turbo as you will be replacing your headers anyways....


(don't mean to be a troll but I have been wanting to use this for a while haha)

[shifter907]

Originally Posted by go_a_way1

It doesn't matter if you are planning on going turbo as you will be replacing your headers anyways....


(don't mean to be a troll but I have been wanting to use this for a while haha)

Attachment 122901

There are a few exceptions of modular headers that can be used with a turbo kit (FA20 Club, and then there are the remote mounts) but for the other 90% of the manifolds, yeah they'll need to be swapped out lol

[go_a_way1]

Originally Posted by shifter907

There are a few exceptions of modular headers that can be used with a turbo kit (FA20 Club, and then there are the remote mounts) but for the other 90% of the manifolds, yeah they'll need to be swapped out lol

So that is like any turbo kit even worth looking at haha!

[kevman_101]

Unless you are in a competitive racing series, do you really need to have 2-5 extra wheel horsepower? Search youtube for headers and listen to the sound they make. Most EL will sounds nearly the same, but UEL`s will sound different because they don`t necessarily have the same length differences from one side to the other.

I like the Open flash and Borla UEL sounds. JDL is too but just find it too pricey. I know the quality is way better, but like I said, I`m not looking to make the max power, I`m not trying to out accelerate another car to make a pass in T6. I want to make the car sound good to my ears and just free up some power at the same time.

[Mr.Impreza]

Originally Posted by go_a_way1

It doesn't matter if you are planning on going turbo as you will be replacing your headers anyways....


(don't mean to be a troll but I have been wanting to use this for a while haha)

Attachment 122901

I don't get it though...what do you mean replacing your headers? Wouldn't the aftermarket UEL or EL be fine?

[bfrank1972]

The whole UEL vs EL thing is overblown. It's down to sound, assuming you're using a well designed header and a custom tune by someone who knows what they're doing. All of the well designed EL headers (ACE for instance, or P&L, JDL, HKS, etc) that I've seen on here with custom tunes fix the torque dip. Also regarless of UEL vs EL, both designs show modest gains in the upper RPM range - certainly there, but nothing earth shattering for either configuration.

When it comes to 'lesser' (cheaper) headers, you'll see variance all over the place. I've seen cheap UEL and EL headers both fail to fix the torque dip. I've also seen poorly tuned 'good' headers fail to fix the torque dip.

In the end, just save your money and get a turbo kit that includes a header

[go_a_way1]

Originally Posted by Mr.Impreza

I don't get it though...what do you mean replacing your headers? Wouldn't the aftermarket UEL or EL be fine?

For a supercharger yes, Turbo no. The turbo is mounted tothe headers so the exhaust spins the turbine on its way to the tail pipe tobuild boost.

[Lunatic]

I think header choice would be because of the sound you want. I wanted a smooth even sound, I have a Top Speed EL header and un catted, resonated 3" Perrin exhaust. I'm # 24 black FRS in this video. You can hear what my combination sounds like.