'17+ stock headers vs aftermarket catted headers - Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community

ThatYeti · 05-18-2020, 09:21 AM

Doing some searching and not seeing much consensus as to whether there's any real benefit to adding a header (if it's going to be catted) in place of the stock '17+ header as apparently they were opened up in the refresh.

Looking for a small bump in power, and to be able to run OFT stage 2, but not sure if adding a header is going to be any better than stock in this case.

(only considering catted header as I'm not looking to run into any emissions testing issues)

Thanks in advance for any help on this.

Ohio Enthusiast · 05-18-2020, 09:32 AM

From my (limited) understanding, the real gain in flattening the torque dip (and a mild boost in overall power) is from removing the cat, not from the tune alone. So I would guess that a catted header wouldn't provide as much benefit as a catless header (or maybe none at all for 2017+).

nikitopo · 05-18-2020, 09:59 AM

A good aftermarket catted header would have a small advantage, because it is using a sport cat. Meaning a cat will less cells.

Lantanafrs2 · 05-18-2020, 10:00 AM

Probably no real advantage with an aftermarket catted header. Catless would help. Tune it and enjoy it. Keep it clean and as stock as possible so you can move it when you want a faster car.

ThatYeti · 05-18-2020, 10:11 AM

Ok, but given there's little difference between the stock '17+ cat and an aftermarket one, would I be ok to move to OFT stage 2 with what i've got stock?

Yoshoobaroo · 05-18-2020, 10:12 AM

Honestly if you want to stay catted on a facelift car, get a flex fuel tune and run E85. torque dip will be gone.

ThatYeti · 05-18-2020, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yoshoobaroo

Honestly if you want to stay catted on a facelift car, get a flex fuel tune and run E85. torque dip will be gone.

Love to.....but the nearest E85 station is 90 mins away....

Yoshoobaroo · 05-18-2020, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThatYeti

Love to.....but the nearest E85 station is 90 mins away....

that's just a small detour on you're way home!

Ernest72 · 05-18-2020, 02:27 PM

Go drive someone’s 13-16 twin with a catless header and compare to your car. Only way you will really know.

My 16 is jdl catless header, jdl FP catted and resonated, drop in filter and Crawford powrblocks with OFT stage 2 plus tune. It is significantly better than stock, but nothing like the bump going to stage 2 on my WRX. Still worth it.

ThatYeti · 05-18-2020, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ernest72

Go drive someone’s 13-16 twin with a catless header and compare to your car. Only way you will really know.

My 16 is jdl catless header, jdl FP catted and resonated, drop in filter and Crawford powrblocks with OFT stage 2 plus tune. It is significantly better than stock, but nothing like the bump going to stage 2 on my WRX. Still worth it.

Appreciate that I guess....cept the whole 'rona thing....And not sure I'd compare a BRZ/86 to a WRX....very different cars

Ernest72 · 05-20-2020, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThatYeti

Appreciate that I guess....cept the whole 'rona thing....And not sure I'd compare a BRZ/86 to a WRX....very different cars

I agree just saying the benefits for NA are small things that add up. Compared to the WRX where changes are more dramatic being a turbo.

jflogerzi · 05-21-2020, 01:13 AM

Not worth it. Only reason if you wanted uel for a different sound.

Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

Yoshoobaroo · 05-21-2020, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jflogerzi

Not worth it. Only reason if you wanted uel for a different sound.

I'm firmly in this camp now too. Once you learn to drive around the torque dip, it's a non-issue. I went from stock > UEL > UEL+FP > UEL+FP+E85 > Stock header/fp + catback. The catback was worth it for the sound. Everything else, even the E85 didn't make a great difference in the higher rev ranges, not for the money spent at least.

RToyo86 · 05-21-2020, 07:26 AM

You will get some power, but sound should be the main goal for that setup.

It allows you to run pretty much any catback without being obnoxiously loud.

05-18-2020, 09:21 AM	#1
ThatYeti Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2019 Drives: BRZ Location: Connecticut Posts: 191 Thanks: 43 Thanked 25 Times in 23 Posts Mentioned: 2 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	'17+ stock headers vs aftermarket catted headers Doing some searching and not seeing much consensus as to whether there's any real benefit to adding a header (if it's going to be catted) in place of the stock '17+ header as apparently they were opened up in the refresh. Looking for a small bump in power, and to be able to run OFT stage 2, but not sure if adding a header is going to be any better than stock in this case. (only considering catted header as I'm not looking to run into any emissions testing issues) Thanks in advance for any help on this.

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05-18-2020, 09:32 AM	#2
Ohio Enthusiast Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2020 Drives: 2018 BRZ Location: Dayton, OH Posts: 898 Thanks: 1,367 Thanked 764 Times in 433 Posts Mentioned: 12 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	From my (limited) understanding, the real gain in flattening the torque dip (and a mild boost in overall power) is from removing the cat, not from the tune alone. So I would guess that a catted header wouldn't provide as much benefit as a catless header (or maybe none at all for 2017+).

05-18-2020, 09:59 AM	#3
nikitopo Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Drives: '15 BRZ RA Location: Greece Posts: 3,787 Thanks: 2,416 Thanked 1,944 Times in 1,261 Posts Mentioned: 29 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	A good aftermarket catted header would have a small advantage, because it is using a sport cat. Meaning a cat will less cells.

05-18-2020, 10:00 AM	#4
Lantanafrs2 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2018 Drives: 2013 frs red Location: South Florida Posts: 3,517 Thanks: 2,520 Thanked 3,088 Times in 1,654 Posts Mentioned: 6 Post(s) Tagged: 1 Thread(s)	Probably no real advantage with an aftermarket catted header. Catless would help. Tune it and enjoy it. Keep it clean and as stock as possible so you can move it when you want a faster car.

05-18-2020, 10:11 AM	#5
ThatYeti Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2019 Drives: BRZ Location: Connecticut Posts: 191 Thanks: 43 Thanked 25 Times in 23 Posts Mentioned: 2 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Ok, but given there's little difference between the stock '17+ cat and an aftermarket one, would I be ok to move to OFT stage 2 with what i've got stock?

05-18-2020, 02:27 PM	#9
Ernest72 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Drives: 16 Silver BRZ, 04 Silver WRX wagon Location: Rockland county, NY Posts: 1,411 Thanks: 182 Thanked 768 Times in 439 Posts Mentioned: 1 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Go drive someone’s 13-16 twin with a catless header and compare to your car. Only way you will really know. My 16 is jdl catless header, jdl FP catted and resonated, drop in filter and Crawford powrblocks with OFT stage 2 plus tune. It is significantly better than stock, but nothing like the bump going to stage 2 on my WRX. Still worth it.

05-21-2020, 07:26 AM	#14
RToyo86 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2018 Drives: 17 Asphalt 86 Location: Ottawa Posts: 2,167 Thanks: 1,708 Thanked 2,205 Times in 1,128 Posts Mentioned: 13 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	You will get some power, but sound should be the main goal for that setup. It allows you to run pretty much any catback without being obnoxiously loud.

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