Are Magnaflow headers any good?

[Fronkey]

Hi all, new to the forum!

I just bought a black on black '14 FRS (high miles but well maintained and in great shape) and am starting to plan out some mods. I work at a big chain auto parts store and can get a Magnaflow catted header at a very good price (~$750 with my employee discount). I can't find any reviews and am wondering if anyone has tried them and if they offer any benefit over stock. I plan on getting an OFT soon to tune.

Short/intermediate term plan is to do a couple of engine bolt-ons just to pep the car up a little and alleviate the torque dip, then focus on suspension. May go forced induction way down the road, but I'm not too concerned about any parts redundancy/incompatibility when that time comes.

While I'm new here, I'm not new to modded sports cars. I've had a few, including an AW11 MR2, 300zx TT, and a 944 Turbo S. While this is my first "Subaru", a buddy of mine had a couple of STI's and I've helped him with some mods in the past (exhaust, DS, various suspension components). I'm hoping the hardware on our cars isn't as soft as that used on the STI's. I've never broken as many bolts as I have working on his cars.

I am in love with this car so far, and I'm excited to be here leaning about the platform.

Thanks in advance for any help or advice!
Fronkey

[Jaunt86]

I have that header on my 2014.

It seems like a nice product. Be forewarned that it makes the car pretty loud.

Only issue I had was that it came in contact with the belly pan a little bit causing a vibration sound. Nothing a quick adjustment couldn’t resolve.

[PulsarBeeerz]

They are ok, but not a commonly recommended unit.

[Ernest72]

Is a catted header worth it? I thought removing that cat is what really gets you the power. Just keep your front pipe cat and you have no smell.

[spcmafia]

Originally Posted by Ernest72

Is a catted header worth it? I thought removing that cat is what really gets you the power. Just keep your front pipe cat and you have no smell.

I mean, it depends on quality and application. Haven't read that many threads on people that are boosted and using UEL catted headers. On NA, and 91-93 you miss out about 3-5HP peak power I think.



From personal experience, and using a catted JDL UEL header, it was a very different feel from using stock with a stage 1 OFT versus a Stage 2 from Steve with JDL. Way better.

[cmiovino]

Originally Posted by Ernest72

Is a catted header worth it? I thought removing that cat is what really gets you the power. Just keep your front pipe cat and you have no smell.

Cat technology (mainly flow) has come a long way. They were only invented in the 1970's. In the 1990's tuning scene and even early 2000's when I got into it, they were still generally restrictive and going catless did help, even on lower power applications. In the last 20 years, they've just gotten less and less restrictive, probably due to fuel efficiency needs, that you're really only adding 2-3hp by removing them.

With that said, the stock front pipe really cuts down on drone, rasp, and sound level. Usually a catless header is going to be a bit cheaper, plus not increase sound enough for people to complain if they keep a catted front pipe. Catless headers are usually the way to go because of this.