EL vs UEL - Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community

RenaissanceBoy · 10-22-2013, 04:05 AM

I've always been taught that EL headers give you better performance,while UEL will give you that boxer rumble. But I'm curious just how much performance you are sacrificing with UEL. Does a UEL header still eliminate the infamous torque dip? Also, besides price, are there any drawbacks to EL? Sorry if this has been explained, but I couldn't find anything comparing the two.

IAmNotTheDriftKing · 10-22-2013, 04:24 AM

Basically it is up to you. ELs will give you more power up top but the generally don't give as much torque throughout the rev range. UELs are the opposite, they have a bit more power through the band but loose out up top. If you aren't going turbocharged(in which case ELs will be the best choice no questions asked) then either one will work fine, you probably won't feel a difference.

I personally enjoy UELs, just cause it sounds great! Pick which one you like, and then see which company makes the best headers. I would check out Nameless for EL, and JDL for UEL(or EL both are nice).

RenaissanceBoy · 10-22-2013, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IAmNotTheDriftKing

Basically it is up to you. ELs will give you more power up top but the generally don't give as much torque throughout the rev range. UELs are the opposite, they have a bit more power through the band but loose out up top. If you aren't going turbocharged(in which case ELs will be the best choice no questions asked) then either one will work fine, you probably won't feel a difference.

I personally enjoy UELs, just cause it sounds great! Pick which one you like, and then see which company makes the best headers. I would check out Nameless for EL, and JDL for UEL(or EL both are nice).

Thanks For the response. Is there one that is better for supercharging?

enjoi23 · 10-22-2013, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RenaissanceBoy

Thanks For the response. Is there one that is better for supercharging?

I wouldn't be able to answer your question about which is better for supercharging but a tune with either EL or UEL will really WAKE this car up..You'll see

.

Most ELs out still have a little bend to them, so you don't completely lose the boxer rumble. UEL still sounds better to the majority. I simply went with EL because the company that made my amazing MXP Exhaust made MXP EL headers. I'll put up a video later today.

As far as UEL headers, STAY AWAY FROM BORLA, and you'll be fine

FR-S Matt · 10-22-2013, 10:33 AM

I went with a JDL UEL for my NA build 3" exhaust. When I go turbo, I'll most likely be going EL pending on how much I love my UEL rumble.

The difference in horsepower is negligible sub 300 whp. You start seeing larger differences the higher you go. If sound is your thing, go UEL and don't look back.

enjoi23 · 10-22-2013, 10:33 AM

This is a local guy's fr-s exhaust setup with UEL headers. He has borla, which is good when it works without leaks, but you'd probably get a leak sometime in the future honestly..

Regardless, a really nice setup.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8K3jfu_17os"]PhastekSport.com - Borla UEL Header 17284 for the Scion FR-S / Subaru BRZ - YouTube[/ame]

ATL BRZ · 10-22-2013, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RenaissanceBoy

I've always been taught that EL headers give you better performance,while UEL will give you that boxer rumble. But I'm curious just how much performance you are sacrificing with UEL. Does a UEL header still eliminate the infamous torque dip? Also, besides price, are there any drawbacks to EL? Sorry if this has been explained, but I couldn't find anything comparing the two.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30928
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36530
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=653
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20525
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37877
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36855
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49012

Quote:

Originally Posted by IAmNotTheDriftKing

Basically it is up to you. ELs will give you more power up top but the generally don't give as much torque throughout the rev range. UELs are the opposite, they have a bit more power through the band but loose out up top. If you aren't going turbocharged(in which case ELs will be the best choice no questions asked) then either one will work fine, you probably won't feel a difference.

I personally enjoy UELs, just cause it sounds great! Pick which one you like, and then see which company makes the best headers. I would check out Nameless for EL, and JDL for UEL(or EL both are nice).

I agree with most of this but I must throw this monkey wrench in here per the bolded part of your quote:

UEL FTW!

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mmbv14nXE1w"]Subaru BRZ stationary revs with JDL Auto Design UEL header - YouTube[/ame]

Quote:

Originally Posted by enjoi23

As far as UEL headers, STAY AWAY FROM BORLA, and you'll be fine

Great advice!

IAmNotTheDriftKing · 10-22-2013, 04:01 PM

Quote:

I agree with most of this but I must throw this monkey wrench in here per the bolded part of your quote:

The dyno you showed is my favorite one to show to all the people that say UELs are more sound then performance. My ass if they are!

wparsons · 10-22-2013, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IAmNotTheDriftKing

The dyno you showed is my favorite one to show to all the people that say UELs are more sound then performance. My ass if they are!

That's only because the Borla EL is a huge POS.

A properly designed EL will outperform a properly designed UEL across the whole RPM range, period.

ATL BRZ · 10-22-2013, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wparsons

the Borla EL is a huge POS.

Agree; same as their UEL.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wparsons

A properly designed EL will outperform a properly designed UEL across the whole RPM range, period.

I've yet to see that on this platform by any significant margin.

IAmNotTheDriftKing · 10-22-2013, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wparsons

That's only because the Borla EL is a huge POS.

A properly designed EL will outperform a properly designed UEL across the whole RPM range, period.

I wouldn't say the whole rev range but up top power, they are definitely the best.

FR-S Matt · 10-22-2013, 06:09 PM

I'll put JDL's UEL against the best made EL's out there. It's producing outstanding numbers so far. Like I said, the sound is what does it for me.

arghx7 · 10-22-2013, 09:25 PM

As far as turbo engines go, the stock UEL manifolds on the EJ25 cause an imbalance between banks.

czar07 · 10-22-2013, 10:22 PM

Personally I think UEL sound like shit on all boxer motors. The ELs dont sound amazing either, but its a 4 cylinder engine, cant do much about it

10-22-2013, 04:05 AM	#1
RenaissanceBoy Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Drives: 13 Subaru BRZ CBS Premium 6MT Location: Dover Posts: 25 Thanks: 12 Thanked 4 Times in 2 Posts Mentioned: 4 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	EL vs UEL I've always been taught that EL headers give you better performance,while UEL will give you that boxer rumble. But I'm curious just how much performance you are sacrificing with UEL. Does a UEL header still eliminate the infamous torque dip? Also, besides price, are there any drawbacks to EL? Sorry if this has been explained, but I couldn't find anything comparing the two.

10-22-2013, 10:22 PM	#14
czar07 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Drives: '97 RSP JZZ30 GT-T Location: Australia Posts: 612 Thanks: 365 Thanked 192 Times in 101 Posts Mentioned: 2 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Personally I think UEL sound like shit on all boxer motors. The ELs dont sound amazing either, but its a 4 cylinder engine, cant do much about it __________________ Germans>Japanese>Italians>Americans. Unless its a Corvette.

10-22-2013, 04:24 AM	#2
IAmNotTheDriftKing Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Drives: I own an FR-S. . . whatelse! Location: Northwest Indiana Posts: 318 Thanks: 114 Thanked 140 Times in 84 Posts Mentioned: 1 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Basically it is up to you. ELs will give you more power up top but the generally don't give as much torque throughout the rev range. UELs are the opposite, they have a bit more power through the band but loose out up top. If you aren't going turbocharged(in which case ELs will be the best choice no questions asked) then either one will work fine, you probably won't feel a difference. I personally enjoy UELs, just cause it sounds great! Pick which one you like, and then see which company makes the best headers. I would check out Nameless for EL, and JDL for UEL(or EL both are nice).

10-22-2013, 09:25 PM	#13
arghx7 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Drives: car Location: cold Posts: 599 Thanks: 72 Thanked 611 Times in 185 Posts Mentioned: 33 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	As far as turbo engines go, the stock UEL manifolds on the EJ25 cause an imbalance between banks.

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