Another Header Thread

[stopltracr]

Yes, I searched and read every post about headers but has there been one general consensus? Are headers worth the $ or not? Is there a specific header that has been shown to make decent gains? What I've come to so far is that headers by themselves = decent gain. Cat-back by itself = decent gain. But headers + cat-back = minimal gain over headers/cat-back by itself. So basically, is it worth it to add headers if you already have a cat-back or not?

 

[black mamba1]

Headers may actually be more of a matter of opinion on Gen 3's. The stock headers are actually pretty good. Dodge uses Belangers when they modded the Gen 4 and talked about the Mopar 675 hp package. I have Belangers and I LOVE the aggressive sound, my neighbors do not . For the $3700 I paid for my full exhaust, my power gains were modest. Probably 40 more rhwp at best (but I am guessing).

The most bang for the buck on Gen 3's is a Paxton. For $8000 I could have had over 150 more hp. But again, it is a matter of choice. I love the Belanger sound, and headers work really well w/ the s/c combo. But on the Gen 4 Belangers and exhaust alone seem to make an incredible difference, not so on the Gen 3 it seems.

The Belanger design will make you throw codes if not properly tuned, they run very hot near the O2 sensor and this can be a ***** to fix, but worth it in my view.

 

[wallbanger]

imho.. gen 3 no... gen 4 yes

 

[Nader]

If one was to get 40 rwhp from headers alone on a genIII, everyone would have them. I think you are quoting your complete upgrade you did, heads, cam, pistons etc.

There have be mixed reviews and power increases for genIII headers but for the price and the potential problems that come with aftermarket headers, it does not seem worth it to me and I am sure to many others as well.

 

[MikeR]

ILLSMOQ added Kooks headers to a car with a corsa only, he picked up a additional 25 rwhp.

I added M&M headers to a car with corsa, filters, pulley and tune, I saw a additional 12 rwhp.

I did headers for the power but mostly for the sound. The M&M headers are mild steel and have a nice deep throaty tone. They really changed the sound in my car. I love it.

 

[Nader]

I would suspect ILLSMOQ saw the larger increase since the headers leaned out the fuel curve hence making more power. As opposed to your car which had programming done to lean out the fuel previous to the header install.

ILLSMOQ added Kooks headers to a car with a corsa only, he picked up a additional 25 rwhp.

I added M&M headers to a car with corsa, filters, pulley and tune, I saw a additional 12 rwhp.

I did headers for the power but mostly for the sound. The M&M headers are mild steel and have a nice deep throaty tone. They really changed the sound in my car. I love it.

 

[ILLSMOQ]

I would suspect ILLSMOQ saw the larger increase since the headers leaned out the fuel curve hence making more power. As opposed to your car which had programming done to lean out the fuel previous to the header install.

that's a good theory...it makes sense. I picked up big power across the board with the headers so I feel they were worth it....it sounds much better with them.

 

[black mamba1]

If one was to get 40 rwhp from headers alone on a genIII, everyone would have them. I think you are quoting your complete upgrade you did, heads, cam, pistons etc.

There have be mixed reviews and power increases for genIII headers but for the price and the potential problems that come with aftermarket headers, it does not seem worth it to me and I am sure to many others as well.

You are most likely correct. I had headers, full exhaust, and Vec 3. I probably saw a 25-30 rwhp gain with that at most. My full mods and headwork and cam gave me about an 88 rwhp gain. But the investment was well north of $20k . If I was gonna stop there it would be a waste of money. But I am adding a blower to take the power up past 800 to the rear wheels and needed to beef up the lower end to handle the power.

So Nader is right, if all you are looking for is power gain, the headers and exhaust combo on Gen 3's does not deliver a good ROI. Save your money for the headers and get a killer set of wheels and tires like Nader. But if you plan to go further w/ power mods eventually and get rid of the UPS truck sound of the stock Gen 3...GO FOR IT AND PUT THE HEADERS ON!

 

[viperfuntime]

I was contemplating the same question. My car had a Corsa Catback and a Paxton set up and it felt like it was missing something.....THE SOUND

So I searched the threads and looked into what Header System provides the best sound/performance/material combination. I went with American Racing Headers which included hi flow cats.

Todd at A&C Performance did a a competent job on my install and the car pulls better in the mid range and the car now sounds like a 650rwhp car should sound as opposed to a vacuum on steroids with just the Corsa cat back it had before.

While the gain was modest the fun factor and ka-koon-ka-koon-ka-koon is what I was after so my goals have been met. Now when I pull up to a stop light, that V10 Viper sounds the part.

Here is a link to the dyno before (Corsa and Paxton Only)
YouTube - 2005 Supercharged Dodge Viper Dyno Test

Here is a link to the dyno after - (Corsa, Paxton, and American Racing Headers and hi flow cats) no tuning changes.
YouTube - 2005 Dodge Viper Supercharged

 

[Kenneth Krieger]

Full Belanger set up.......47 hp increase!