What would running just my headers do for my performance?
just a HEADER will act like a funnel.....doesnt matter how big the beginning is unless the bottom is opened up too. not much gain will come from just a header.
HEADER!!!! singular!! but yea, that is stupid. first go with a cat back, if you have the money go with the whole exhaust.
if you run with just the header, you will lose performance. Our cars need a little backpressure.
crackajax wrote:if you run with just the header, you will lose performance. Our cars need a little backpressure.
humm you might want to research a bit more... you wont loose any hp from it...
but if your going to do a header get a muffler with either a 2.25" or 2.5" inlet and then get a cat with either a 2.25" or a 2.5" inlet/outlet and go to a local exhaust shop and tell them to make you a exhaust... it will cost about $200 if you have all the pieces (muffler and cat) and then you will see some what of a gain in power... don't expect a lot though.. you have to remember you only have a 4.cyl. engine. not saying its bad, just some people expect like 15hp gain from this... reality is V8 engine's are they only ones who will see these power increases from just a exhaust.
Have you ever driven with just a header?
I swear it's hard to get it going. Maybe you lose low end, but seriously it's not good for performance.
do you mean like open header.. like nothing else after it? or header then stock exhaust? but either way you wouldn't loose any hp.... might be low end torque but no hp loss.
Oh, he meant header to stock exhaust. I'm stupid.
I work with a guy that did that to his cavi and he got an ok gain from it, but it'll be much better with a bigger cat back.
what about a header to just a pipe to the back? should i then just throw a cheap ass can on the back though?
holy crap. do i have to explain bernouli's principle again?
if you have a small diameter pipe say 1 5/8 exhaust gas will have a high velocity meaning that it flys out of the pipe faster this is what people call low end torque- it's NOT BACK PRESSURE. it is a lack of back pressure. when you go to a higher RPM the small pipe creates a restriction (BACKPRESSURE) and you lose power.
if you go to a bigger pipe say 2 1/2 the exhaust slows down untill higher RPM's when there is enough exhaust to fill the area of the pipe and build velocity.
SMALL PIPE = high velocity at low RPM's (low back pressure) restriction at high RPM's (high back pressure)
BIG PIPE = low velocity at low RPM's (backpressure) high velocity at high RPM's ( low back pressure)
IT IS A LACK OF BACKPRESSURE THAT MAKES THIS MAGICAL TORQUE.
the reason that having a header and no exhaust makes a loss of power (by the seat of the pants) is because there is actually low velocity and back pressure. get that engine cranking at 6 grand and you will see a gain.
