I wanted to get a little extra HP out of my little 4 banger so I added a K&N air filter(highly recommended) and I took off the stock exhaust manifold in favor of an after market header. Well, after taking apart the top half of the engine in order to do what should be a relatively easy project, I did notice a little extra pep. The problem is that unless you are going to buy the super high-end porcelain lined headers ($300 and up and still no real guarantee), these things give out in 2 years or less. Either from rust, cracking, heat, cold, someone called it a dirty name, etc.. Your exhaust will then be loud as hell and you will be faced with a choice- do I want to buy another cheap header, or spend more money on a new stock manifold. If you're smart stay with the stock manifold in the first place!!! See, while the header will give you a tiny bit of pep, it overheats the rest of your exhaust system and can pop all of the weld spots. I didn't think it was possible for exhaust to break welds but apparently it can! To my shame, I've been through 2 headers in 3 years(and at least as many weld jobs), and I bought a stock manifold recently, but now it will cost extra to have it put on because now you also have to replace a piece of pipe that was cut out in order for the header to be installed. In short, NEVER MESS WITH THE EXHAUST SYSTEM UNLESS YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO!!!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
I wanted to get a little extra HP out of my little 4 banger so I added a K&N air filter(highly recommended) and I took off the stock exhaust manifold in favor of an after market header. Well, after taking apart the top half of the engine in order to do what should be a relatively easy project, I did notice a little extra pep. The problem is that unless you are going to buy the super high-end porcelain lined headers ($300 and up and still no real guarantee), these things give out in 2 years or less. Either from rust, cracking, heat, cold, someone called it a dirty name, etc.. Your exhaust will then be loud as hell and you will be faced with a choice- do I want to buy another cheap header, or spend more money on a new stock manifold. If you're smart stay with the stock manifold in the first place!!! See, while the header will give you a tiny bit of pep, it overheats the rest of your exhaust system and can pop all of the weld spots. I didn't think it was possible for exhaust to break welds but apparently it can! To my shame, I've been through 2 headers in 3 years(and at least as many weld jobs), and I bought a stock manifold recently, but now it will cost extra to have it put on because now you also have to replace a piece of pipe that was cut out in order for the header to be installed. In short, NEVER MESS WITH THE EXHAUST SYSTEM UNLESS YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO!!!
- Stefan E., Eastpointe, MI, US