Fox944

I would get a cat installed on there if i were you. It will quiet it down some. I'm running a 2.5" exhaust with a 200 cell cat & a reverse-flow turbo muffler.

savvas944

i agree ,my car is noisy too even with 2 straight through mufflers,no cat , in place of the original ones with a full 76 mm exhaust pipe.Got 2 tickets already within a month, but at 6750 on 4th gear the noise is something!!!
By the way from where i can check these Stahl headers and any idea of their cost?

JDS968

Honestly I'm not really looking to quiet it down. It doesn't actually bother me, and I suppose I shouldn't be driving it fast around town anyway

Anyway, how much would a high-flow cat run? It's got to be more than a muffler with equivalent sound dampening.

Grun_RS

I've seen this debate a few times on different forums and IMO it boils down to what the car will be used for. For a street car, the exhaust system is optimized for best over-all performance from the factory. However, from what I've read the factory header does have a low flow issue at the joints. This may only be an issue if the engine often run at high rpm.

Generally the mistake many make when modifying the exhaust is going too big and greatly reducing the back-pressure which reduces low end power.

I agree with much of what Scott mentioned above. The best mod w/o getting into expensive engine mods is reducing weight where possible.

What I noticed was the restriction of the resonator and weight of the system. Since I heard the factory cat flows fairly well I chose to just get a cat-back system. The c/b system not only reduces weight, but also provides better flow. I also installed an aftermarket chip which works well with the c/b system.

Fox944

looked at pricing for the SFR header.

for those interested;

304 Stainless: $1,899.99
304 W/ Ceramic Coating: $2,229.98
321 Stainless: $2,199.98
321 w/Ceramic Coating: $2,529.97

Double slip fit adds $249.99 to the price
wastegate inlet pipe adds $149.99 to the price

I guess i wasnt loosing my mind in regards to the pricing i remembered. So the question becomes, is a 304 CC SFR header worth over $1,000 more then a Ceramic Coated Stahl header? without dyno testing.....one can only wonder. The quality is there, but no proof of gains.

As i said in the past, i purchased the Stahl header because dyno proof existed that it worked on our cars and could not justify spending over $1,000 more for a product which hasnt been dyno tested. If no one else has done so, when i'm done with my car; i may purchase an SFR header and do back to back dyno runs (keep the one that makes more power across the band and sell the other).

Damian in NJ

I'm don't know where you're getting your pricing from, this shows SFR at $999.

http://www.speedforceracing.com/index.php?productID=752

Fox944

I'm getting my prices from SFR's websight for their stage 2 header which is the "masterpiece" everyone is talking about in this thread.

The Stage 1 header is a factory replacement header and is not a 4-into-1 design like the stage 2 or stahl header.

RajDatta

You weren't losing your mind but you are adding up costs that are not needed. Some of those options only apply to turbo cars or cars that are heavily tracked.
Raj

Fox944

I would want a ceramic coated header. So it would cost me at least $2,229.98
My Stahl Header is also ceramic coated, and so was every header i ever installed on any of my project cars.

Anyway you slice the cake, you are looking at $900 to a little over a Thousand more for an SFR Header compared to a Stahl Header. And without Dyno results that prove this header gives gains/better gains (if so, how much better)...the $1,000 premium isnt justified for most people.

As for the other options, i listed them and did not add them to the price.

Joel8005

Anybody running headers or exhaust from these guys? www.csmotorsports.net/ They claim bigger HP claims gains from their header than Stahl.
Cheers,
Joel

Fox944

I saw that header for sale on ebay. I wonder if their claim refers to BHP or RWHP.

Joel8005

Dont know, they are going to send me more info about their header and exhaust.

Fox944

Awesome, keep us updated.

RajDatta

I was referring to wastegate and slip fit options. You don't get either on a stahl header, so to do an apples to apples, you have to spec them similarily.
Raj

Fox944

Right, which is why i did not spec the header with either when i posted the prices.

Howver, I did list them (separately) for those interested. I don't understand where your confusion is.