kwikt

I've been kicking around the idea about picking up a set of headers for the 968. How much hp can I expect? Will I feel the difference? I have a B&B cat back without the resonator. Will this bolt up to the headers? Recently did the air box mod along with a stage 1 RSbarn chip which showed an improvement over stock according to the butt-o-meter. What do you guys think????Is it worth the $$$.

Damian in NJ

Try
www.speedforceracing.com

or call Michael Mount at Burtonsville
301-490-3131

Make sure you know what material the header is made out of-what grade of stainless steel, coated mild steel, etc.

SpeedBump

If you do add the header you will want to upgrade your chip to RSBarn's stage II which is designed for the new mods or get a custom tune done.

savvas944

from my expensive experience,they dont worth the few BHP without changing the complete exhaust to 3 inch with straight through mufflers, and connecting it to the twin downpipe connection thus removing the internal-yes internal factory
44mm oval restriction inside the main pipe.

They may look good ,but unless someone presents real time power graphs
before and and after fixing i feel is a waste of money ,without any extensive mods on this particular engine.

Fox944

Header is a great modification. the SFR header is over priced. Based on the design, it looks like it would make good low end power but not much up top. an qual length long tube header like the Stahl is cheaper and dyno proven to give great results. many people are running them in their cars (including me). As said above, your best bet to take advantage of the header is to get an RS Barn Sage 2 chip. They also sell the header. There are a couple of other vendors who sell the Stahl Header.

Damian, do you know anyone who has an SFR header? Anyone who has independently Dyno tested it on an N/A motor and found gains? more to the point, were those gains better or worse then gains you get from a stahl header? Lastly, is the price justified?

Damian in NJ

He asked for options, I gave. I'd say the cost difference comes down to the Stahl header being mild steel and the SFR to be two choices of stainless.

richard glickel.

I've got the Stahl headers on the race car. Got to admit though, that SpeedForce Stage 2 header is a beautiful piece.

RolexNJ

Speaking purely as a Member, you have no clue what the hell you are taking about with respect to the SFR Headers. The SFR is over-priced, compared to what? Most of the headers out there are ok, sometimes crack, and offer minimal gains. Tim's work is a piece of art, and has quantifiable results on both the Stage 1 & Stage 2. Go over to the 944T forum, and tons of people will attest to this. Two, I've had it on my old car and it made big gains. Three, it shifted the curve and I sacrified some low end, but gained a great amount in mid and top end, you have it reverse. Lastly, I have a brand new Stage 2 ready for my 3.1L 16V, and know it will yield fantastic results. You may want to get hands-on experience before you speculate such information, and it becomes gospel on here.

Fox944

What exactly do i have no clue about? I asked a simple question. i Will ask again. Do you or anyone have dyno sheets of SFR's header on a naturally aspirated 968? This header may be great for a 951, but that means nothing to me in regards to the 968. The 3" straight pipe i had on my 951 gave wonderfull gains as well. Not so much on the 968.

Lastly, the price of this header was greatly reduced. Last time i checked SFR's page, it was priced @ $2.5K I was not aware the price had been significantly reduced. Hence the over priced comment. Either way, i have yet to see Dyno proven results of the gains to a Naturally aspirated 3.0L 968.

StewHatch

One thing to consider is the material used to fabricate the system. Type 304 stainless is often used by aftermarket mfrs. and has been known to crack after cycling hot / cold over a period of time. It's hard to predict if this will occur with our cars because I am not privvy to the temps involved respective to our cars. Type 409 ss is another grade of stainless that is used: this is a grade that was originally created specifically with auto / truck exh systems in mind ie. heat shields, cat converter shells, flanges, etc.. 409 also sees service in exhaust stacks and components used on gas-turbine applications, specifically in power generating stations. It is commonly dual stabilized using titanium and columbium (aka niobium) and it's inherent mechanical properties allow for this grade to cycle hot / cold in an improved manner. The down side for 409: levels of chromium and Nickel - elements used to enhance corrosion resistance - are extremely low compared to any 300 series stainless & the near-absence of these elements makes for a dull grey finish, not at all as attractive as a 304 stainless steel system. Some Z-06 Corvettes were produced with a 409 stainless exh header system, and the 409 was aluminized for an enhanced appearance. IIRC the cat-back on the Z-06 was titanium for a significant weight savings advantage, and superior lifespan. I'm not sure if anyone's ever seen a Titanium exhaust header system for our cars. IMO that would be the ultimate, but cost would be very high I'd imagine. I guess it all boils down to what you want to pay, type of motor / application, and what's commercially available. FWIW, I've heard of jet hot coated (pls correct me if this terminology is in error) headers that are fabricated from 304 ss and they're touted to work that much better due to their ability to help lower underhood temps associated with heat transfer. Hope this helps.

RolexNJ

On everything, do research on RL and on Headers.

Fox944

In other words, you cant supply dyno proof that the SFR header gives gains to a naturally aspirated 968 or how it compares to other headers available for our cars.

While the SFR header looks really good, i never purchased it myself because there was no dyno proof that it works and works well on our cars. At the time, it was priced @ 2.5K. So i went with a Stahl header as it was much cheaper and had proven results.

Thank you for answering the question.

RolexNJ

Damian in NJ

SFR also offers 321 ss, which it recommends for track only cars. It claims never to have had a failure with any of their headers.

Also, they can keep costs down because they make the product, not buy and resell. And this is no endorsement of SFR, btw. I've never owned anything from them.

StewHatch

A header system fabricated from 321 ss would definitely qualify it as a hi-end product. Now that I think about it, I've heard of another company called "TUBI" that makes such systems, but I've only seen them marketed for the 993/ 996 /997/986/ Cayman (987?) and perhaps the Cayenne. Seems the 968 is often overlooked when it comes to aftermarket options.