And herein lies the question - race headers for race car - street headers for street car!

What headers for street/track car? I was hoping CG Sport was it - but given this new (to me) information it seems like maybe they are only for the street and for a dual purpose car it is either stock or race headers to assured you don't have issues on the track!;

John said get the race headers - should have listened to him! Just did not want the extra noise for the street.

 

honestly if this car is a dd I would not reccomend race. It's so loud and you can smell some fumes at start up. Plus the wife commented that the brand I have sounds "ricey" which I have to agree at street speeds. However, on track is where you extract all the benefits and glorious sounds when you're constantly pushing the car! Point is, race is meant for track.

 

My point exactly - race = race too much for street - mine is not DD but have heard race and too much for the street.

So now I am back to need a race car!~

 

I don't think the CG race headers are too much for the street, especially when combined with the OEM exhaust. Just driving around normal with the value closed it just sounds a little bit loud....when you get on it, well that's another story.

 

Not 100% sure what the others are using. But we have used the HJS "HD" 200 cell for many years. Many customer cars that frequently come in for services, nut and bolts, hpde prep have run these cats for years without fail. We also use these cats on our turbo application and have not had any premature failures.

-Dom

 

Here are some photos of what Cargraphic shows on their website - I did not check mine before install, but I think they are still the same.

I think this is same as what you are using on yours correct?

Thx Dom

 

The big difference I've noticed in longevity with any aftermarket HFC, is the quality and kind of substrate they use.. ie: ceramic vs metal.
But if you track often you should be catless anyway..

 

For what it's worth, this is the setup I'm using. You can sneak around town and not be obnoxious with the flaps closed and soft pedaling the accelerator. Everyone agrees that it's surprisingly quiet when trying to be quiet. As soon as you mash the gas you release the hounds! The idle sound is okay but the acceleration sound is perfect!

Thanks for the kind words; for what it's worth, I care a lot about our reputation and while I probably don't spend enough time on here, I covet my Rennlist image as we rely heavily on this forum for business. It's great to hear positive feedback...thanks for showing the love!

 

Fantastic thread we have going on here guys! Apologies i'm late to the party...had a long weekend of shifter kart practice and was pretty beat yesterday haha. If anyone is near NJMP this weekend come stop by the DRT tent at the kart track and say hello! Last race of the season To note, also subscribed so feel free to post any questions you may have.

It seems the prime focus of the thread at this point is the debate on whether or not Factory or Sport Headers are sufficient at the track. We do use HJS 200cell Sport Cats on all our high flow cat products, as does GMG and BGB. HJS is the best the aftermarket offers, and if there was a better aftermarket option available, you can bet we would be striving to provide them to the community.

That being said, Sport Header and Factory Header longevity will greatly depend on the extent and variety of use. On street nothing to worry about, and obviously warranty would be intact in the very rare event of a failure at that point. For track use, results are going to vary. Like John had mentioned, on long sustained high RPM tracks, it doesn't matter if it is factory or the best aftermarket cats in the industry...they are going to take a beating and there is no cat in the world that is built to take sustained track abuse. It would be a very expensive and illogical move for any vehicle manufacturer or exhaust manufacturer to warranty a catalytic converter that sees track use.

Our recommendation for track use is Race Headers. If you do choose to beat the snot out of a set of Sport Headers on track and you do have a failure, no that is not covered under warranty, but are we going to beat you over the head and say "you're beat"? Of course not. I will work with you on pricing for the cat core replacement, or get you set up with a catless race header set for a good price. My primary objective is to support our clients and get you back on the track in the best way possible. This is a community that we are lucky to be a part of and that I value very much.


Great post John, and the factory cat failure on the Clubsport is not surprising to hear and as far as I have heard not a rare occurrence.

Just spoke with Jacy a few hours ago on the phone. I was very shocked to hear the extent of his injuries, we should all be very thankful he is still here with us. However, he is recovering well and like a true petrolhead is already talking about when he will be getting back on track
Jacy...you are a hell of guy and I look forward to meeting you in person in the near future.

John for your reference I have been working with Josh (JSlee) in regards to his headers, and he is currently ripping around on a set of a more suitable set Race Headers for his goals. That's all us my friend, nothing to worry about on your end.

I'm all about transparency and communication Josh, no hard feelings for it being known you are working with us. That being said, I apologize for any miscommunication that may have led to a lack in customer support on our end. I was under the impression all was well with the Race Headers I set you up with to support your lovely track addiction. Left you a VM, lets catch up when you have a chance

 

John - follow up question - I have owed 5 different Cup Cars over the years, 4 of which I bought new directly from PMNA - all had cats on them - never a failure - 100% track - hundreds of hours - so what are they using that is holding up so well versus the HD we are hearing of failures with the Cayman platform?

Is the issue the Cayman/GT4 platform is not able to get the heat out as well, then made worse with build up of extra heat from tuning & TB added to the mix?

Is this why Porsche did not put X51 package in the Club Sport - could not manage the heat?

Sorry I am starting to question ramble - any imput on your thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

Hi John - thanks for your call. Let me just clear the air. John at fabspeed has been more than willing to chat when an issue arises. For someone that has only been tracking for 4 months I guess I should have done more homework to know that cats are a no no for the track. I just wished this would have been more transparent from the beginning to only go race. What an expensive lesson.

But yes, I am having a blast with the race headers. Should have done this from the start. Anyone contemplating headers for the track, trust me only go race.

 

All very valid and good questions! John and I were chatting and had some theories on that, will post up shortly after we accumulate a bit more data for you

Thank you for the kind words Josh, never an ideal circumstance and glad you are back on track in relatively good spirits. One of these days i'll be making a trip out to COTA to meet the hardcore petrolheads like yourself. Timing it for when Jacy is back on action, although you are definitely on my list to meet in person and be on track with


To hit on the original topic of this thread, I put together a quick compilation of some of our GT450 packages on track. Enjoy!

 

[QUOTE=. For track use, results are going to vary. Like John had mentioned, on long sustained high RPM tracks, it doesn't matter if it is factory or the best aftermarket cats in the industry...they are going to take a beating and there is no cat in the world that is built to take sustained track abuse. It would be a very expensive and illogical move for any vehicle manufacturer or exhaust manufacturer to warranty a catalytic converter that sees track use. Our recommendation for track use is Race Headers. If you do choose to beat the snot out of a set of Sport Headers on track and you do have a failure, no that is not covered under warranty, but are we going to bea:[/QUOTE]

Except Porsche, who do warrant track use with factory OEM on GT cars. However obvious 'development restraints' persist with the factory setup

 

Porsche will warrant track use with factory setup on GT cars. Track, race, rally, Motorsport in general. Some small question mark around extent of warranty with aftermarket headers, however we've (here in Aus), started to experiment with Sport headers for Tarmac Rally.

 

After so many cat and CA smog issues with my tracked 987 that had aftermarket headers and exhaust, as much as I would love headers for my GT4 I won't be taking the plunge until I hear of an aftermarket cat setup that can do track time without issues.