Getting closer. No clear yet.

 

Well that came out rather nicely, don't you think?

 

I could not have asked for better quality. Can't wait to see the finished product Monday!

 

More stuff came in...

 

 

Damn man, you must suck a mean dick for the price you got this for lulz just went through the whole thread, pretty crazy stuff here.

 

Sneak peak. (Pun intended.)

 

Dirty from the dust, etc. but you get the idea. I pick it up tomorrow.




​​​​Next up: two point front strut bar.
​​​​​​

 

 

That's some nice work.

 

My thirteen plus year old Blackworks header cracked where the primaries meet the flange to bolt to the head, and this header has been repaired a few times before, so now I'm ordering a new header. Will have it put back on the dyno after the header install to see if I can blip over 300whp out of just the header swap.

I'm ordering a PLM "RB" header which is a replica of the R Crew/Akmee and K Tuned big tube headers. Ultimately one day I'll snag a ASP header, but that's $1,350.00 vs. the $270.00 I'm paying for this PLM LOL!




The PLM makes the same power (actually edged out in a few pulls) as the header it knocks off - the R Crew/Akmee. K Tuned big tube is an almost-same-price rep of the OG R Crew/Akmee header. This was proven by Mikey Spec of H-T a few years ago when he did THESE DYNO SHOOTOUTS.

I'll keep you guys updated once the header arrives. That will be a week away. Until then I'm focusing on swapping the front rotors and pads, and cleaning the car for the upcoming Import Alliance meet at Atlanta Motor Speedway where the car will be featured in the Showcase parking inside the garage. If you're coming to IA make sure to stop by and chat in person!

 

Good luck with the header. Frankly every PLM header I've ever seen has been garbage craftsmanship.

 

 

Have you owned one? How long did it last before you had issues? What issues did you encounter? Do know people personally that had issues?

I get it - welds won't be as nice as the R Crew, etc. but if it doesn't crack, fits perfectly (as I've seen plenty of people attest that they do fit perfectly) then which part of the garbage quality will affect it's performance? My current header is cracked and I will not drive it like that. Import Alliance is coming, and I've got other **** to shore up on the car before the weekend of March 24-25th. I also just dropped close to $4K on all the other ****, so I'm taking a chance on the PLM. Worst case? It doesn't fit and I have my current BWR welded up, then I order an R Crew/Akmee. Better, but not perfect case is I don't gain any power, and the welds crack over time? I'm all about some name brand parts (I got excellent name brand/not knock offs coilovers because they affect every driving aspect of the car) but for a header? If it makes MORE power then I don't care what it looks like, for real.

Another aspect in play is what if I LOSE power with the PLM? Well then, I'd have been super pissed had I spent $750.00 on an R Crew because they perform EXACTLY the same. At least this way I'll find out if i just need to save up for that ASP $1,350.00 header.

Before anyone assigns a "tone" to my post I'll let you all know I'm not being sarcastic, or being an *******. I'm just curious about specifically which parts of poor craftsmanship affected the header performance on a given vehicle.

 

I've installed two on friends cars (B series) - One had a warped head flange and didn't wouldn't seal correctly, we were able to take it to a belt sander and use an MLS gasket which helped. The other one was a 4-2-1 slip joint design and they didn't include the springs/locks with the package, and the collector flange was also tilted/off kilter. Those are the only two I've worked with personally.

Truthfully, we were able to get all of that fixed within a day on both cars. The headers performed fine, basic N/A cars. I never heard of either header, or any PLM header for that matter actually breaking or cracking prematurely. I've just never been a fan of them, at all. I may be letting my own bias color my opinion somewhat too. I've had better luck with Skunk2 and 1320 headers within the same price range, and the welds/quality just look better.

Once again, if I'm being honest I'm biased against PLM. I've let a couple small experiences color my opinion of them. I know others have had good experiences, just nothing I've been impressed with.

 

I can appreciate first-hand context, so thanks for the heads up for real. I'd have a bias against them too if I were you, so no harm no foul dude.

I know I'm taking a risk here, but I'd also seen/heard a lot of good things about this exact PLM K swap RB header from people who run them. If it's total **** that doesn't fit then I've got a back-up plan. I'll be sure to take good pics of it too, upon arrival. Hopefully mine can be a success story as opposed to another negative one. Above all I did not want to cough up $750.00 only to make less power.

 

Truthfully I doubt you'll have problems with it, certainly no significant ones. Will most likely work out great. I'm just a little hater girl.

Also both those headers were already about 6 years ago now.

 

Hmm, I thought you were a dude, but, whatevs!

 

I too am not impressed with PLM products either. I had the Toda replica and you could look into the collector and see the secondary pipes extending into it. In other words, instead of the pipes being cut flush. They protruded into the collector so much that it made an oval shape with only about an 1" opening for exhaust gasses to pass through. I couldn't see the primary to secondary connections, but, assumed the same. Also, their 2.5" testpipe had a flange with a 2.25" opening on the exhaust end. Which kind of defeated the point? There were other issues, but, these were the dealbreakers. I ended up selling the header for cheap and going with the 1320 testpipe and quality was noticeably better.

 

Alright dudes, the PLM header came in. I'm being totally honest when I say I'm not the guy to judge the quality of welds, but to me they look pretty damn good for a $270.00 header. I expected worse, and am pleasantly surprised. I'm not saying it's ASP or even R Crew/Akmee hand welded art, but maybe you guys can tell me what's **** about this:

 

Caoboy respond

 

Looks good, glad it seems like it'll work out.

 

I'll be sure to update once the header install (or attempt?) is done. Still might be **** fitment.

 

Strut bar installed:

 

Can't get over how awesome that bay looks... Something just so badass about the positive displacement charger + K swap in that chassis.

I think an aftercooler would be a super neat/good upgrade if you get around to it.