Today i got a chance to test my 06+ Honda Civic SI header versus the Skunk2 Megapower Civic SI Header. People have been asking for this comparison for awhile now, and i was able to track down a car locally that was recently tuned with a Skunk2 Header. I was VERY Thorough in my testing to ensure a fair comparison. Lets get to it

Car Setup:
2008 Honda Civic SI
Toroku Stage 1.5 Street Camshafts
Skunk2 Megapower Header
T1R Carbon Fiber Intake Box
3in Exhaust NO CAT
Hondata Flashpro

This car was tuned recently by Scotty aka ScttyDB411, someone that has tuned 1000+ cars in the last 5 years. I invited the car owner up to Mainstream Performance at his convenience for me to test my header on his car versus his Skunk2 header. Today the owner Matt showed up at 2pm and we got to it.

TEST CONDITIONS
Header runs were done within 1.5 hours of each other. His car was ALREADY TUNED for max power by Scotty so i did a quick 5 pulls (3 3rd gear pulls 2 4th gear pulls) to make sure his car was making around the same power and getting a consistent reading. I also checked the A/F ratio to make sure it was correct. After i was done with Matts baseline, i pulled his car off the dyno, cooled the header down with a fan, removed the Skunk2 header , installed the KiddRACING header and did 5 more pulls. We had to modify my test pipe to fit his 3in exhaust. I also did NO TUNING on my header, i simply bolted it on and did 5 pulls (3rd Gear Pulls, 2 4th gear pulls). Here are the results:

KiddRACING Header=RED LINE
Skunk2 Megapower Header= Blue Line

This Graph shows the results up to 8100 RPMs


Same Graph but highlighting the difference in A/F Ratio changes between the headers


Here is the graph in SPEED (NOT RPM). The numbers are slightly different as the DIP at the end is when i LIFT THROTTLE causing a temp spike


Here are the headers RUNTIME Conditions showing the almost exact same Temp and humidity



Initial Impressions:
Right off the bat my header went very rich in the midrange and at tip end. Also it could use some VTEC adjustment but my tuner was not on hand. The Skunk2 showed gains in the bottom end but most likely due to my header being almost a full point or more RICHER than theirs. In my professional opinion with tuning those differences would be almost nothing if we leaned my header up to match the Skunk2 A/F. Mine made slightly more HP/TQ throughout the RPM range.

Final Analysis:
Ive never been one to bullshit or try to persuade people. I post results and let people figure it out for themselves.

The Skunk2 header is a VERY NICE piece. I will concede its a better quality unit than my header. They have what looks to be Robotic TIG welds on the lower collector pieces, nice SKUNK2 stamp on the bottom runners and it is a 1 piece header so there is no assembly required. It also appeared (although i didnt measure) to have bigger primaries than my header. They looked like 2in to my 1 7/8. I think this header is more geared toward a hotter or bigger displacement engine. I would like to see someone with a K24 or maybe built motor dyno both against each other and see where it landed. The Skunk2 is almost $300 more than the price of the KiddRACING, but you can see where the price is justified.

KiddRACING header. Yes im the maker and owner of KiddRACING so my review is prob going to be biased. My header i quickly assembled in 10 minutes and installed just as easy as the Skunk2 header. My welds are not bad by any means, but they are not as nice as Skunk2s. Its like comparing DC Sports to Hytech. theres nothing WRONG with DC Sports, its just not as visually appealing as a $1200 hytech. other than that i cant really say i have anything else to say about mine.

At the end of the test, i recommended Matt keep his Skunk2 header. The power differences were not big enough to really enjoy switching to my header, and his Skunk2 was already perfectly matched up to his 3in Exhaust.

I still think my header caters to people that are more inclined to buy a good quality header and save their money to buy other Mods. The Skunk2 is more geared toward people that have that Skunk2 Loyalty we have all come to know and respect, and also want to make good power for slightly more money and want a better aesthetically looking header.

BIG THANKS to MainstreamPerformance.com as always for the use of their dyno and for installing and uninstalling the headers today!

So which one do you want? Good luck and i hope this helps people with their choice.

EDIT:I forgot to grab my digital camera so i will post pics of both headers tomorrow

 

good info. sounds like your header is a winner.

 

good stuff. it's too bad you said all those negative things about ******** members or else i'd actually be inclined to buy your header

 

I NEVER said anything bad about 8thgen Members. i said i didnt care what they thought about a situation that was between me an another customers. He was threatening me with a thread on there, i said i didnt care i run my business the way i think is best, not the way a website tells me to run it.

but thats not for this thread.

 

Ive personally seen the Kiddracing header and its is very nice. Good quality sometimes a pain to peice together but a great header for teh price. Defiantly better then DCsports header.

I do not want to bash VtecKIDD but I would like to tell anyone considering buying a header go and read the thread on 8th and see what happened and make a decision youself.

We all know that there is one person that will have an issue when selling to hundreds of ppl. You can please everyone. Some of the things that were stated just swayd the whole 8th gen civic.com community to not buy his header. I personally like dealing with great customer service and he has givin that to everyone minus 1 person who really had an issue.

The thread about the issue is stickied at the top of the header discussion threads.

Good job with the header Kidd and goodluck with the sales.

 

+1 for the Kidd Dominator.

I have been running this header since 3 days after it was posted on *************.

I have had zero problems with this header, no leaks, flange issues, or anything else. As Kidd himself said, it is great for anyone with a low-mediumn build. I highly recommend this header to everyone, even if you arent budget oriented.

 

VtecKidd,

Any info on what kind of cam angles he was running in that tune? It's possible the header would of made more power everywhere with more optimal cam angles (which I've found are very much advanced... even with a stock exhaust we run 50-40* cam til 7000 rpm and only backing off to about 30* at 8000 rpm).

And BTW, some tuning does fix that slump where you see it went rich. I saw the same thing when I moved away from the DCRH before I tuned your header on my car.

 

i can vouch for kidd racing, he is a local and a very legit guy. i love my header. thanks again mike.

 

I have the Kidd Racing header too. I love it. Great great price and gains for someone like me not willing to drop an extra thousand for 1 or 2 more horsepower.

 

Ill be honest i do not know as i cant access the tables as my tuner was not there. However the car was FULLY tuned on the Skunk2 header , so whatever the cam angles were for the skunk2 they were for my header.

I can ask scotty to respond

 

I bought your header a few months ago.. night to day difference in power and you gave me a great deal. cant complain at all.. glad to see i made the right decision

 

I also have the Kiddracing header and I made the switch from skunk2 to this header when I swapped in my k24 and went with the Full race 3' exhaust and the car is a beast. I love the price and quality even though it was kind of a b---h to get in due to my k24 being taller than the k20 but after installed man it opens up nicely. I may have to get another one for my homeboi for his fa5

 

just the forum i was looking for thanks for the info VtecKIDD.....

 

I'm looking for updates on the Welded up header there is talk about. Pictures?

 

PM me a price for this header with the nitride coating

 

I had my KRRH installed a couple of week ago to replace my Vibrant with hiflow cat, and is still to be tuned but i noticed a top end difference.

Vteckidd, can you please tell us what did you have to do to fit to the 3" exhaust to the test pipe? What modifications had to be made? Im going to change my current vibrant 2.5" exhaust for a 3" custom made.

Thanks.

 

This header looks to be a great buy, but still awaiting its arrival. Anyone have issues with the stock catback? CELs?

Do I need a FlashPro?

 

With any race header, you're going to need flashpro or a defouler (autozone non-foulers or angled on ebay) to get rid of the CEL.

 

Hey vtecKidd, how much for race header for 07 si 4dr. Plz Pm me. I m in Kennesaw. Tk u.

 

as an 8th gen member i have read the good and the bad about the OP here.

if you are scared of the rep:

Private Lable MFG... same header from what I hear and you wont have to deal with Vetckidd - I am picking mine up tomorrow from a shop in the GTA...

Not trying to be a douche vteckidd or bash your business but as an 8th member I am only giving alternatives to people who may not want to have to deal with your rep... from what I read it wasnt that many bad experiences - i think 3 in total... i am sure you do much more business then that and are great however, if these people are like me then they will worry and not purchase the part because of it.

So in conclusion - Vteckidd does have POSTIVIE feedback and NEGATIVE feed back... the negative is ALWAYS louder then the positive... so read the 8th gen threads on it and make your own choices

great write up man

 

dont need flashpro... should have it - you can get a defouler and it will work... its like less then 20 dollars and it should, SHOULD - stop the CEL...

get a flashpro - good stuff... work OT thats what i did lol