Well we are building a project car. Its a 1998 Acura Integra GSR
With
Wheels & Suspensions:

17" Enkei Shogun Aluminum Rims

Tokico Performance Gas Shocks

Neuspeed Race Springs

205/40/17R Nitto Extreme 555

Engine:

AEM Cold Air Intake with Bypass Valve

We where looking in to changing out the stock headers and exhaust. We would like to get everyone's opinion on which headers to choose.
Something that we ran into is ground clearance, noise of exhaust, are 4-1 better than 4-2-1 headers.
We would love to hear from you
*The Manufacture Brand Choices are*
Apex
Comptech Sport
DC Sports
Greddy
Neuspeed
Tanabe
Thermal R & D

START A POLL IF YOU WOULD LIKE!
Thanks
Import Horizon

 

will you be running N/A, Blower??

I would say the DC 4-1 with the DC Exhaust

 

I guess i forgot to add that..SORRY. Umm we don't plan on doing anything thing that is not naturally aspirated (i.e turbo or supercharger). Maybe some new cam gears and pulleys. Not sure about NOS and its wear on engine life.
Thanks

 

I say stick with DC or Comptech.........as I already have the DC Exhaust and im going to buy the DC 4-1 SS.........one of the reason I like the 4-1 better than 4-2-1 is that it is lighter but from what I was told they perform the same so your call

just my .02

 

I have a 98 gsr and im telling you my setup is pretty damn sweet i love it.. i got aem cai , Greddy SS headers, and apexi WS exhaust.. ITS a sweet sound.. not too loud but enough of a head turner..... It also is really quite fast.

 

Can you tell the difference between not having headers and exhaust Verse the after putting them on. Sounds good thats what we want performance and not real loud

 

Spoon header 4-1. . .with the 2.5 inch collector . . ...

 

JDM 4-1 header and A'PEXi N1 or Thermal R&D exhaust. It'll be loud as hell, but you'll get good power gains.

What type of project car is this? Are you going for all-out speed or what?

I'd steer clear from DC. Just my personal opinion.

 

Dozed: just wondering why you would stay clear of DC anything bad I should look out for?

 

I have an Apexi SS 4-2-1 header on my 94 GSr and it is a beautiful piece.
nicely made and very lightweight. The header works very well with the N1 catback from Apexi too, again a very nice product, and fitment is perfect, sound is very very nice. deep and rugged down low and racy and resonated in VTEC.

Thats my recommendation for you since you are staying all motor and will do a lot of city driving.
If you want the best performance though I would have to say 4-1 with a jdm collector and new hi-flow-cat or a testpipe is the way to go. Seems the new DC header with a 2.5" collector is a nice piece for the price..... and the JDM ITR 4-1 is great, did you see one of the ITR boards guys had their JetHot coated? looked very clean.

I didnt go for 4-1 because I have seen what the low-ground clearance can do to a hot header and didnt want to risk it.

 

Practically everything DC has made has either cracked or snapped. I always hear of cracked DC headers, snapped short shifters, and just recently on this board I hear of a snapped exhaust.

Why risk it? Just my opinion of course.

 

Well I have heard that before to, I have a DC sports short shifter and everything is just great. Now not properly installing thing also would cause them to break, crack etc. I guess we have JDM Headers and seem real popular. Anyone have the dyno? Oh yeah get this I looked through comptech there dyno shows some of there headers with up to 20HP added. Meanwhile DC Sports has 12HP, Interesting yet odd.
PS: Love Hearing from you guys
Thanks
Prag

 

--->Practically everything DC has made has either cracked or snapped<----

now come on, considering how many they sell and how many break (prolly installed wrong) its not about bad products.
there are no problems with DC products in my town.
I have also heard that people with real manufacturing flaws from DC getting free replacements, so what do you have to lose? nothing.
Heh heh, only your money if you buy something else thats more expensive.

I wouldnt turn down a good deal on DC if I got one, especially because of ONE or two stories of a bad product from them.

 

Exhaust= Apex N1
header= Spoon 4-2-1
Intake= aem c/a/i

 

Just my humble opinion, but if you're going NA, no super-heavy mods, aren't 17" wheels going to take more inertia to get rolling and actually have a negative effect on your performance?
I'd consider 16" wheels if you want to reduce wheel gap some without sacrificing speed.

 

You aren't gonna really feel a lot, if any, difference other than the sound from the aftermarket muffler. The stock manifold and exhaust flow pretty good from the factory already. And unless you plan to add bigger cams, an aftermarket header won't net you big gains, maybe 1-2 whp. But it will make your engine bay look nice and save a little bit of weight. And the exhaust note will be nicer with the AEM.

So, it really depends on your budget. For the basic mods, the 4-2-1 design would probably be ideal. If you go bigger cams the 4-1 would be a good option. I have the Comptech 4-2-1 design and there is no clearance problems. Although I'm running on Pro-Kit springs, so it, again, depends on what you have. Good luck!

 

CARB legal:
Comptech

Not so CARB legal:
HyTech
[edit]since you're in North Carolina try SMS Products, he's local, nice quality[/edit]

add in a highflow cat such as the Carsound...

Muffler:
Comptech or Thermal(Comptech will be quiter with about the same gain)

Austin


[Modified by 00itr0757, 6:05 PM 7/6/2001]

 

I guess in the mist of all the mods. We have decided that If all goes well, we will Turbo charge or super charge the GSR. Heres the set up I was thinking Tanabe Racing Medallion with DC sports 4-1 SS headers. Will this be adequate enough for the turbo or supercharger Or Should we go 3" exhaust (like thermal) with different headers
Let me know

 

If your going NA i would opt for the OEM JDM Headers. If you going for the Blown applications nothing beats the kamakazie's. Thermal exhausts are good from what ive heard.

 

The car will be NA for a little while will kamakazie's headers be ok for that time.

 

You car will run with them but I imagine you will lose low and midrange with their headers. But if your gonna supercharge the car then it wont matter in the long run.

 

Does greddy, dcsports, Tanabe, Thermal R or Apex have anything comparable or worth getting? (I.E Headers or exhaust)
not really sure about the kamakazie's brand

 

Greddy EVO and DC SPorts SS 4-2-1

But really I would just get the NOS PLATE kit for the GSR. Wear and tear on the engine? N/A breaks things too. And wouldnt you think turbo/sc would cause more wear - since its always on?

 

I am really debating on turbo or supercharged. I recently test drove the new Subaru WRX. Man it was an experiance what a badass Car!!!

Ps you think EVO would be ok with turbo or supercharger?????

 

Either way your gonna need a free flowing exahust to reduce backpressure if your going boost. But you need to decide if your going Turbo or Supercharger really. Otherwise its a waste of money if you get a N/A header and you decide to go Turbo or SC.