How much power is to be gained by adding aftermarket headers if any? And are there any other benifits by going aftermarket? Can I mod my stock headers and get similar results?

Forgot to mention that my car is a 2002 TT with K24 turbo's GT2 Intercoolers and a very mild chip that holds max boost to .9 bar.

Any comments would be much apprecaited

 

I would say that unless you get equal tube length headers and a corresponding exhaust/cat setup to match the new headers, it's not worth changing them out....

 

very little to be gained...MUCHO DINERO to be lost! Mark

 

speaking from experience - don't waste your money.

But if you're committed to spending the money, send it to me and I'll pull my matched/coated headers to you.

You're better off getting a new hat

 

Hi Gunther,

I don't know anything about the headers but I thought I'd let you know the Cargraphic Medium is a great pipe with absolutely no resonance in the cruising RPM range. In fact, at lower RPMs it's almost too quiet, not much different than stock, but at higher RPMs and WOT, it's a different story, awesome! I think you'd really like it. I finally got mine on a couple of days a go and I'm very happy thus far. You can call me if you want to.


If I was you I would bump my program to a Stage 3 and enjoy it. The car should have no problems whatsoever at that level. That will get you where you want to be.

Thanks,
Ted.

 

Ted,

Great to hear that you like your exhaust. I finally got rid of mine. Hopefully the person who bought it likes it a whole lot more than me.



How/Why do companies claim to give 30HP gain by switching to their headers? I know they want to sell headers. Has anyone dyno'ed different headers? If so who has the information to post?

 

Headers arent where the big gains are. The turbos and intercoolers are a good move, as with modding the ecu. However if you do headers with a good muffler and sport or no cats the headers start to earn their keep. With out doing an ecu and fuel pressure regulator upgrade, I would do neither headers or exhaust. Just my 2 cents worth. Also I would reccomend FVD's
stuff as you can build up in levels and and continue using hardware from their previous mods.

 

If you wanted a performance change and feel change and like the responsiveness of heel toe downshifting, I would say spend the $ on a light weight fly wheel. IMO, that will yeild a real difference in feel of the driving experience, not a couple of hp IF you even gain it. And trust me, even good companies can have a batch of bad headers, or ceramic coats that aren't broken in properly and then cause problems with cracking, etc.

 

I have always wondered why the GIAC stage 4 programming required headers. I wonder if similar gains can be achived doing the stage 4 and using the stock turbo headers.......................Anyone care to comment, very curious about this.

Lou

 

As people have said, headers do not add A TON of HP. You can gain up to 10BHP on a MODIFIED car (level 3,4,etc.). The best part of our headers is that they have a "collector" at the end that provides better airflow which leads to decresed LAG. I have found the headers can reduce lag by around 200-300RPMS.
Regards,
Evan

 

Headers alone add less than 10HP as Evan states. The gain is in the spool time. Keep in mind that on the larger kits the headers will restrict at some point. We tested several sets and they will make a difference in the TQ band and over all power. On the lower level kits there isn't a ton of gain in either direction.

 

Lou,

My IA Stage 4 has all but the headers... I was told not to waste my time as it does not make much difference..

 

I have the headers and TonyNJ doesn't. We both have the GIAC Stage 4. Our horsepower output on the dyno, performed back to back, resulted in about 5hp difference, with the headers having a higher peak output.

 

What I'm looking for is not more HP but more torque. I miss that big block feel I had in my Greenwood Daytona corvette. I don't miss the corvette just the feal of power. Of course comparing 498 cubic inches to 3.6 liters is somewhat unfair. I also don't want to lose the driveability or reliability.

Thansk to everyone for your comments and ideas

 

I DID FAB LISTED BELOW AT MODS. I CAN FEEL THE RESP... MUCH BETTER THEY PROMISED 80HP GAIN I HAVENT DYNO'D THOUGH