Well, as some of you know, I recently bottomed out my Imagine Auto headers. The damage was really severe. The pictures really don’t show the extent of the damage but you get the idea……..





I did some research with regard to the replacement options and basically narrowed it down to three, Imagine Auto, EVO and S-Car-Go Racing. As I said, the damaged headers were purchased from IA.

After speaking with Rob King at S-Car-Go Racing, I asked him to send me pictures of his short tube headers since his website only had pictures of their long tube versions. After receiving the pictures I must say I was amazed!! The quality of workmanship was impeccable. One of the reasons I purchased my Europipe was due to its build quality and I can honestly say that the S-Car-Go headers are on par with this level of workmanship. And this judgment was made simply by viewing the pictures! Once I received them, I was even more impressed!!

The S-Car-Go headers use a slightly larger tube diameter than most of the others. They are made like the Europipe in that individual sections are TIG welded together to form the final shape. This differs than the others which are mandrel bent as I understand it.

I figured you would want to see some comparison shots so I will oblige. From top to bottom we have the stock exhaust manifold, the IA headers and the S-Car-Go headers.



These are close ups of the left group…….







These are close ups of the right group…….

 

The installation went very smoothly. One interesting difference has to do with the orientation of the pipes as they make the sweep to the turbos. I initially thought the S-Car-Go headers would hang lower than the previous IA headers. Not the case!! They actually orient the bends so that they lay somewhat flat towards the engine. Very smart!!!

Following are several pictures of the headers on the car…..









In the second picture below, you can see that they don’t hang any lower than the suspension cross member…..





All in all, I am extremely happy with the quality of these headers and with my purchase of them. Tomorrow I will be dynoing the car…..again. I will be running the Stage 4 Race program, the free flowing intake and these headers. I will report the results.

If anyone is looking for headers, I would highly recommend they consider the S-Car-Go headers. They aren’t cheap but the fit and finish and overall design is absolutely top shelf.

 

Ken,

That header design evolved from KA. A couple things you failed to mention. They are made from 321 stainless steel. For those that do not know the difference between 308, 316 and 321, well it's like comparing a ricer to a Porsche.

Next, your headers are a bit thicker than other headers. They are 16 gauge versus 18 or 20 gauges used by others. The heat retention is superior.

Finally, these headers were built by an S Car Go employee in their shop by the name of Mark Robles. Mark is a old world craftsman par excellence. He designed and built headers for Sanderson for over twenty years and many, many race cars before coming to S Car Go several years ago.

I can tell you that your motor will now be running leaner which means you will need to add more fuel which means you will ultimately make more power.

 

Your reports are always terrific. Thanks very much for making the time to share and explain in detail. Very nice to see you're having so much fun too!

 

Chad,
You would have disappointed me if you weren't the first post on this thread!!!!!!!



Thanks for adding the other assets!!!

 

 

Regarding the AFR's......
If I am running the free flowing intake and these headers and the GIAC Stage 4R program, where should my AFR's be at?

Should I be concerned?

 

Now I want new headers too!

Damn you Ken.

Anyway, I havePhotoshop CS2 and you don't.

 

You PIG!

 

Ken,

Now you got me going. I know how much you like to play along with how mechanically inclined you are. Try this. It isn't hard but will take about four hours. No need to remove the motor.

PS. If you do it give me a call first. There is one area you don't want to grind so as to avoild loss of power from harmonic reverberation. You do't want to grind out the wrong area a srew up your heads.

 

Chad,
Grind and polish?? I remember this from about a year ago. Benefits??

And what about the AFR's. You have me concerned. Where should they be?

 

Damn...Sweet!!!

 

Yes, the benefits are a few ponies.

Where should they be? That is a very subjective matter. I run leaner between 12.8-1 and 13.1-1 with absolutely no detonation to my pistons. The last time I spoke with Stephen he was more inclined to the low to mid 12's. Since you have gone from one header to another header, the swing won't be excessive, but there should be a few tenths.

When you dyno ask the operater to give you afr readouts. Then compare them with the ones from your other dyno runs.

 

Excellent. Thank you. I will do that.

 

What's the primary tube size of the 3 headers? Did you get any pics of the inside of the collectors?