ill be installing a single turbo soon and iim seriously considering headers, probably strup or top speed, my question is do you guys think ill benefit from headers with a single turbo, since the turbo is away from the exhaust manifold and the distance from both banks is already gonna be unequal will the price and install pains be worth the better flowing headers, the kit i boght says full boost at 2500 rpms, its gonna be hard to beat that. help guys?

 

Well i am doing the same thing you are, just bought the Top Speed Headers and when i get the Turbnetics S/T i am hoping the install and price is worth it, but the install it's self is free thanks to a local shop letting me use their lift.... i know install time is 6-10 hours just for the headers... kinda sux

 

im kinda hoping since ill have a majority of parts off for the turbo install that will help

 

my plan would be to extrude hone the stock mani's, just buy some from someone that replaced their headers and wants to get rid of their stockers.

Aftermarket tubular headers will be more prone to cracking with all of the heat from the turbo. But I am not sure in the sence of a single turbo because it is remote and possibly not as much heat will be in the headers and not as much weight. Anyone done this?

 

I think therre are fitment issues with the headers and the Turbonetics ST kit. I know of one guy with DC headers that said the downpipe fitment was tight with the headers and was rubbing against the car as a result. I decided not to put them on and think the stock headers may actually work better for that application. I also worry about those aftermarket headers holding up in a turbo application.

Curious, what all is entailed in honing/extruding the stock headers and what is the benefit?

 

Stock ones are much stronger and more heat resistant. Definitely not worth the trouble. Just add a quarter pound of boost or some **** to make up the difference...

 

I'd really be surprised if the Turbonetics kit would fit with aftermarket headers at all. Headers come off the heads much farther than the stock manifolds and they appear to be right in the path of where the Turbonetics downpipe has to run. Either way I would still keep the stock manifolds on because they are much stronger IMO than headers.

 

Aftermarket headers...except the longtubes...all end at the same point to allow for the connection of the stock cats. The problem I think will be the extra curvature of the headers which take up the valuable space between the engine and the frame rails. This space on the driver side of the engine might be occupying the space required for the charge pipes on the single turbo kits. Is this the space you were referring to??

 

Yes I believe he was g356gear. And yes any headers you install are going to have clearance issues with the downpipe from the Turbonetics kit as a result of the primary design. I'm still not convinced that headers are going to do much for the ST kits. Although you would think becuase the volume of the exhaust gas being fed to the turbo has increased, the velocity of that gas may in fact have decreased due to less restriction. Although heat is the main source of energy used to spin the turbine blades I think that even with a greater volume of heat with the velocity decreased you might acutally get more lag. Of course the only way to prove this one way or the other is to install the kit and dyno and check pressure levels at different engine speeds and throttle positions and then install the headers and do the same again. Furthermore knowing that the stock manifolds are made of SS409 double wall steel there is not much if any to be gained in terms of reliability. Conversly I think the stock headers will be MORE durable then most aftermarket headers.

 

I have the turbonetics kit installed with headers. I advise people that have not already installed headers to just stick with the stock manifolds. You will save yourself a headache in the long run, and I'm not even sure if there are any gains at this point.

As 35ounces stated, you will have fitment issues with the turbonetics kit.

I'm taking the car in on wednesday for a dyno and should have some final numbers for my install with headers. I'll post the results on the forums.

 

interested in seeing the results with the headers...

I currently have the TopSpeed headers installed, but I kept my stock headers in case I want to swap them out when I go APS ST (would probably send them out to Jet Hot if I do decide to put them back in) - however, if gains can be seen as a result of the headers (or if I can reach the same power at a lower boost level), I'd definitely give the headers a try...

 

extrude honing is some what self explanitory once you know the process. a highly abrasive kind of like silly putty is forced through the manifolds (or heads or intakes or what ever) by pressure removing material on it's way through. the best part about it is that it takes the same natural curves or tries to mimic the best flow and removes material from obstructions along the way. extrude honing is by far the best, but you surely will pay for it as not many people can do it. it does leave an awesome smooth finish though.

 

So my question is would you remove borla headers to put back on stockers when installing the ST? That's my predicament.

 

I would, aftermarket headers just arent as strong as stock, and they will not withstand the higher temps as long. People with headers will prolly end up cracking them, why take the chance for a few possible whp. IIRC didnt some earlier Borla headers crack for some people during n/a use? I def wouldnt run them with this kit.

 

larger primaries, or extrude honing would be a bad idea for any turbo application. it is more beneficial to have smaller primaries to minimize the heat, velocity, and distance loss of exhaust gasses to the turbo. i would guess, that since the aftermarket headers are all so thin walled, you would dissipate a lot of heat into the engine bay, as opposed to the double walled (insulated) factory manifolds. with a turbo, heat is power. you are looking for the largest change in temp (delta T) across the exhaust housing.

Chad

 

Good point...Thats what I was thinking as well.....