Here's a pic of the SS DC Sports collector:

 

uh oh... the collector battle again!

The DC ones look like they've been filed smooth..?

Here is the Strup collector.



Same smooth finish with the welds merging the pipes together, but no need to file them. and quality is noticeable with all the welds and where the pipes mate to the flanges, etc..

Of course, I'm biased cause I sell them and I know Charlie Wenstrup at Strup. His company and attention to detail and customer service is exceptional. That's why we've chosen to work with him exclusively.

 

The Alphawerks collector looks like garbage, the strup is slightly better, but those DC sports look clean. How would one go about rounding everything off if he got something like the alphawerks?

 

Well, here are my TopSpeed then, so we have them all in one place:
After looking again, I see no appreciable difference in collector quality between Strup, TopSpeed and Alphaworks—they all have the same leftover welding flash. I'm sure the DCs would look the same if they didn't take the extra time to grind them, or did you do that Demonteverde?

 

Does anyone have a pic of the Crawford's?

 

I know this is different, but while we're looking at collectors, anyone have a shot of the XERD Longtube collector?

 

Here's a picture of an FGC club member's crawford headers.

No, I never grinded down my DC Sports header collectors, I bought them unused from someone who took advantage of the Summit Racing error and they came like that.

 

They just look so beautiful.....

 

wow, DC looks really nice.

By the way, why there are all the hype about crowdford???? Are they really that good??? compare to what???? Top Secret header??? Fujitsubo header??? Amuse Header???? Tomei header???? or just Topspeed and Borla???

and also, I have never seen Alphawerk in Japanese magazine, or major Japanese race. Are they really Japnese product???

 

alphawerks are distributed by

http://automotoring.com/

 

A picture's worth a thousand words- Crawford Headers.
Long tube, equal length, true collectors, each set hand built to order...

 

Well judging by the pictures of the different collectors I would say Crawfords should flow the best if you have the money. The piping merges at the collector at the same place where as the others at least have one of the pipes off. It looks like the others will have exhaust flow bouncing of the wall of the collector instead of straight thru like the crawfords I could be wrong. What do you guys think, I'm thinking about taking my alphawerks to a machine shop to have the collector smoothed out a little because they do look like crap.

 

Oh yeah, the Crawfords no doubt have the best design with that merge collector and equal length tubes. If I had it to do over again, I would have had my header's collector area smoothed out...I would think that extra material causes a lot of turbulence.

 

Has any one heard anything about Borla Exhaust systems?

 

Just a heads-up. I talked to the Jet-Hot plant in MS yesterday, and they are without power and may be for a while, so there could be some work delays if you're sending your headers there. Wish them luck.

 

no doubt the crawfords are an excellent design, but to get hung up on the design of the collector being the end-all-be-all of making your decision, consider that the likes of crawford are kindof in a class of their own. hand built to order, with the extra care of making the pipes equal length and that tapered collector definitely help convince you that you got what you paid for. Small welding overlap at the neck of the collector is not going to affect overall performance or efficiency of the headers. Exhaust gases are moving so quickly through that specific point that there's nothing but turbulence as they exhaust gases merge.

The likes of Strup, DC, Alphawerks, etc, all share a similar design with regards to the collector etc., 'cause it's a proven design that's more cost effective to produce and allows those companies to present a product of comparable quality and performance to the likes of the Crawford headers at a fraction of the price. Really, it allows people on a tighter upgrade budget to get VERY similar performance and quality without breaking the bank on the initial purchase and then the install.

So then it comes down to what's the best of the rest, eh? ;o)

STRUP BABY! )

 

I also heard that equal length (tuned length) or uneven length does not make too much difference though... but why would people really care about equal length or not?

cheers,

richie

 

partshipperdave

I've avoided answering you directly for some time now, but what you are saying above is simply not true. You are, in fact, full of old shoes (something my mother used to say), sounds better than FOS. Anyway, the design of the collector is important, as is the design of the header. You are correct in saying Crawford is in a class of it's own. To suggest that your Strups are close to producing the power of the Crawfords is ludicrous. Are the Strups better than the stock manifold - Yep. Are they better than the Borla header - Yep. Are they Better than Nismo or BRM - Nope.

Lou

 

Is that a pic of your headers before you got them coated? Thanks

 

No, Nexus Industries in America got the rights to reproduce the Japanese design for American Z's. Also, Nexus/Alphawerks has given the shaft to forum members (including myself) by not honoring sponshorship commitments. Don't buy anything from them, they are shady.