Brand name headers vs. Generic brand headers
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 8,075
Likes: 92
From: Burlington, NC
Brand name headers vs. Generic brand headers
Okay so I have a simple question. why is it that I can find generic headers for my 350z on eBay for $150-250. but when I look at brands like Borla, Dc sports, etc.. they are like $600-800. is there a difference in performance? is the the price differential just because of the brand?? I would like to know because if so I would be fine adding some generic brand headers to my car.
Last edited by Bmurray350z; Jun 24, 2011 at 12:24 PM. Reason: Title
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 8,075
Likes: 92
From: Burlington, NC
Okay well I would still like to know.. isthere a performance difference? Or is it just brand name cost more?
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Bmurray-
As others have stated, don't waste your money on headers. It turns out that the factory headers flow quite well and as long as the exhaust ports in the block don't increase in diameter, no matter how big the header tubes are, there will be no gains.
You may get gains if the headers are more streamlined and straight but overall, you will get no gains or extremely minimal gains.
As far as price is concerned should you decide to go with headers, there may be a difference in quality such as the thickness of the metal. WhenI went turbo, I wondered about using my Nismo headers but my tuner highly suggested against as he said the cast/thickness of the facotyr Nissan headers was far superior to aftermarket headers and that there would be no cracking or failure.
In the end, save money for boost if you can. You will eventually throw away all of your all-motor mods and it will literally be a few thousand dollars down the drain.
As others have stated, don't waste your money on headers. It turns out that the factory headers flow quite well and as long as the exhaust ports in the block don't increase in diameter, no matter how big the header tubes are, there will be no gains.
You may get gains if the headers are more streamlined and straight but overall, you will get no gains or extremely minimal gains.
As far as price is concerned should you decide to go with headers, there may be a difference in quality such as the thickness of the metal. WhenI went turbo, I wondered about using my Nismo headers but my tuner highly suggested against as he said the cast/thickness of the facotyr Nissan headers was far superior to aftermarket headers and that there would be no cracking or failure.
In the end, save money for boost if you can. You will eventually throw away all of your all-motor mods and it will literally be a few thousand dollars down the drain.
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Joined: Nov 2009
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From: SoCal
Bmurray-
As others have stated, don't waste your money on headers. It turns out that the factory headers flow quite well and as long as the exhaust ports in the block don't increase in diameter, no matter how big the header tubes are, there will be no gains.
You may get gains if the headers are more streamlined and straight but overall, you will get no gains or extremely minimal gains.
As far as price is concerned should you decide to go with headers, there may be a difference in quality such as the thickness of the metal. WhenI went turbo, I wondered about using my Nismo headers but my tuner highly suggested against as he said the cast/thickness of the facotyr Nissan headers was far superior to aftermarket headers and that there would be no cracking or failure.
In the end, save money for boost if you can. You will eventually throw away all of your all-motor mods and it will literally be a few thousand dollars down the drain.
As others have stated, don't waste your money on headers. It turns out that the factory headers flow quite well and as long as the exhaust ports in the block don't increase in diameter, no matter how big the header tubes are, there will be no gains.
You may get gains if the headers are more streamlined and straight but overall, you will get no gains or extremely minimal gains.
As far as price is concerned should you decide to go with headers, there may be a difference in quality such as the thickness of the metal. WhenI went turbo, I wondered about using my Nismo headers but my tuner highly suggested against as he said the cast/thickness of the facotyr Nissan headers was far superior to aftermarket headers and that there would be no cracking or failure.
In the end, save money for boost if you can. You will eventually throw away all of your all-motor mods and it will literally be a few thousand dollars down the drain.
Last edited by dmroberson; Jun 24, 2011 at 02:38 PM.
Crawford headers didn't change the exhaust note at all except for a slightly louder sound.
Besides, I got mine for $20
wow lots of opinions in here. Im still waiting to see all these dyno graphs of before header and after with tune. im sure most of you guys have hands on experience however no graphs.... Boosted performance is even thinking about adding a aftermarket header with his turbo kit. They guys at CIN will tell u honestly you're not gonna get huge power but there will def be a sound and hp increase. i mean if you spend 1000+ on exhaust(which is really easy to do) for minimal gains why not replace the headers as well. As soon as i sell my house and get some funds freed up i WILL be buying MR or OBX long tube headers and will have a dyno comparison of before tuned and after. If im wrong the community will see with THERE OWN eyes. If im right then ill have more power. CIN is trying to talk me out of it since future plan is LS3 but i would like to put this fairytale to rest
I would just buy a good set of test pipes instead, at least those are easier to install. If you get them used and install them yourself you could save $, and put the rest of it towards an exhuast. 
Quality of the materials, quality of welds, quality of merge collectors all go towards determining price. You can buy McDonalds from the dollar menu or you can go to Ruths Chris. Both places will serve you dinner.
As for gains there are several factors involved. Most important being the year of the car and whether there are cams I involved or not. If it's a non revup DE without cams I personally would not bother if you are paying for labor. You also have to carefully pick the right test pipe (or cat) to go with them. Pipes being more straight or less straight have nothing at all to do with anything.
As for gains there are several factors involved. Most important being the year of the car and whether there are cams I involved or not. If it's a non revup DE without cams I personally would not bother if you are paying for labor. You also have to carefully pick the right test pipe (or cat) to go with them. Pipes being more straight or less straight have nothing at all to do with anything.
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 8,075
Likes: 92
From: Burlington, NC
I was able to utilize my Greddy dual exhaust but I had to fabricate a y-pipe to match the single turbo's exhaust to it but in the end, I went with a custom made 3" straight through pipe.
Depending on your mods, you will have ot get rid of some of them when you go forced induction.
