Aiight, so I've got $1300 after slaving for a few weeks in the fast food industry... And its time for Headers.
I've been looking at the Crawford Headers - Exactly $1300, and probably the best gains I've seen for any headers for our car... Heard rave reviews about these also.
But if I get the Nismo or Stillen headers, that'll save me money for test pipes, and maybe even a winshield banner that says "Haha, I have headers and test pipes! Ladies feel free to call me 297-6801!" (... if that'll fit... Or maybe not, whatever)

So it comes down to this... Are the gains on the crawford headers worth the extra $200 or so? Would I be better off just getting Nismo or Stillen (also, which of the two?) headers and having some cash left over for test pipes?

Please, opinions wanted!

And also, I appologize. I totally didn't intend for this to be some kind of "NEWB LOL WHAT PARTS SHOULD I BUY :-D OMG" post, but I guess at heart I'm just a bad, bad person. Hehe.

Bryan

 

Get an exhaust. Cheaper, better sound and you'll get great gains. Sorry, I just don't see headers being worth $1200 period.

 

PS, I don't know if you've looked into Borla headers, but they're a lot cheaper than that.

 

Well the Borla's dont make **** for power.

Right now, the only two worth considering are Nismo/Crawford, unless you dont mind losing the cats.

IF stillen can back their claims, they defintley would be the best deal.

X

 

If you want to, you will make more power just adding high flow cats to your car rather then headers at all.. anything you do to your header will be choked up by the stock cats...

High flow cats much easier to install... (less time and money) and only $500

www.performancenissanparts.com

headers after cats when $ is tight

 

NISMO & RT's...... but then I guess I'm a little bias here so don't pay any attention to me.........

 

Jeff, our posts went through at the exact same time...

I probably type my whole post in the time it took you to write out NISMO though :P

hehehe

 

Do you plan on installing the headers yourself? If not then the only ones you would be able to afford are possibly the Stillen headers or the Borla headers. The install is not easy, but can be done in your garage if you are determined and have some tools. As others have mentioned, you must open up the rest of the exhaust before you will see the full benefits from the headers. You would be better off with test pipes + y-pipe or exhaust, then headers. If you have not done the Crawford Plenum then I would suggest this mod as well. The plenum + test pipes + y-pipe or exhaust is a very cost effective way to go and easy to install yourself.

 

What if I have Borla dual allready? Can I go with crawford? Will they bolt up the same or do I have to go with Borla headers? Also what makes one better than the rest?

 

guerojo, you can mix and match brands. pretty much all the bolton parts for cars nowadays bolt up to other stock pieces which also means that they will bolt up to each other since they are expecting to line up with other pieces. also, drivetrain parts are generally regarded as "better" if they meet two criteria:

1. Make more power than the competition in the same price range
2. Are constructed at least as well, and hopefully better, compared to the competition in the same price range.

well constructed means durable (no weird welds that can cause leaks, tight bends that can retain heat - header issue, poor fitment, etc,). some people will also throw in the issue of aesthetics. some want their exhaust to look nice in case someone crawls underneath their car to look at it (? ) and some aren't as concerned with the way their exhaust system looks underneath the car. Personally, I don't care as much how the pipes look as I would the intake plenum. I look at the motor when I clean it and others may see it, but at the same time, it isn't an aspect I would show off either. It really comes down to what you are looking for in a part and how much money you have to get you to where you want with that part. nicer looking, higher power making, better constructed parts are USUALLY more expensive. For example, an exception would be LSDUnique's parts. They are always of great quality and have very competitive pricing. His a-arms and intake manifold are coming out soon and I am probably going to pick them up. Most things for sale in life are this way, you just need to figure out which ones suit your needs best.

 

There are a number of different design techniques that will make a difference in the HP and TQ curves. There are many resources out there where you can read up on header design and build technique to determine which headers you want on your car. Do a search on yahoo or another search engine and you can read for hours.

 

We are currently selling or headers to board members for $1200

 

We are currently selling or headers to board members for $1200

 

I agree with much of the above...bang for the buck, especially once you consider the install time/cost, headers are just not worth the money at all IMHO, until you get cams that warrant them 9i.e something more agressive than NISMO units).

The bang for the buck just ain't there otherwise from what I haev seen

 

The bang for the buck is not there if you do not install them yourself. I had all other mods on my car and installing the Crawford Headers was like flipping a switch. The car pulls so much harder starting at 2K rpm that I would not take back the 12 hours I spent on my back under the car for nothing.

 

Based on the experience with my car, I would not do the headers again. There just is not the performance return for the money. Some auditory satisfaction with the increased "growl", but what is there is already so good that the marginal hp gain is not worth the cost or the effort.

The high flow cats, however, were terrific for releasing the holdback on hp, and a lot less expensive to purchas and install.

For $1300.......I would work another couple nights and then drop in the lightweight flywheel (JWT or Nismo) and Nismo high perf clutch. That will give you much more performance returns for the same dough. About $1400 installed with tax etc.

 

I totally disagree and I have the JWT/NISMO. There is no night and day difference by changing your flywheel. There are reports of night and day difference by doing headers on a cammed car.

 

i felt night and day difference with my headers/cats, I have no cams!

 

From what I am hearing there isnt but a couple companies making headers....Stillen...craford....make there own...all others are made buy 2 other companies .I just bought BRM stainless equal length for $800 and they have zinc coated mild steel for $600 .They are exactly like Nismo headers but are tig welded, so they are of better quallity than Nismo ...BRM web site doesnt have them on there yet but you can contact Grag at azhitman@yahoo.com Why pay all the extra cash for a name. Just giving people options and a chance to save some bucks

 

You heard wrong and didn't you post an almost identical paragraph in another thread? Sounds to me like you are a BRM employee. 7 posts and a new product. How convenient.