hey guys i think i know the answer to this question already. NO. but im going to ask it anyway so i dont get stuck with a 400 dollar mistake. DC headers are under 500 dollars, promise gains etc. my question to you is, is there any real difference between the dc ceramic coated headers, and the 2200 dollar veilside headers, or even teh 1200 dollar nismo headers? if so what. i know the materials are different, but are they really worth the extra 1000+ dollars?

(btw i know there is a picture forum for these )

 

I don't think anyone's done a Dyno on the DC Sports headers yet. They are supposed to be easy to install and will probably gain you 5-10hp by themselves. I haven't seen Dyno's on any of the others yet either.

I am going with the Crawford package because all together it is proven to add up to 40HP at peak and there is a custom Technosquare package for it which will fine tune your air/fuel ratio and supposedly get even more gains out of it. Without going full blown FI, and after doing a LOT of research, I think it is the best bang for your buck without going FI.

 

if you are considering the crawfords make sure you look at this post first about their plenum.

https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....rawford+plenum

i dont know if you have read it but it deff made me think twice. considering i know zxsaint personally and know him to a an honest and nice guy, not somone who is out to bring down a company for fun.

 

The DC's were dyno'd recently in Turbo mag. The car already had an intake, and exhaust, but no plenum or cats. There were negligible gains up top, but 9 hp and 12 tq gains around 3800 rpm.

 

If this can be proven, I'm in. What is the cost on the header/cats package?

Thanks

 

that is a good place to pick up 10hp, and 10ftlbs, because the cats themselvs give you a good gain throughout the range, but really shine when you get up towards redline. as does the plenum. for 400 dollars and an afternoon 10hp at 3800 rpm is hp i can use every day. does anyone have any dyno figures on any other headers??? that would justify the 1000 dollar price difference.

 

i belive also that the crawford cats are like 450, and the headers are almost 1200 dollars, their plenum is somewhere close to 500. im sure they give you a break for buying all 3, but you do the math, its about 2000 dollars. you can do a lot with 2k, id need to see independant dynos confirming the almost 40hp (at redline) gain .

 

I wish someone on this site would do a dyno with the DC headers!

 

where are you getting the dc sport headers for under 500....performance has them for 625 and they are usually the cheapest....unless your talking ceramic which would make a big difference in durability...i would go with the stainless

 

try summitracing.com

 

the ceramic headers, are stainless steel as well. or so it says on hopup. whats the diff between pure stainless, and stainless/ceramic.

 

You got fed a line. The stainless steel headers are a better quality steel than the ceramic coated. Those are ceramic coated mild steel headers. SS ones are about $650 Ceramic ones are about $350.

 

on raw performance what is the difference though. or is there a major diff. also dealing with the topic of durability, everyone mentions that the stainless are more durable, but the other ones are steel as well, and at least to me (i could be wrong) headers are not a moving part which are stressed often and greatly. (correct me if im wrong i dont want to buy the 350 dollar ones if they have even a moderate chance of breaking.)

 

Stainless won't rust out, mild steel will. That's the bottom line.

Depending on how and where you drive, mild steel headers will rust out in 2 to 5 years. Stainless should last the life of the car.

 

the ceramic coated ones are know to flake and rust fairly quickly. Especially if you live in climate which salt might be kicked up into the engine bay or "sea breeze" areas.

 

I can almost guarantee you that you will NOT get anywhere close to 40 horsepower just be changing cats and headers. That is just....well, impossible. Unles you have a turbo car or something really high performance. May be with some cams.

 

actually it was 38 hp at redline...

Crawford cats, headers, and plenum... Just friendly FYI.

Call Doug on Monday, he can price this out. 615-327-4159

 

Got my DC headers installed at StreetImage yesterday. Eric & Adam worked on it for 6 hrs. straight. These team are perfectionist & very careful w/ the car. I know as I watched the whole install. With a brand new Z, I wouldn't trust this install w/ someone inexperienced at all. They knew the step by step process, no guessing. Definitely knowledge that can only be gained from extensive experence w/ the Z. They test drove, heard some initial rattling, brought it up the lift & made some final adjustments. Headers complemented the Injen exhaust very well. Did not make the sound louder, just a deeper growl & no rasp at all. No, I was not paid to say this. Just a VERY satisfied customer. Can't wait to add Hi-flow CATS!!! Pic's of the install below.

 

Pic2

 

Pic3