OBX Headers review - 6g72

[demond0d5]

Ok so to start with there are lots of opinions and rumors floating around the internet about these headers. The general opinion is that they are a decent design EXCEPT that they don't fit...well I decided to risk it and got a set from allmotorsports11 from eBay. If they didn't fit I have the ability/tools to cut/weld them and basically do what it took to make them work and with that, I picked up a set. This is all from what I observed when installing them; I am not a mechanic, I do not have years of experience with automotive stuff (specifically mechanical) but I am willing to try about anything at least once. I am not responsible for anything in any way shape or form resulting from this thread. Buy at your own risk and do your research.

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They were $300 to my front door for the Headers, Collector piece, gaskets, and bolts.
*The bolts they came with were pretty well crap and stripped super easy when I was installing them, make sure you get something at least grade 8.8 (I went with 10.9) if you choose to replace them.
*The gaskets are different sizes too FYI, the bolt holes are further apart than the OEM ones; you can use the OEM ones but you have to stretch or enlarge the holes to use them. The hole in the center is also bigger too.



Front:

Rear:


Now I chose to go ahead and wrap them with heat wrap.
*This more than likely voids any shot at a warranty since you are altering the product.



I followed a basic overview by Isaurio from when he did his. I just played around with them and found a decent way of wrapping them so that I only used 4 hose clamps (one on each at the top and one on the bottom). If you choose to wrap them make sure you read the instructions on the can for proper activation of the paint too.
https://www.thegalantcenter.org/show...=header+design

Here is the first section of piping compared to the OEM system. Overall it is extremely close to what came out of the car.
*Pay no attention to my f***ed up flex pipe. I really messed up my exhaust by bottoming out a few days before the swap.







OEM Manifold vs headers:
Front:


Rear:


O2 sensors: The o2 sensors are supposed to be completely unusable...except they are... I was able to use all except one.
On the rear header you can use one but there is absolutely no way of using the other side...there is barely enough room for a plug and a wrench (couldn't fit a 1/2" drive ratchet). With the usable one it may be easier to put the o2 sensor in BEFORE putting the header in but that's completely your call, if you even use it. If you need to plug the holes go to Napa, they have a couple different things to plug them with. You need something M18 x 1.5 IIRC.

Rear 1:


Rear 2:


The front one is very easily usable and I actually have my wideband there. There is a clip for the fan wires that you can use too; just pull the fan wire out, put in your wire, then replace the fan wire.
Front:


There is no issues with fitment for the bottom section either.
Under:


The EGR system was something that turned me onto these headers, I didn't want to rig up a filter and all that to delete the EGR. I was extremely disappointed though when I found out the EGR doesn't really line up at all. I pulled, pushed, pried, and everything else I could think of and never even got it close to lining up. I ended up cutting the EGR and welding an extension to get it in the correct spot.
*These pictures are approximate locations! I forgot to take pictures before taking it out and didn't want to replace it. The pictures should be very close to were it ended up though, even with twisting and pulling and everything else I tried. If you look in the picture comparing the rear manifold vs. header you can see the OEM EGR hole is a lot further left than the OBX ones.

EGR 1:


[B]EGR 2[:/B]


Now there is also talk of them just not fitting at all...I didn't have any major issues with this. At no point did I ever have to cut and weld any of the OBX stuff to put them in. I did however notice that they come extremely close in two areas; the bend for the rear bank and the front flex pipe. All I did was grind off the little lip on the oil pan in those 2 spots for a little extra room and was able to get a little gap for the bent section, the flex pipe however still touched just by a hair.
*I put a piece of tape where it touched the oil pan, bolted everything up, and literally shook the pipe until my arms hurt and the tape didn't rub through at all; I left it touching because I firmly believe it's not going to do any damage. You do whatever you want, I am not saying this is the correct option at all!

Oil pan:


Entire




All in all I am pretty happy overall with them. The only thing I have noticed so far (just finished earlier today) was that I have an exhaust leak where the front header bolts to the collector flange. I am going to goop some exhaust leak stuff in there later once it cools and call it good. It may be worthy to note than before I would tighten everything down I bolted it all together loosely first. IMO this is a good practice because you can tighten everything down a little at a time to make sure your placement/fitment is exactly what you want.

*I cannot speak to if they actually bolt up to the middle exhaust section though. I welded back in my cat and changed the entire middle section anyway.

Top view:



FYI in you plan on doing this, especially in your driveway or something without a lift, the rear bank is a major pain to get to. you MUST remove the heat shielding to get to the top 3 bolts and the bottom right. The bottom right bolt was by far the hardest part of this swap; use a wrench though, socket will not work! The front side is easily accessible from the top of the engine but the rear is easiest to come from both sides. I did the top 3 from the top and the bottom from the bottom.

Rear bank pic

*Picture courtesy of Black8gV6.



Now like I said, there are several opinions on these floating around. Here is a link to a write up Silvertune did also. He had a different experience with them and also speaks to other aspects of them:
http://www.club3g.com/forum/3g-eclip...they-said.html
He is 100% correct on the bolt holes for the headers themselves too, they were pretty loose. I think this was a good thing because I was able to adjust the headers a little to get better fitment on the piping.

[demond0d5]

Ok a little update:
It has come to my attention that there is in fact a leak on both the front and rear banks. It is at the flange between the header and collector sections. On the front header I was leaking on the front side of the flange. On the rear it was also on the front side of the flange.
I have some "exhaust leak" stuff from oreilly that I smeared up on the front in between the gap and it sealed it up nicely. Will be doing the same thing to the rear in the near future.

All in all, now that I've driven the car a bit, I still cant speak to if there has been any real performance gains or not. I hadn't driven the car for a while before doing the swap but I can say there is certainly a very noticeable sound difference.

[oakrdrs187]

That exhaust silicone works best if you separate the sections and use it as a gasket not as a sealer, I can see the exhaust pressure pushing that out.

[demond0d5]

went out to apply more of it on another leak and checked the front one. So far it is at least still there. I will check to make sure it is not leaking whenever I feel the other sections are well set up. If it still doesn't have any leak then I'm not too worried about it, I drove 4 hours at 3,000rpm so if something was gonna happen I feel like it would have (obviously wear builds up over time) but all in all I think it should hold well enough. Will update later

[demond0d5]

You were def correct. After a while it has blown out and the leak it back. Enough to hear it over the oem exhaust but when I open the valve that drowns it out. May look at other solutions when I have time/money

[oakrdrs187]

Maybe try stacking gaskets with that shit caked in between each one.

[2002BlackDragon]

Highly considering this...