messed up on header install, help!

me and my friend just installed a chrome header that i came by cheap, (not really for performance just for show), but now my car sounds like a nasty lawnmover and not deep and sporty like it used to. im thinking theres an exhaust leak because i tried to make the flange from the header to the catalytic converter fit as best as possible and it kinda looks like theres some space. is an exhaust leak what causes that nasty sound? im going to try to have my friend who is more mechanically inclined take a look at it and if he cant figure it out just order a real dc header and take it to a shop for a professional install. yeah i know i suck for the bad install, i didnt think it would be that annoying to do(spent an hour on a stripped bolt)

I can't hear it! If there is an exhaust leak you should be able to tell. One spot on the exhaust will make noise, while the rest comes from the tail pipe, also you should be able to feel any leaking air with your hand.

yeah u can feel air from the bottom of the car, also there is a nasty smell kinda like exhaust fumes but not quite, im hoping the smell is just the finish of the header being heated up for the first time. those people on the street with the nasty lawnmover sound are people whoi just unhook their exhaust and have nothing there right?

I would say you have an exhaust leak & that will make ANY engine sound shitty. New headers/header will have a smell the first few times the engine is run, after that is should go away, but it doesn't smell like exhaust fumes, it smells more like burnt paint.

other peoples shitty sounding exhaust can be caused from many different things, holes in the exhaust, no muffler, no cat, no resonator, shitty exhaust system, etc. Not too many people drive around with an "open header" if you did that on the street performance & gas mileage would suffer greatly due to no backpressure. The cops would get you pretty quick with an open header, I got busted for an open header on my old bike. By open header I mean a header with nothing or a short pipe(dump) connected to it with no mufflers.

A good muffler shop should be able to fix the leak for cheap, I would think. Thats if the header is not bent or cracked. I know we had a 5.0L mustang at the shop with old ass headers & cracked while putting a new H-pipe on, what a bitch that was to fix.

I know eactly what the problem is because I ran into this myself . The header is bent too much on the bottom half on the pipe. It turns towards the drivers side a little too much. I bet it was a ractive header right? Just get a DC sports header and all the problems will be gone ;) Thats what i had to do I changed out the header for a new one 3 times and then finally said just give me the Dc lol. :p)

stupid me, i forgot to put on the o ring gasket or whatever from the header to cat. my car sounds pretty normal now just louder. and yeah it was kind of a burnt paint smell. im not sure if i feel much power gain, since the honda factory header was designed really well, and aftermarket doesnt add a lot of power anyway right?
hey whtteg, do u really feel much difference switching from crap header to dc? cause dc ceramic runs $290 opposed to $100 for crap

Yea not installing the new gasket would cause a leak, at least is was something simple. Header(s) don't really add power, they free up power already there. Which isn't much because Honda's exhaust manifolds flow pretty damn good stock, not that I've tested on a dyno myself.

For some actual dyno tests check this site out: http://www.importreview.com/performance.html

In Honda engines the factory engineers did a masterful job in coming up with an exhaust manifold that delivers excellent power and torque throughout the power-band. This is not to say there is no room for improvement; it's just the improvement is not as drastic and neck-snapping as a header manufacturers want you to believe.........Installing a header means removing the heatshield & raising the air intake temp/under-hood temp. The result is lost horsepower & throttle response.

thanks for the link. i got sidetracked and read the ls/vtec the right way article. it said that all motor vs turbo in gas mileage and drivability, gas mileage maybe but i thought driveability would be almost gone in all motor. cams etc mess with your idle so much

im not sure if i feel much power gain, since the honda factory header was designed really well
Good one!
Dude they're cheap, cast iron pieces of crap. A header will free up around 5-10 hp depending on the engine, header brand, blah blah blah.. They also smooth out your powerband not making it look so "staticky" looking.

im not sure about power gains, but i know the stock exhaust manifold weighed a shitload! gotta be like 30 pounds or something, while the aftermarket one was like 15 or 20 pounds. thats gotta do a little something

hey whtteg, do u really feel much difference switching from crap header to dc? cause dc ceramic runs $290 opposed to $100 for crap


Well I did not really feel much of a difference but then again I could not get the cheap headers to seal and not leak long enough to find out. I think the difference in power would be very small but I do fell like the quality made up for the extra money. I have had my header for around 2+yrs and it still looks great alomst new even. I am happy with my choice.

I know I have very few posts so I am prepared to face my "talking-to"..

There seems to be an endless debate on price versus quality (particularly on piping). It seems to me that there are three points of concern...

1) Material quality
2) Installation
3) Flow rate

1) The materials used in nearly all of these headers, intakes, exhausts, etc, are identical. Particularly if it is stainless steel, you will be safe. Things like "alumized steel", however, should be avoided.

2) Assuming that tolerances are met to within say 0.010", and the parts are designed to fit correctly, there should be no difference in the difficultly of installation. That is not to say, though, that all manufacturers design their parts to fit correctly.

3) This is the point I wanted to speak (or write) to. Hinderance to flow through a pipe is most commonly measured as "head loss". Head loss is composed of "major losses", as a result of the smoothness of the pipe's inner surface, and "minor losses", as a result of bends and other flow-blockers. The major losses, if the material is consistent between manufacturers, will always be nearly identical (+/- 5%). The minor losses as a result of pipe bends, if the piping is mandrel bent, will also be almost identical in all cases (+/- 5%). The only real difference is the component of minor losses which comes from OTHER hinderances, such as mufflers, catalytic conversion plates, filters, etc. Ultimately, then, the flowrate (or power) gained from these systems is really only a function of these critical components. In other words, there is nothing wrong with cheap piping, so long as the other parts are well designed.

My two cents.

A header makes the car sound a lot better though. While gaining a few hp, my OBX header made my car sound worse than before, like a raunchy far noise. I switched to a Greddy header for quite a bit more, it sounded nice and crisp, and fit right up to oem bolts and my exhaust.

A guess - that probably had something to do with the thickness of the pipe. If the walls are too thin and the material is over-stressed, you may get some harmonic elastic deformation (vibration as a result of the pipe quickly "breathing").