Modifying your car is one of the most important things any car enthusiast does to create a stronger connection to our vehicles. Along with power gains, you also get the significant appearance, efficiency, and sound improvements depending on what modifications you do. Along with the benefit of higher performance and aesthetic improvements, there is also quite a lot of variety when choosing to mod your car. Depending on which mods, this vast variety can be extremely confusing and with exhaust pieces in particular it may be difficult to know where to start. Of course one of the more diverse pieces of the exhaust system are the headers, so here’s a list of things to consider from Summit Racing.
Three pieces go into making an exhaust header the flange, primaries, and collector, all of these pieces will affect the efficiency of the header in different ways. The first thing one must consider is whether or not the headers you buy will fit your specific engine, this information can be found on the Summit Racing site. Another factor that comes into play when selecting headers is configuration, the selections go as follows: full length which helps with overall power, shorty headers which usually work with the stock exhaust and are better for clearance, and finally mid-length which takes benefits from both full length and shorty headers.
Another piece of the header buying puzzle is the primary setup, this includes selections such as 4 into 1, tri-y which allows for a broader torque curve, and block huggers that allow maximum clearance. Primary diameter is yet another factor one must consider when buying headers as this will affect the flow and velocity of your exhaust significantly. In terms of materials, you will generally have to pick between standard steel or stainless. Standard steel will be cheaper, however, the stainless steel will have a significant durability advantage and will most likely last longer.
Finally, you must if you want your headers coated or not, just like the material not coated will be cheaper but the coating will give your headers better durability and heat resistance. Now that you have the information, we hope that this list has made the header buying experience a little less confusing so that you can focus on your build.
Elizabeth is a hardcore horsepower enthusiast with unmatched intensity for making things faster and louder. She wakes up for power and performance and only sleeps to charge up for the next project that’s heading to the track. From autocross to drag racing, Elizabeth is there with you, so stay tuned for her unique perspective on horsepower news, builds, tech info, and installs — with her, it’ll never be boring!
