[dom yo]

1) a good racing header will not do anything for your bottom end. in fact it would hurt it.

2) a street header is designed for mid range duty, but still affects low end.

3) megan is still crap in my book and always will be

4) who are import tuner's target audience? minimum wage earning teenagers. think about it.

like you always say
price, reliability, and performance, you can only have two of them

honesly i have a megan header, ive had one on my car for a long time, still in awesome condition, but im sure as far as power goes, it didnt do anything, its pretty much to say you have a header

 

[kamikaze96]

Megan Header

1) a good racing header will not do anything for your bottom end. in fact it would hurt it.

2) a street header is designed for mid range duty, but still affects low end.

3) megan is still crap in my book and always will be

4) who are import tuner's target audience? minimum wage earning teenagers. think about it.

First off, I appreciate your input Ultra. The original thread was basically a generic question on the Megan header and then some people started asking about the quality. Sure, there are a lot better headers than the Megan just like there are a lot better street rides than my 96 accord EX. If you have the funds to squeeze every bit of HP out of your ride then go for it. As far as the Megan header is concerned it's less than $180, fit's perfectly, INCREASES HP and definitely makes your engine run significantly smoother. It's a street header just like the Apexi WS2 is a street catback. A header for an f22B1 is basically six pipes welded together to escape exhaust more efficiently than your stock exhaust manifold. How much can this cost to make with the right equipment? Theoretically, it should cost the same to make any two headers of the same composition whether it is a Megan, Greddy or Mugen. Your basically paying for more HP (which is more extensive testing) and better craftsmanship. It would just be trial and error until your satisfied with the HP gain for the header's application whether it's being made for high end race or low/mid range street. The Megan's gave my STREET ride slightly more HP and a smoother ride. Definitely a good investment over a stock exhaust manifold. I took the $200-$700+ I saved from buying a pricier header and put it into a higher end street catback (Apexi WS2). Bottom line is that I'm happy with my complete exhaust system and recommend it to anyone looking to upgrade their "street" ride's exhaust (header/catback) for just under $640 brand new shipped to their door!

 

[flame1984]

Not against anyone or anything, just my 0.02

I thought mainly the price you pay for DC, AEM etc big brand names are:

1) their time and effort on researching the bent, design, testing, concepts and CARB legal
2) their well-known name and consumers' confident in them

And as for OBX or Megan, they probably walk down the street to a performance store and buy one of those big brand name headers, take it home, copy and package them. As a result, they saved the cost of hiring experienced researchers or developers, which brings down the cost of the product and we enjoy it.

Then you may argue, big brand will absolutely have better quality. Consider common T304 stainless steel uses 75% iron, 20% Chromium and 10% Nikel, market price for them as of Aug, 2k7. They worth about $1.5/lb (overpriced already for fluctuation purpose) If manufacturers are to have a 50% markup on price, it will be $2.25/lb. For a header that weight about 6-8lbs, let's say 6lb. Total cost of the material is $13.5 alone, not to mention refinning it and further more procedures.

First, will Megans have wholesale @ $20 :confused makes me wonder....

Second, if materials aren't that expensive, i don't see why can't company like Megan and OBX produce same quality of goods at a cheaper price?

Thirdly, a DC header for my car, just an example to illustrate my point, suggested $520 for ceramic header and $910 for stainless steel. However; why and how sellers on ebay mark price @ $270 and $550 respectively? That's almost half of the suggested price, so it makes me think they must be generous enough to make us happy @ that price. Yet still manage to make a profit on ebay, not to mention the seller fee they have to put into cost.

Lastly, i have heard about DC stainless steel cracking at the weld-up area, as well as OBX too. Then how can one says OBX is crap and DC is god? Maybe the welder is having a bad day in working on your item?

Personally i had a DC ceramic header, owned for 2 years, found a leakage. I replaced it with OBX stainless steel header for half of the cost, it is almost 3 years now, still in good shape, except pipes turned brown. No adverse effect. Performance wise, they feel the same. Pipe is a pipe, if one must say cheap priced company is crap, then custom made item from local shop should be crap as well, i am guessing?

Sorry for talking so much
Appreciate if you read through my whole msg!