Mind Your Head'er Part 2

My custom made header is giving me such a headache since it hung a bit too low from the ground. Entering basement car park is a nightmare. After numerous scratches and curses, I have decided to get a basic 4-2-1 configuration header, which will give me plenty of ground clearance so I don't have to look like a retard when driving over our non-standardize speed humps.

I hate chromed headers as the decorative layer tend to chip or peel off over time, but yet cant afford for a decent Japanese stainless steel header as they come with a hefty price tag, even for a old rusty used one. To my surprise, the newer batch of Hotbits header for 4G92 is made from stainless steel (but I've no clue what grade they are using). I called Speedwork to quote the price and it was within my budget range. So i went to the Jln 222 PJ branch on that weekend.

Installation took around 1 1/2 hour. One very good tip to remember, make sure you wipe off your finger print on the header before you start the engine. Once the print heated, there's no chance it will come off. You've been warned. After few minutes of spirited run, the header turn into gold'ish colour which really stand out from the crowd of dull black colour all over the engine compartment. The performance of this header is great at low and mid range while my old custom made header was better at high end. Town driving has never been better but a bit out of oomppphhh once the rev is over 7k. I think the 2" collector which is a bit small is quite restrictive for top end power. Nevertheless, in term of performance, price and quality-wise, I think this is a good upgrade. Not the greatest but surely much better compared to the factory manifold.

Mind Your Head'er Part 1

Most cars have used cast-iron exhaust manifolds to expel gasses from the engine's cylinder heads. The rationale: Cast iron has good thermal properties, so such items such as spark plug wires can be routed closer to it than to other materials which expel more heat. Also, cast-iron manifolds are cheap to produce in mass quantities. While a lot of peeps keep on saying that OEM Mivec manifold is the best so-called 'performance' part given from Mitsi right from factory, I didn't quite agree with it. This is because :

1. It is made from cast iron; it's heavy, rust-prone and hideous

2. Its' inner surface is no better than the late Planet Krypton's surface; no go for the flow

3. Although the manifold inner passage were bigger than any N/A 4G9X family motor, a good build tube-header is always much better.

So I met this fella in Setapak who which claimed that he's able to custom made me a header, spesifically; for a MIVEC. Using galvanized steel as the base material, he then measures the length and the angle of the pipe needed to bend according to his formula. I left my car as the header making process will take one whole day. I came back the day after. After a brief inspection (well, at least I thought so), I found that it is basically a 4-2-1 design but, the 2-1 pipe is in horizontal (the pipe sits up and down) instead of in vertical order (side-by-side). The fella claimed this design will yeild more top end power like a 4-1 header, but still maintain good low end torque of 4-2-1 header (?). Anyway, the primaries are long but they were badly length'ed. The exhaust note sounded boxer'ish at lower rpm. The weld quality is a joke. I didn't expect a world class weld quality, but please don't claim yourself a specialist if you can't weld like one. It is just wrong, very wrong. Nevertheless, the throttle respond was good, at least better than the stock factory manifold. The O2 sensor was located on the 2.3" collector (the 1-pipe) right before the flange. The big drawback is the header hung lower than the oil sump. Getting pass a speed hump is a big task. Too fast and I'm going to hit the hump, too slow and the driver in the car behind will keep on honking and cursing me. Is the performance gained justify the price I've paid? I have to admit, I didn't regret neither did satisfied that much. Maybe I should've top up a bit and get on with R3 stainless 4-1 header.