I need to redo my exhaust setup. I was planning on putting a RB header on, but I only have a stockport 12a. Is it worth the money? Should i just get a different, cheaper one? I dont know. I also need a hi-flow cat.....but I think I'm stuck paying mucho money for that....oh well...

 

deffinetly worth the money! You cant beat racing beat for quality and customer service (the last one is debatible).

 

What are the cheaper alternatives? The only other header I know of is Mintrain and, if I remember correctly, that's about the same price.

 

pacesetter is a cheaper alternative. and i own one. and i wish i never bought it and got the RB instead. it's lasted about 2 years, and i'm about to replace it cuz its going bad. so now i'll have spent more than if i'd bought RB in the first place. friends don't let friends buy pacesetter/monza exhausts.

 

The Racing Bleat header is the way to go, I've heard nothing but complaints about the longevity of the Pacesetter/Monza products. Paul Yaw has an interesting header, I don't have the URL handy, but if you do a search for Yawpower you will find it. His design looks pretty wild, and I'm sure the things aren't cheap, but thought I'd mention it anyway.

 

Yaw's header isint ready yet. The Pacesetter isint any cheaper than an RB. Both are around 160$. Get the RB from Mazdatrix (better customer service). I have run a pacesetter on my racecar, it took a little dressing up to get it to fit right, but it works ok. 3 years of hi-rpm autox-ing and 1000 or so street miles WITH header wrap on it and it still hasnt burnt up. But the RB is better.

 

I ordered a complete RB street port exhaust system from mazdatrix, it made it to my door quickly, and im VERY happy with it. It looks like it will last forever.

 

Australia would probally have a cheaper alternative, but on something on taht nature the shipping probally wouldnt out weigh the savings

 

Has anyone here considered custom fabricating one with the flange kit RB sells?
I'm thinking of copying the RB header in AutoCAD and getting one made for myself...

 

I recently put the RB header on too. I wanted to keep it emissions legal (oddly enough though, I don't have to) so I also put on a new cat. I got it as a "generic" hi-flo replacement from Summit. I think it was $80 or so. If you price the Mazdatrix "OEM" or even the other one they carry, it will make you cry. I'm not really concerned about longevity since I'm sure there are plenty of other things that are gonna fall off of this resto before the cat.

jeryj

 

hey, i got a question about that cat.. do you like it? restrictive? how long have you had it? is it holding up? i have a racing beat header and ractive muffler ready to put on, i just need a cat.

 

Local parts stores carry them also if you don't want to wait to have it shipped to you, usually around $60. Walker/Dynomax is the brand you'll want, they last, I can't speak for any other brands. It's not a bolt up, just a universal that needs to be welded in.

 

yea, ive looked into it, i had a thread titled "cat" on here yesterday asking questions because the whole time ive been wanting catco, or some other generic cat for my car, and last minute my dad's friend told him it might not hold up because it didnt on his car (but we think he had a fuel problem and it was running the cat too hot) but i just dont want to get a cat in the object to be 'legal' and end up hollowing it out because it cant take the heat..

 

pity about what seems to be universal experience with poor service from RB. They've been nothing but good to me, and the time that a kit was shipped with a few bits missing they sent me virtually a whole new kit to be sure I got everything, and very quickly too!

The complete RB system was a bit pricey, but relatively inexpensive when compared to other high quality parts. I noticed immediate gains, a great exhaust note, and very, very little buyer's remorse

 

I think the cat I got is a Catco brand. I'm not sure of who all makes cats for the industry but I ran across Catco quite often. I've had it on for 3 months now (yes welded) and have noticed no problems whatsoever. Like I said about the longevity, it's just not an issue at this time with me. I've had this resto for 2 years, working on it sporadically. For every 2 steps forward I've had to take 1 back. It's getting painted for the THIRD time as I write (my cousin has a body shop). And I ramble....

jeryj

 

1) How are you going to obtain the 3D measurments of the pipe's bend-flow shape? I run Coordinate Measuring Machines, I could create a CAD file for you of the ancient RB road-race header I have.
2) How are you going to fabricate it? I have no welding or pipe-bending resources.

 

3) Why would you bother? A one-off will cost you more than RB charges, and making them in quantity will certainly cost more when RB sues you...

 

I have welding AND pipe bending resources, a friend of mine's father owns a pipe bending shop, he can bend up to 3" mandrel for me if I can supply the pipe and the drawings..

As for making a one-off, is that really necessary.. How would not being 100% accurate affect performance...anyone have any info on this?
thx

 

Check ou this header... looks like if is of similar design to the Paul Yaw header. It may out flow the RB unit as well.

http://www.sdjmotorsports.com/Headers.htm

 

damn, i like those. also, looks like the outlet hole is alot bigger than racing beat's 2". im kinda not too fond of that, i was expecting around 2.25" atleast. but.. we will see wont we.

 

Yea but look at the price of the SDJ headers.

 

We run this header on one of our IT-7 cars. We replaced a RB header with this one.
It is a very High flow header and would not be good for street use. You gain a lot up top but loose a lot down in the RPM's. It would also be MUCH louder than the RB unit. It is made of much thinner steel. It's also ~$400 IIRC.

The raceing beat is a great street header. I have run several of them. Just be sure to order yours from Mazdatrix!

Mike

 

From what I hear Random Technologies makes a very good aftermarket cat. While they don't sell an exact match for the 12A motor they do have something that is very close. Email them and they will tell you the closest fit p/n.

 

Yeah, I forgot that part. But it would be a fun engineering exercise as long as we made enough changes to make it a non-derivative. Also the header I have doesn't have the RB logo on it, but it looks exactly like their photos. Can we get sued for ripping off a rip-off?

Maybe we could even make it better.

 

I finally installed my RB long primary system in my racecar to test it. Fit is FANDAMTASTIC! And it sounds sweet. Nice throaty sound, no tinny metallic sounds, and roars when you floor it!