a couple of years ago when i was upgrading my exhaust system, i never really stopped to think about different types of headers. i saw that the pacesetter was cheap, and i needed a good header. now for all i know, it has worked great, but i wonder how much better the RB would have been. does anyone have any experience with this? thanks

 

i just put my rb header on. i cant take it for a hard drive because i droped insurance for the winter. all i no is it shoots flames and is really loud.

 

the pacesetter is crap, porly made piece of crap, the flange that bolts up to the enigine is to thin so it eaisly strips out the studs on the block , plus the steel on the the pipes them selve are very thin, the RB is top quality lifetime warrenty, no rusting and nice fat flanges.

 

BlackRx7, Don't you mean bottoms out on the studs? The header flange has nothing to do with how easily any bolt strips.

I have a RB and wasn't aware of any lifetime warranty. I like the header even though its heavier than the cast iron exhaust manifold. It's definately a quality build though. Nice lazer cut flanges and quality welds. I only wish it were lighter.

 

Man, i found my RB header in the J yard last year, that ***** rusted to **** and back.. but flows like a champ, yeah, damn straight

 

Ah, I remember my header on my old 1st gen. Loved to watch it glow at night. It was a Racing Beat, and yes they are much better than a Paceshitter. Not just quality, but the equal-lenght primary design for a more balanced series of exhaust pulses. (more power)

 

Heres a picture of my custom header. I just got it back from getting ceramic dipped and coated. The flanges are 7mm thick

 

why did you build that? The RB is like $210 delivered with new block gasket....

 

7mm flanges! Do you WANT your header flanges to warp and/or break within weeks?

7mm is only 0.276 of an inch! All good headers have at least 3/8 inch (9.5mm) or 1/2 inch (12.7mm)

 

Yeah thats what I ment bottom out the studs, I was taking my pacesetter header off one day and the stud came with it!

 

ok well i have a pacesetter and what i dont like about it is that the o2 sensor is only on one of the pipes up front and not on the collector like RB headers.. so its only reading from one rotor.... duh! cheap but i knew nothing about the 7 when i bought it....
jack

 

yeah, i knew it would be the cheap thing to do at the time but i figured it couldn't be that bad. i know that the rb header is much better quality, but i havent had any quality issues with the pacesetter yet. so, do you think there is a real noticable difference in power between the two?

 

dude what i say...... is since everyone talks so highly aboutthe RB header..just save up and buy one ur pacesetter will do fine for now....then u will be able to feel the difference between them both...

 

ok man, that works for me. besides, it's winter and i'm not goin anywhere fast.

 

The RB header quality is worth the few extra bux.

A cheap alternative is to get the Mazdatrix kit, and have you local shop cut & weld it like the RB header. (they use the RB flanges.)

 

Once you get done with all the fab work (unless you're actually tuning the lenght of the primaries on a dyno for best performance) and the coating and the time spent dicking around... You've already lost any savings over buying the RB unit and simply bolting it in.

The only other reason to make a custom header would be to direct the primaries out of the way of a funky tranny or to straight pipe them out the side of the car for a drag car. (most road racing has a db limit of like 105db at 50ft from the car and an open primary would not pass that)

So having said all that you now know why I asked why you built your own header. Dyno tuning would be the only viable reason for myself to get something other than the RB streetable header.

 

I have had both of them. I put the Pacesetter on my 2nd gen years ago and was immediately impressed by the power gain. I didn't like the fact that the front runner was 10" longer than the rear but ANYTHING flows better than the stock cast iron manifold. I would still install it before ANY catback system that utilizes the stock manifold. The Pacesetter is built pretty poorly for any real longterm use. I had mine for a few years but it was rusting. For only $98 who can complain. Who cares if the O2 sensor is only on one pipe? I currently have the Racing Beat header and it is the same way. My Racing Beat header is about 6 months old. It is big and heavy but definitely more durable. I have the header on my 1st gen GSL-SE with the streetport long primary system. Personally I feel the overall fit and finish of the system to be on the poor side. Granted this is on a 1st and not 2nd gen. You'd have to see it to understand. I am going to pull the entire system off, sell it (complete) and make my own. Both the RB and Pacesetter headers turn immediately out of the engine. This is bad for airflow. They should go straight for at least 3" before turning. Also both systems collect too far back for a proper short primary system and not far enough back for a long primary. Both are a big improvement over stock. For the difference in price there is probably only a couple of horsepower to be had between the 2 systems. Lots of people are willing to spend big bucks for that extra horsepower though, look to all the Honda parts as an example.

 

I can't complain with the make quality and construction of my RB Header...I'm happy with It.

Somewhere In the thread, someone mentioned that the RB Header weighs more than the Stock Manifold. I beg to differ. Although I have no numbers to prove It. Unless anyone can answer my question directly, In numbers, I'd appreciate It.

 

I was the one who said it was heavier. I've installed the thing twice now and it is just a very substantial piece of metal. There might be a couple lbs difference between the two. Not really worth bitching about. I was only half serious when I mentioned the weight.

 

Bitchin? Just want clarification. Wouldn't want to confuse anyone.