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[cmergonoto]

what does header do to the car?

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[DucatiGuy]

The idea behind an aftermarket exhaust header is to eliminate the manifold's back pressure as well as help reduce heat absorption, common with most OEM cast iron or “heavy” exhaust manifold systems .

Instead of having a common manifold that all of the cylinders share, each cylinder gets its own mini exhaust pipe. These pipes come together in a larger pipe called the collector. The individual pipes are cut and bent so that each one is the same length as the others. By making them the same length, it guarantees that each cylinder's exhaust gases arrive in the collector spaced out equally so there is no back pressure generated by the cylinders sharing the collector. This, in lamers terms, enables your engine to operate much more efficiently and produce more power.

The other fore mentioned advantage is that most aftermarket headers are made of materials that assist in the dissipating of heat quicker than what is available from the factory. In example, a set of stainless steel headers will retain less heat than a set of cast iron manifolds, thus lowering both engine bay and cylinder head temps, and we all know that the cooler you keep things running under the hood, the more efficient your engine will run.

But that’s not to say all vehicles will benefit from aftermarket headers. Most sports and high end vehicle do in fact come with exhaust manifolds that are essentially OEM headers. In these cars, chances are you’ll see little to no solid power gains with the use of an aftermarket headers systems. Other factors that can put a hamper on how well a header system operates is how “prepared” the rest of the exhaust system is. If you’re trying to squeeze more power out from a set of headers, but still retain the restrictive OEM cats and exhaust system, chances are you won’t reap the full rewards of your header investment.

One disadvantage (although some may see it as an advantage) aftermarket headers can account for is that they do tend to be noisier than OEM exhaust manifolds. This is usually do to the fact they’re made of lighter and thinner material, which doesn’t do as good a job in absorbing exhaust notes, rattles and vibes.

Hope this info helps shed some light on the subject.