need header advice on '00 mr2

[z27ls3]

after reading about the pre-cat issues I am going to check tomorrow & see if the prior owner did anything on that matter.
what is a high quality header ?
I assume if not already done thats a good answer on the pre-cat issue.

[MR2Jedi]

The exhaust manifold flows darn near as well on the stock 1zz as any after market header. Unless you're already modded more than 40hp, I wouldn't mess with a header.
But if you just want to, MonkeyWrenchRacing has alot of aftermarket perfomance parts for the Spyder.

[z27ls3]

I guess I was most interested on eliminating the pre-cats, I dont want the precats to break down and trash the engine. if its a 600$ or 700$ replacement system thats still better than the alternative at this point. Just wondering what others are doing to offset this design flaw.

[MR2Jedi]

Hmmm? Never had any trouble with my 2000. Sold it at 60k miles though.

[awibler]

I have a full CHE exhaust system on mine, and I'm looking into switching to a turbo setup this spring, so I will have a header and midpipe for sale. I would sell the entire system but the muffler is about shot.

[RPAltman]

You have three options:

Option 1 - Remove the pre-catalytic converters from your stock header. If you want a low cost, high quality part and don't care about increased performance, your best option is to "gut" your stock header. This is the least expensive option as well as the least likely to cause any problems down the line with mysterious check engine lights and emissions testing because you can put all of the OEM parts back onto the car including the exhaust header (minus the pre-catalytic converters); both oxygen sensors; and heatshield.

Option 2 - Purchase a 'generic' replacement header without the pre-catalytic converters from eBay. A replacement header will eliminate a need to 'gut' the pre-catalytic converter. Most of the ones you see posted for sale on eBay are direct replacements for the stock header that are produced in China and quality can vary from production run to production run. Some forum members have used them for years without issues.. and some forum members have reported cracked welds or bad oxygen sensor socket threading. If you decide to go in this direction, I recommend that you check out Deluboz Parts (run by Jen 'Che' Lin). You may pay a bit more for the header from Deluboz, but Che is a longstanding vendor to the Spyder community and goes above and beyond to honor an informal 'lifetime warranty' on most items.

Option 3 - Purchase a more expensive replacement header without the pre-catalytic converters, from PPE Engineering or TRD. Like the 'generic' replacement headers, these eliminate the need to 'gut' the pre-catalytic converters. These units cost 2-3 as much as the 'generic' or Che header, but purportedly offer modest performance gains (typically, 8 to 12 hp) backed by dyno testing. (As the owner of a PPE Engineering exhaust header/high flow cat combination, I will advise you that most of those claims are overblown.)

Rich