Alright, so I'm standing by the kettle waiting for the water to boil, and I start thinking about this nice 0% intro rate I've got on my credit card ... next thing I know, I'm playing with numbers trying to figure out if I can just go ahead and purchase my AEM CAI and a header and still afford to pay it off in time along with the Exmag I will have inevitably ordered by the end of this week. While I'm all geared up now to make a purchase, I have no idea what to buy!
So I hear mixed reviews about DC, and while I hear a lot of good things about Greddy, we all know they only make a header for the H22 (damn all you VTEC owners!). Do I have alternatives, or am I pretty much stuck with DC?
yeah, so I guess SS is just not in-style anymore, lol? Pretty much everyone who's said DC, either in this thread at one time or another, all said ceramic. K, if I buy this, then I should ask this question first: i live in MI, it's cold, and the relentless winter is made worse by the copius amounts of salt that is sprayed across the great mitten for several months. I've also heard that if the ceramic chips on the header, the exposed area is quick to rust, myth or truth? Thanks for the posts though.
I know nothing about the rusting but, Although it perfoms MUCH better than stock I was disapointed in the quality of my DC-CC it was already chipped and scratched when I got it and the welds are absolute crap. I've never welded a day in my life and I think I could do better. There is alot of power left to be found in the header of the H23, but DC had to cut corners for production costs I supose.
the reason cc is "better" than the ss. is because the ceramic coating dissapates heat faster therefore it makes the engine bay a little cooler and the fact that it's cheaper . also i believe either hks or apex'i made a header for the h23. might wanna look into that too.
I have a DC SS header...no problems either...only discoloration...my justification for buying SS vs Ceramic was that if ceramic was so good, then how come Mugen, Greddy, etc...only made their headers out of stainless steel??? I mean, if theres a functional reason, besides weight, that ceramic was better, than i would assume that these companies would have jumped on it...just my opinion tho.
i got myself a dc sports ss header for my h23 but the a-pipe was missing some weld!!! so there was air coming out when the engine was on! you believe that ****!! well now i put on the oem a pipe which fits kinda wierd but fits ok and had to send that a-pipe to dc for warranty. what a pain in the ass. cant drive my car a little while. so when you get the header, just make sure you really check it good cuz i really didnt notice it.
reason i got ss over ceramic is cuz i heard ceramic cracks in bad climates like ours. cant go wrong with ss, although i must admit, it retains the heat for a while.
and what about kamakaze headers? they have one for h23 but i just dont know how good kamakaze is. i know its good for f/i.
edit: and my header has a beautiful gold color although i believe its going to change colors again.
^^Enjoy the gold color while it lasts...take some pics like i did too!! Had mine for more than 6 months now and they are kinda ugly looking now...purplish bronze with spots cuz i didnt clean them well...
Originally posted by JDMlude92 the reason cc is "better" than the ss. is because the ceramic coating dissapates heat faster therefore it makes the engine bay a little cooler and the fact that it's cheaper . also i believe either hks or apex'i made a header for the h23. might wanna look into that too.
Does anyone have any experience with either the hks and or apex'i headers cause, I not real sure about the quality of the DC header for my H23. Id personally rather go with Greddy but bastards forgot about the H23 apparently, any imput would be cool!
I have no problems or complaints about my DC CC. I love it. Im sure it isnt the best header in the world, but it surely isnt the worst. I have had no rust issues at all. The only damage to it is where I bottomed out and scraped the B-pipe.
Alright, so I'm sure DC doesn't make every header improperly, but I've heard enough about their fit and finish to wonder a bit. I'm going to check into HKS, APEXi and Kamikaze though, 'cause I'd much rather buy at least an HKS header instead of a DC. Considering what Midnight says, perhaps ss would be a better choice for me, the climate is pretty harsh here at times, and if what I've heard is true about the ceramic one rusting if the coating gets chipped, I might as well binge a bit for ss. As for the heat issues, can't you just heat wrap it if it becomes a problem (might look a bit ugly), but is it ever a problem, lol, anyone here experienced hoses near the header melting? If I find anything about the above manufacturers making a header for the H23, I'll post here for all my fellow non-VTECers. Thanks people for the posts thus far, always nice to participate in an insightful thread
.... k, so I checked out Nopi's store, no luck with HKS or Apex'i yet, but while I may not be interested at all in them, I should add that Pacesetter makes a header too for the Si. Also listed was a nickel-plated 2-peice header by Ractive, anyone heard anything, good or bad, about Ractive headers?
here's a link to look at:
i didnt mean that dc sports headers are gonna be defective most of the time. just felt like i should share my fustration cuz it pisses me off. chances are slim to none that your get a fine header. and about the welds, my mechanic said they are very good welds, almost perfect. about that ractive header, i think that company is cheap in general and wouldnt buy anything from them because its just a cheap company kinda like aerospeed. i dont think dc sports is THAT bad. and im also curious about hoses or anything melting since the heat sheild isnt there. i did keep one of the heat sheilds on. the one between the header and alternator.
looked at their site and the header doesnt look too attractive... just get a dc sports ss header, then get a polished aem cai with bypass valve and random tech cat and we can be like twins!
hehe, twins ... btw, your exhaust setup is all complete yeah? How's it sound with the freeflow cat? I thought about probably just getting a cat when I bought my header to avoid the PITA associated with installing one item, then uninstalling it so I could install an adjacent item. I'd just order all three of my exhaust components now so I could have them all installed at the same time, but I'm still undecided about the header, and the cat for that matter.
Yeah, I figured Ractive was a bit skimpy, one of my coworkers gave me an Ractive air freshener he got from a local Hot Imports Night and that thing lasted about as long as old-people sex.
So far I've been unable to find anything from Apex, if they did make a header for the H23 (or Prelude for that matter) once upon a time, it's definitely not on their website, I can tell you that much. The same goes for HKS, although Kamikaze is a different story altogether:
I am shocked that they have such a selection for the 4th gen: for the S and Si, you have your choice of a high temp black coated, nickel polished chrome, or "high luster" ceramic coated header, the prices are, respectively, is $275, $295, and $330 ... pretty reasonable. Also, the header is a 2-peice unit like DCs, but is a 4-1, not a 4-2-1.
yep my exhaust is fully complete. new everything from the engine back the sound is very low thanx to my awesome exhaust, though i dont know how the sound is at WOT since my header was defective but once i get it back from warranty and install it, ill let you know. it was sent out for warranty today.
kamikaze seems good but everyone gets dc sports and im hoping its for good reason unless they are following everyone else. i can hook you up with a price from a website i know, maybe it will be cheaper then other places. we can talk online.
The AutoGuide.com network consists of the largest network of enthusiast-owned enthusiast-operated automotive communities.
AutoGuide.com provides the latest car reviews, auto show coverage, new car prices, and automotive news. The AutoGuide network operates more than 100 automotive forums where our users consult peers for shopping information and advice, and share opinions as a community.
. also i believe either hks or apex'i made a header for the h23. might wanna look into that too.
Linear Mode
