You can improve the performance of your car's engine by replacing the exhaust manifold with a header so that exhaust emissions can be cleared quickly after combustion takes place in the engine. This article discusses the two types of exhaust headers that you can select from during this car upgrade.
Short Tube Headers Tube headers can have short pipes or long pipes. The variety that has short pipes is suitable to install on newer cars that have crowded engine bays because these headers require minimal space. The installation process is also easier since these headers are designed to fit into the system without cutting or welding anything. The price of short tube headers is usually lower than the price of long tube headers. However, these short tube headers are not very effective in scavenging for any residual exhaust emissions that remain within the system once the main pulse of the emissions has been eliminated. This reduced effectiveness is because the short pipe doesn't allow a large wave of negative pressure to form within the tube once the bulk of the emissions has been expelled. Manufacturers address this shortcoming by having headers with different diameters of pipes. Wider pipes suit the needs of vehicles driven at higher engine rpms (revolutions per minute), such as racecars.
Long Tube Headers You may opt to install a long tube header on your car. These headers are best suited to cars that are used in competitions since the header can keep up with the demand to clear large volumes of emissions from the collector at that high rpm. This type of header offers the greatest improvement in engine performance since the removal of emissions takes place as fast as those emissions are released from the combustion chambers. However, long tube headers are expensive to buy. They also take up a lot of space in the engine bay. This makes them unsuitable for cars with congested engine bays. Installing the header is also complex because one must cut and weld flanges onto the connection points. You should note that a new header may not on its own bring the performance improvements that you desire. Other upgrades, such as installing an intercooler, may be necessary in order to generate the higher horsepower that you want. Work with an experienced mechanic so that he or she can advise you about the best way to reap maximum benefits from the new header that you want to buy.
Share6 September 2017
Hello, my name is William and my passion in life is riding my automobile around town. I love to buy old wrecks and then spend months bringing them back to their former glory. My wife thinks I am completely mad but I keep telling her that you don't have to be mad to do what I do, but it certainly helps! I was a later comer to the world of auto salvage and repair. It was about 12 months ago when my friend Neil introduced me to it. Neil is a real expert and has taught me everything I need to know.