Are Headers Worth It?

One of the most common ways to increase performance on a naturally aspirated engine is to install an exhaust header. They aren’t too expensive, and the install should be pretty easy on the miata. But how much power do they actually make? Today we’re gonna install a set of headers find out!

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[antoinechartrand]

Donut putting a little timer during their sponsors is god tier thank you

[Kyz]

"Thats why we got to turbo this thing"

The pistons : I dont feel so good

[dfabove]

Wow, this takes me back to 1968 when I bought a Datsun 2000 roadster that had 135 hp stock. I was stationed at Edwards air force base and we had unlimited space to run flat out. I was in the army and one of the civilian engineers (MIT) had a new Porsche 912 targa and we would race in the desert . I could always beat him on top speed (135 mph) but cornering I couldn't keep up. I decided to look into speed equipment and even being a So Cal boy in 1968 Datsun was like what? Luckily I went to Iskendarian looking for parts who sent be to Pete Brock who had an operation sponsored by the Datsun factory to develop racing cars and parts and to support independents like me too go fast in Datsuns ! I bought the factory racing cam, side draft webbers, factor racing headers and to many small items to mention. I swapped out the stock 560-14" wheels and tires for Minilite magnesium wheels with Goodyear Blu-streak racing tires. The Porsche guy was in shock when we had a chance to go again as my funny little Japanese Datsun with north of 200 HP could go north of 160 mph and corner as good or better than the Porsche! I didn't find out until years later how famous Pete Brock was! I'm still remembering him and his also famous mechanic being regular super helpful guys actually turning wrenches under my hood when I was just a soldier back from Viet Nam stationed at edwards AFB....they treated me like a VIP !

[MrJeepinZeke]

Don’t forget you can also justify it by it being 1 piece to the whole puzzle. If you add 3-4 mods that give you an extra 3-6 hp that’s not nothing. And to say you’ve modded/customized your car and made it act differently is also cool.

[brycet]

I hope this series continues after the miata is “done”, it would be nice to see this done with some other inexpensive tuner cars

[Ando.Official]

“I’m really worried we’re gonna max out the dyno” had me dead 😂

[VQMOMO]

I love how much raspier the Miata with the header installed and I'd say it's worth it you got better exhaust gas flow now.

[Raven-Creations]

I'm surprised you made as much as you did. The weather (temperature and pressure) might have accounted for the difference you saw. The stock header didn't look like a bad design (unlike a lot of the horrible cast iron headers found on many cars), plus you ditched the heat shield, which means you're losing energy from the gases which can reduce the ability to scavenge and you're increasing your air intake temperature.

[harrisonfulton]

“Now that we got it nice and hot, let’s go touch it.” 😂😂😂

[Jamal_sml]

“I’m really worried we’re gonna max out the dyno” LMAO

[stevegrieve]

When you do any mods like this or the pod filter, you need to reset your "base idle", how to do this is in the workshop manual, your xtra couple of horsepower may be there & it will run & idle so much better,
cheers
Steve
North Harbour Mazda.

[FreemanConcepts]

The original manifold was a really good design for flow, the only reason you probably saw any increase was because you removed the catalytic converter which was probably the only real restriction in the exhaust system

[MexicanNamedBrandon]

i just finished re-assembling my engine and I have a piston left over. From my experience building things LEGO has taught me there is always extra pieces when you finish

[JeffOfTheMountains]

10:20 "Yeah I'm kinda worried we might max out the dyno on this one."
Destruction: *100*

[overcastfriday]

What you removed was basically a shorty header...especially when compared to some oem exhausts of the past. Nice test..thx

[winfield]

So glad I subscribed to this channel! Between this channel and the Scotty Kilmer 1 I feel like I’m damn near a mechanic with all the knowledge I’ve been getting here & there 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

[PizzaParkersGarage]

The crossover episode we're all looking forward to: Up to Speed on eBay Turbos featuring: The money pit Miata

[JoshDPREZ]

This is literally the smoothest header install I’ve ever seen lol no bolt cutting, rubber mallet-ing, or cursing.. amazing!

[Biggynotsmall]

I wonder what the numbers on the different types of headers would look like 👀 love all these vids and appreciate you guys passing along the knowledge

[TravisFabel]

When you do this you should also be logging your airflow ratio so that you can see if it runs a little leaner or something...