So I bought a set of used CT headers local. my stock ones had a dent in the downpipe. anyways, these headers had a couple of dents in them so i got them for cheap.

is there a way to undo then dents in the CT header? like heating them? i saw something online about using freezing them but i dont know if putting water in the headers is good.
their pretty dusty so is it ok to wash the inside with water? chance of rust?

 

Only parts that are going to rust are the flanges since they are not stainless steel. Just go to an exhaust shop and ask them to cut it out and put a new piece in.

 

hope its not expensive vs fixing

 

New downppe from Comptech is $400 if not a little lower now. Not sure how much to fix since I wanted something similar done.

 

How bad are the dents? if they aren't bad I say just leave it along

 

There are 2 main dents. the other dents are very minor. all dents are on the downpipe.
First dent:




Second dent:



Just wondering, could i replace my downpipe with a downpipe from xs power? that way the CARB stays on and is visable and i would have a cheap dent-free downpipe

 

Expected the second dent but not the first one. I suppose you could do that, didn't think of it before probably because of the quality of those parts, but thats nt a bda idea, give it a go, I know the feeling those CARB badges have saved me multiple times here in So Cal.

 

okay man. thats really easy. goto any exhaust shop, they should be able to cut it out and replace it for under $50. it cost me recently $100 to have a whole cat-back to custom muffler system made. your's is a easy job. they'll just cut that section out, and replace it

 

oh ok, yah i hope its only about 50. its pretty hard to find a place around here to even install headers for me, let alone repair dented ones. so far i only found one, so ill see how much they will charge.
as for replacing the downpipe with one from XS power, ill consider it as one of the last resorts.

 

/\ shit dude, any midas shop can do this for you!

 

install or fix? cause the midas shops i called said they wont install a lot of places wont. but i did find 3 places for 150 or below. thats no problem. i just need them undented now

 

/\ well you are in cali? so your SOL but around here yea midas will even install em. i ment fixing them.

 

yea im in cali. right now im driving all over the place trying to find a place and get quotes for install. best thing right now im thinking is to pay for install at 150 then repair while the headers are on the car for 80. cause they said without the headers on the car, after the repair, the fitment may not be good.

 

well after driving about almost 200 miles in 2 days looking for shops to repair my headers, i have decided not to. a few places looked at them and said that the difference would be minimal. what a waste of 35 buck of gas and time. i could prob have them installed by now.

 

minimal they say? personally with a restriction like that, i wouldn't install them. Thats pretty much defeats the purpose of the headers right? it'll forsure slow the flow down. decrease any power gains. might cause a rasp. plus that cylinder will always flow less then the other, it can effect the harmanics and balance of how the engine runs. you should have spent that $35 on fixing them. I don't know why your having so much trouble with that. exhaust shops are all over.

 

really? aww damn. i was gonna get them installed tomorrow too. yea its hard to find places around here, i dunno why. i might go drive another 50 miles or so to find a couple of other places to see what they say. if i really wanted to get them fixed then i would install them first, then have them pull the dents out while the headers are on the car. right now, the best price is 80.
the same places that said leave it alone also said that if you were to get it done, to make sure the inside is smooth or else it will create turbulance in the exhaust which also restricts flow if they were to cut a new piece. if they were to pull it out, then i may have a weak point with also possible rough interior. so just because i remove the dents, doesnt mean i wont have other fitment or quality issues. i was quite convinced when they said that they would not spend the time or money needed to fix them. and i would probably end up putting another dent in it from me driving it. they also said that headers often have bends in them for fitment. i know mine arent but if others have them then these dents might be ok.
the dents are on after each of the 3 collecters with one on each collector so im guessing it maybe nearly the same for the front 3 and back 3. not any one single cylinder has a bend just after the collector.
and i already know that my stock downpipe has a dent in it affecting the front 3 but nothing has happened. and there are no problems.
so in conclusion, i think im gonna install it and just leave it be. since its the opinion of a few shops that say the header's performance will not be effected. i have already wasted too much money and time just getting it evaluated. fixing it doesnt have all pros and may cause more problems plus cost. just thanks for everyone who helped me with their opinions. i just wish i could have saved time and money because im back at where i started

 

^add:

the dents are on after each of the 2 collecters so im guessing it maybe nearly the same for the front 3 and back 3. try to look at the pic and see what im talking about. its kinda hard not being able to draw a pic or show you guys in person.
but as you can see in pics 1-2, the dent affects the rear 3 equally. in pic 4, the dent equally affects the front 3 equally. so you can see how it kinda balances out. all the dents are after the collectors. so no single cylinder or front-only or rear-only set of cylinders are being effected.

what do you guys think?

 

judging from those dents, i can tell that MAXIMUM flow for the headers is reduced by about 10%....but, then again that's maximum, and by that i mean when the engine is going flat out, it's flow might be restricted by about 10%, and that means that overall power ouput of the engine is not goint to be noticable...

unless it causes some type of resonance, it should be fine...if you put them on and the car feels fine, then it's gonna be fine.

one thing, if you do plan to straighten them out, i don't see how anyone would be able to fix the inner dent while it's on the car...

i beleive trying to fix it is gonna be useless bacause 1, it'll cost some $$ and 2, you might do more damage to it than it has already.

if you're into modding your car, the best thing to do i guess is to buy good aftermarket ones....or it would of been, but now that you have 2 dented ones you might as well use one of em, it's a waste of money otherwise.

 

from your pics, this is the main dent i'd be concerned with. its a hude indent.



eitherway, u can get it installed now b/c u can unbolt the Y-pipe from the headers and get it fixed later..

 

yea, that is the biggest dent and the one i was concerned most with. but it was also pointed out that the dent made the metal a little wider at that part. so that helps a little.

i was told that if they fix it without being on the car, then when they go to bolt it up, it might not fit correctly, thats why i was told to fix them after i install them. but since performance will only be slightly hampered, i plan to leave them. im not going to be doing much more performance wise. and i drive the car below 3k rpm 90% of the time.

i just want the added hp and tq when i need it/want it, maybe improve a little on mpg and cant wait to hear my exhaust after this install. it better sound good!

 

OK so just a update: im getting them installed by a local DIY guy. he says hes been doing motor swaps and FI engines since 96. this is just a hobby/side-job for him. he quoted me a price of 75-100 to install depending on the difficulity. I have not yet been able to see his work area but he assures me he has the proper tools for the job and hes done bigger jobs before. But this is his first time working on a 3.2 and since headers are a bi... to install sometimes, i offered my help. seems like a good guy and i would love to fine myself a personal mechanic. he maybe the one

so if I can remember to bring my camera, ill snap some pics.

anyone know if glass cleaner is good to use on stainless steel? ive read it maybe ok

 

You are going to have an uphill battle with this.

Just because the dented area is wider doen't mean anything positive, think about it this way, would the cross section at that spot become greater because the dent is really severe and flattens out the tubing to only 1" thick? NO, as the cross section of a circular tubing increases as a function of square power, it's vector calculas......., and that dent looks severe enough to cause 20-30% restriction in flow rate.

So now you have the header mounted in the car before starting a repair, how do you plan to cut out the damaged section? Torch? Saws-All? Hopefully you don't damage anything else under the car in the process.

And the job doesn't get any easier once you cut off the damaged section, since there seems to be radiused section on the portion that needs to be cut off, how is the new piece going to be formed? Is the new piece going to be welded back on? This will be tough as how is the top of the tubing going to be accessed by the welder? It's likely the new section needs to be tack-welded on and the whole assembly removed to have the full weld done.

In any case, good luck with this, I hope everything works out without you spending too much money, this is probably why the original owner sold it for cheap because he couldn't fix it cheap.

As well, don't bother with cleaning the stainless steel in a header application, it's going to get discolored in no time flat, it's the nature of the beast!

 

/\ just to add. you don't need to cut anything while on the car. the ypipe which is damaged, can be removed from the headers themselfs. but yes the new sections will be welded inplace of the damaged sections. they'll either need to be custom fitted. its really not too hard of a job.

op, just install em and go from there i guess.

 

yea, all i care about is installing them now. my stock downpipes are already dented so this is fine.

i know that the dents will restrict some flow but i drive 90% under 3k. How much of a difference will i really feel? will i gain 0 hp/tq from the install? or lose power?

if it really bothers me, Ill just buy a XS power downpipe for like 100 bucks. but for now, im gonna drive it like this. i understand that the severity of the dents are quite hard to see in pictures but the shops i brought it too said i would feel little difference unless i was FI. and one place seemed to know a lot about headers. He even recognized the TIG welds and commented on how well the collector area came together. personally, i trust performace exhaust shops that got to see the dents in person. and since more than one shop said it would be fine, then that sealed my concerns.

 

Yes it will be FINE, but it will inhibit maximum performance somewhat. The gains from headers are basically 4K+, so unless you are at or above that, the only difference you will notice anyways is the sound. It seems like it would make sense to sell those and just buy a set of OBX/SS, they really AREN'T that bad. Then again, it doesn't sound like you will be using them to their full potential, so it may not matter but IMO dented Comptech<OBX/SS. As far as CARB goes, you should only be worried about that with popo right? I don't see any reason why they would pull you ovr and check under your hood? Of course I have only driven in Cali once...

 

yea im worried about CARB. but i dont race my car. I just want added performace and sound.

I know no way that these headers will give me maximum performace but thats ok. as long as i know that these dents only slightly hamper performace to a point where the difference is unnoticable or very little, then thats fine with me. and since im not living in VTEC all the time, i doubt that if there was a difference, i would know it.

 

and engine bay checks are also made at smog

 

I dont think selling these headers and buying new ones will seem like a waste to me since, like you said yourself, I will not be using the headers to their full potential. and if I do, it will be rare.

hey, maybe these dents will give me a little backpressure to add to the tq that normally these headers would have taken away. since i live below 3k anyways...

 

Well I guess in a way that's better than being like some other younger folks "Dude I just got my license and I went 135 tonight, it was sick!"...

 

haha you mean being dumb and reckless?

 

 

Someone making fun of me? If so you misquoted me, it was 140

 

Well no I wasn't talking about you specifically, but now that you mention it, might as well pile on... That guy aackshun is an idiot!

Any further developments with the headers?

 

Well I was busy today, spending the day driving to SF. The guys whos installing it is busy tomorrow, so for now, we have the date set on friday.

 

sweet!!!

you should take a video of the car idling and a flyby at WOT, i'd love to see how it sounds b4 and after

 

haha wish i could but i dont have a digital camcorder

 

dude stick a fork in those headers, they're done. those dents are significant and WILL restrict exhaust flow. i'd rock a stock header over those anyday. if you drive under 3k all day then you should keep the stock headers anyway, which have better low end torque/power. those comptech headers will probably lose you power down low and up top. just leave the stock headers on, if you want just pick up some xs powers for 90 bucks brand new and call it a day. i wouldnt worry about CARB either, even if you ever get pulled over here in cali, i can almost guarentee you the cop wont pop your hood.

 

remove the carb badge from the comptechs and weld it to the XS headers lol, problem solved.

 

haha, guys i appreciate the comments but im pretty set on installing these. several performace exhaust shops have seen these in person and said restriction will be minimal. I know that i do not have maximum performace with these headers. and in the futute, i may swap the downpipe with one from XS Power.

according to Comptech's dyno chat of headers and mufflers, theres a "torque" gain throughout the powerband and a HP gain above 2.8k. and with the "added backpressure" im sure the torque numbers may go up a little and HP will go down a little.
Source: http://www.ct-engineering.com/dyno.htm#cl
also take a look at header only install for a 99 3.2 TL: http://www.ct-engineering.com/dyno.htm#tl

plus, my stock has a dent in the downpipe too. but it only affects the front 3 cylinders so its even worse since these headers are evenly dented. haha or w/e

 

How do you guys get the dents? "Cotact" parking against the curb? Or just not slowing down in and out of parking lots?