joebennz

is there a difference in performance between the comptech and Obx headers? i decided to wait on the exhaust because it wouldnt do me much right now.

Mike

Probably not but the Ctechs workmanship is head and shoulders above obx.

Chopsie

There are some Dynos around here for all three headers: Comptech, OBX, Stone Racing. Doa search and you'll see many talks about the same issue.
Performace is equivalent. Like Mike said, workman ship is the only thing that changes though. I had OBX headers, but sold them, they had no issue's .

joebennz

thanx guys. the CT headers seem a lil steep but if theyre worth it then ill wait.

Chopsie

If you have the money, get em

flint

iTrader: (2)

They are worth the wait. I have seen both.

Mike

see if you can pick up some used ctechs.

joebennz

what do used one go for about?

Mike

depends on the seller but i've seen them as low as 600.

jimcol711

comptechs are NOT worth the price under any circumstance. i had the OBX headers on my CL-S before i sold it and the benefits included-

-a drop of .5 seconds in 1/4 mile time
-a gain of 6 mph in 1/4 mile trap speed
-an extra 700 dollars in my pocket


this debate has gone back and forth about 100,000 times here. there are DIE HARD comptech guys and tons of guys with OBX or Stone. bottom line is yes, comptechs headers are a better crafted product, the welds are cleaner, the flanges always fit on the motor perfectly, etc. as far as performance gains? they are all virtually equal, depending on individual cars, weather, driver ability, there is no difference really at all between the performance of the 3 brands. for every guy that says his comptechs gave a bigger gain than someone else's OBX, theres a guy like me who got a .5 second from OBX.

if its worth an EXTRA 700 dollars to you to have clean welds, well then go for comptech, if you want a hell of a mod for the CL-S at a SUPERB price, go for OBX or Stone. you simply CANNOT get a better bang for the buck mod on the CL-S than OBX or Stone headers. period.

jimcol711

oh, and as far as durability and longevity? i had my OBX headers on during a harsh wisconsin winter and they held up perfectly. when i removed them to sell them, they, of course, had faded a bit and showed signs typical of stainless steel when exposed to extreme heat and the weather elements (symptoms that comptech headers show as well after some use)

also, lets face it, most of us switch cars every year or 2 anyways. how many of us that say we are going to keep a car for 3 or 5 or 7 years actually do? very few. chances are, you will get rid of the CL-S, and the headers, long before any serious failure would occur on the cheaper headers.

again, it comes down to how much you want that extra 700 dollars in your pocket. to me, and many others, it was a no brainer. that 700 bucks goes a LONG way to other mods or other things in your life

sonor kid

Jimcol quit talking like an idiot, mr. header expert.
Telling people not to buy the Comptechs, that's one of the most ridiculous comments I've read here in a while.
The OBX headers do work but don't give me your bullshit comparisons to the Comptech because I'm one of the few people to own and dyno both and the Comptechs were not only superior on the dyno but there is no comparison in quality and I'm not just speaking of the welds here.
The OBX headers are garbage compared to the Comptechs, period.

jimcol711

lol, your dynos were inconclusive at BEST. different days, different weather conditions, different engine temps.

the results speak for themselves, my time went down .5 seconds, thats enough proof for me of the OBX and thats what most people care about anyway.

if you feel like you need to spend that extra 700 bucks and justify doing so by calling me names, go right ahead, hahhhaha. but i, along with every other OBX or Stone owner is laughing all the way to the bank when their cars with headers are just as fast as yours with your extra 700 bucks into it. cleaner welds or not. its simply not worth it. OBX gives the gains, as does Stone, for a FRACTION of the price, there is no arguing with that. period.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

I have to agree with Jim here..... the OBX produce very very similar gains to the Comptech's, and cost about 75% less. I have the OBX's and I love them.... and I saved about $850 over the Comptechs.

If you can find a used set of Comptech's at a good price, then that's something you should do... otherwise I'd go OBX.

To be honest with you... opinions are like assholes... everyone's got one... and this subject is probably one of the most debated ones.... so you'll need to make the decision based on what you want to spend for ~30 peak WHP.....

joebennz

good point junior. i dont understand why people would spend all that extra $$ for nothing. unless there is a noticeable difference, why waste the money

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

Well, a lot of people question the quality of the OBX and the Stone... especially b/c the first batch of the OBX headers had some fitment and weld issues, but honestly, after that first batch I didn't see anyone reporting problems.... but everyone is fixated on that first batch, so they use that to bash the OBX.

As an OBX owner I can say I had no fitment or other issues with them and i've had them on for about 10 months.....

fender4

I have "Stone's" well my car does anyway,,, no problems,, also I keep my cars for 7-10 years and about 200k miles,,, will have plenty of time to check future longterm durability,,,

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Okay, now granted for every one person that has had a problem with their OBX headers, there have been 10 who haven't.

Break it down like this.

New OBX headers $300
Install ~ $200 (seems to be about average)

So total price of the headers is up to $500

Now a month later a weld cracks so you have to get it repaired. $200 to take them off, put stock headers back on.

Headers are repaired. $200 to put on repaired headers.

You're up to $900. The chances of you having issues with the OBX headers aren't that great, but there is hardly any chance you will EVER have a problem with the Comptechs. That goes from the time you get them (no warped flanges, holes are large enough to have the bolts pass through them, etc) to 50k miles down the road.

You can pick up a set of used CT headers for under $700 like I did.

The extra cost of the CT headers is worth the piece of mind that comes with them.

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

I can also say that if you go to an installer that as previously installed OBX headers will most likely not run into as many problems as they would on their first install.

My dealership has installed the OBX headers before and knows to bore out the holes prior to bolting them on.

jimcol711

steve, that scenario is a bit extreme and unlikely. possible......but extreme and unlikely.

most people who have had issues with OBX have had a problem with the flanges not fitting over the studs on the engine. i actually had that problem on the front header bank. all i did was take the peice to my buddies house who has a drill press, drill out the hole bigger, and boom, done, it went on perfectly. no big deal, no loss of money, no additional cost.

now, another thing to consider is that headers really dont have to be something you pay to have installed. they arent that complicated to install and anyone with a decent set of tools, and some basic knowledge of how to use them can do the job with a buddy or even by themselves if they simply follow the instructions that come with the comptechs (available in PDF format online) or some of the numerous write ups that are on this forum. therefore you dont even spend that additional 200 average for install, which, is a bit high as it is. id say the average install for headers is closer to 150-175.

additionally, if a weld fails on an OBX header bank, there is a good chance that the weld can simply be fixed while the parts are still on the car. in the off-chance that the crack or weld-fail occurs in a spot that cant easily be reached, sure, you gotta uninstall. but why put the stock headers back on in the meantime? thats ridiculous. just coordinate the fix-up job on one day, get the part off, have a buddy drive you to the weld shop to get it fixed, bring it back, and reinstall it. its not that big of a deal. and again, its VERY unlikely that would ever occur anyways.

of course its important to think of worst-case-scenarios but its really stretching it to think that one problem with the OBX headers will equal out to a total investment of 900 dollars

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

I think most people on this board PAY to have someone else install their headers. And it is an even MORE extreme and unlikely situation for the majority of people to know a friend with a drill press and the know how to fix the problem.

Also, if there is a weld issue on the headers, wouldn't you rather have the OBX warranty fix the issuse instead of someone else that might void the warranty?? This would require the removal of the headers and having them returned to OBX. This would require the stock headers to be re-installed.

Wait, do the OBX headers even have a warranty? I don't remember.

I'm not bashing the OBX headers at all. For the money they are a great value... I chose to go a different route by picking up a used set of Comptechs.

Also we need to remember the OBX headers sound different than the CT's. There is increased resonance in 4th or 5th gear at low RPMs.

This debate will go on forever. Each person needs to weigh the pros and cons of each type of header for themselves. But for me, the only con of the Comptechs was the price... that made it hard to justify buying the other ones when there was the potential for quality issues.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

There is supposed to be a lifetime warranty, but getting OBX to honor it is another story.

As for the sounds, that's not an absolute, so really shouldn't be a deal breaker. Not everyone gets that sound and those that do don't get it all the time. I get it maybe once a month (if I had to put an average on it) and only under certain conditions (cold and wet seems to be one). So it is a possibility... but not something that always happens... and to be honest.... with the Comptech exhaust I almost never hear it anyway... so it's no biggie.....

But like you said, each person needs to weigh their options and make their own decisions. If I listened to everyone I wouldn't have saved $850 on my headers.... but those who had problems probably wish they went Comptech in the first place.... so it's really up to the consumer....

joebennz

do u sed ct headers still have some type of warranty or is it only for the orignial owner

sonor kid

I'm not here to call names but don't go bashing Comptech, they are worth every penny, if people can't afford them, great go with what you can afford but don't tell me the OBX headers are equal because they are not.
If you have the money, buy the Comptechs as they are the best. If you don't have the money, buy what you can afford and take your chances. I got burned by OBX but others haven't, so who knows.
Don't say the Comptechs aren't worth it because they are.

Shawn S

OK, here’s mine………

OBX is crap.
Too many horror stories have been posted here.
I would never put something like that product on my car.
Any “bolt on” product that requires bending, drilling, reaming and pulling is SHIT in my book.
All they did was rip off Comptech’s design and they couldn’t even do THAT right.
And aren’t there issues with misaligned oxygen sensors or is that another cheap rip-off brand?

Even if you do get them installed, then you have to worry about droning noises and welds cracking in the future.

Sure, you might get lucky and have them work and last, but the odds are against you.
If you plan on keeping the car more then a year or two, I would definitely go Comptech.

Shawn S

Red-CL

Shawn never misses the header debates.

Shawn S

Or a good Radar detector discussion.

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Don't even get him started on Zaino...

Blackmagic or Meguirs = :flamer: war

Shawn S

Naaa…. I switched to Turtle Wax last week.

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Sarcastic ass. LOL

April fools was last month remember

sonor kid

You guys are always good for a laugh in thses discussions.
I'm thinking about selling my Comptech headers and going back to the OBX, if anyone is interested.

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

At first I thought you were being serious. Then I realized this thread turned utterly sarcastic. I was like

robocop22

I just had my obx installed last thursday...the tech told me the O2 sensor area was a little tight but he got it to fit
everything else fitted fine

header:330
install: 175
total: 505

However I really don't notice that much difference in performance...although I am just using butt dyno....

TypeS_boi

Sup ya'll haven't been on here since I finished installing my headers. BTW, they were Choppers headers and now enjoying its usefulness on my car. The only thing I don't like about the OBX is the nasty ass welds. Oh yea, that weekend when I ran into problems w/ the bolt that connects to the Cat...just went to Midas and they heated the sucker and tapped it out. Cost me $25 bux. My total spent was $350 for headers, couple of tools and goin to Midas. Def worth the extra 30 hp.