Well, yesterday was the official OBX installation day for me. I have to say that i truely understand a bit more about how the Comptechs are worth more money (not 700 bucks more but definately worth more money)

anyhow, the installation started off without a hitch, getting the factory shit unbolted wasnt to bad at all, we just had the car up on ramps so it was a bit cramped but very doable, we also had an impact wrench that saved us alot of time. we ran into some significant problems, however, that were directly related to the quality of the OBX headers.

Problem #1

the front header bank did not fit on the studs from the engine block. the holes were simply not lined up correctly to slide onto the engine block. so we ended up having to have someone who was there helping take the front header bank over to his house and use a drill press to bore out the 2 outer-most holes a bit more, because in the condition i got the headers in from OBX, the holes were missaligned. once the guy came back from his house, the front bank slid on as it should have to begin with. so that problem was easily solved but it should not have happend to begin with. the rear header bank slid over the studs very easily so at least one side worked perfectly.

Problem #2

the A pipe was TOO SHORT. The OBX A pipe was about AN INCH too short to be directly compatible with the catylitic converter it is meant ot be bolted to. this was a major issue as there was no room for any give without some serious thinking. not only was the A pipe too short but the flange with the holes on it that goes over the studs on the cat was twisted by about an 1/8 of an inch. we had to literally TWIST the flex tube portion of the A pipe to make it line up with the studs on the cat. we used a huge pipe wrench to do this. it took us over an hour to get the A pipe to correctly line up with the cat and to make it stretch to fill the 1 inch gap. we had to take the mufflers off of the hangers in the rear of the car and one person was behind the car, holding onto the inside of the trunk for leverage and using his feet to PUSH on the exhaust Y pipe in the back to FORCE the exhaust (from the cat all the way back) to pick up that 1 inch gap. so while one person was underneath the car with a C-clamp slowing tightening it, the other person was behind the car pushing like all hell on the exhaust to get it to a point where the nuts could be put onto the studs and we could actually bolt the A pipe and Catylitic convertor together...THAT was a BITCH!! it finally worked and then we put the mufflers back on the hangers and everything held. it is VERY tight...that inch gap was really inexcuseable...i was very dissapointed in that...but i guess when you spend 70% less for your headers than the top of the line brand, you have to allow for some type of error but this error was huge. the problems we had caused at least an extra total of 2 hours of work time....it took us about 4.5 hours total but would have been less if it werent for the compatibility issues.

in any case, once everything was bolted up, we started the car, it sounded good, smelled like shit (thats normal after exhaust work like that) and then we took it for a test run....gains were noticable right away, but REALLY werent felt until i had been driving the car for a bit more time, i guess it just took a little while to break in or whatever. but the gains are REAL and i am impressed with them, hopefully this will decrease my 1/4 mile time when i go to union grove on november 2nd.


i have to give a huge thanks to a fellow member here, Roell (Brian) as he was instramental with this installation, also his freind Rob was a huge help as well, although he isnt a member here, i am very appreciative for both of their help. I took everyone who was there helping out to the bar afterward and bought a few pitchers and shots and it was a great time, Roell, you missed out on some fun last night after you left dude!!! both of these guys will be down at union grove on the 2nd so im looking forward to seeing how my CL-S stands up next to Roells CL-S as he has comptech headers, AEM intake and pullies..as well as a shiny new transmission!! Rob, on the other hand has an INCREDIBLE 1995 300ZX twin turbo that is modded to the teeth. should be nice...last time he was running he was in the mid 13's...now he put a chip on it as well as some other mods and is hoping to hit high 12's. should be nice!!

anyhow, i guess the moral of the story is that if you want an easy, painless bolt on, spend 1000 and go with comptech...if you are limited on a budget and are willing to deal with some MAJOR bullshit in installation, go with OBX...i cant complain much though because i did get an incredible price for these things and that outweighs the problems. hopefully now these things will stand the test of time because i dont plan on taking them off or doing any more exhaust work like that ANYTIME soon!!!

 

hmm guess they weren't such a bargain after all

 

good luk for you next time... It is weird ... but my set of headers fit like a glove the only issue was we installed the rear header in front ( It had the OBX badge) and it did not slide in easily ... rubber hummer was used.. but we found out that the headers have to be switched... they fit like a glove... and we never had a problem with A-pipe being short or has to be twisted...

But wait a sec, your headers look like a 3.0 first generation header... I think you got a new 3.0 version!!! not that for CLS!

The 3.0 headers has to twisted as mentioned on the board by the guy who installed the 3.2L/V6 Accord headers on first generation CL... Also he had to push back the catalic converter to the back like an inch so it fits....

Read his post here: http://www.acura-cl.com/forums/showt...X&pagenumber=1

 

I was going to make the same comment Nashua made... Could they be for a different application?

 

I hope what Nashua saying is correct and you get a wrong set of headers, which is unbelievable. Also, if you did in fact get the right set, then this is unacceptable, such poor quality.

 

I hope I don't have the 3.0 version.

 

I hope the set I bought and sold are the right ones. I would feel bad if there are these sorts of issues with the install!

Also, jimcol - the "break in" period you talked about - that's just the ECU learning curve getting used to your headers.


Btw the Accord V6 uses a 3.0L engine so wouldn't these headers be made for that size engine too?? How could there be two different headers when the RIGHT headers work for both a 3.0L and 3.2L??

 

I just e-mail them eariler and going to wait for a reply tomorrow.

 

Dustbuster4 had the same problem with his headers and I helped him install his on his car last week. This is still not going to stop me from buying a set of OBX headers now that I know what it entails to install them. With the $600 - $800 I shall save from buying COMPTECH headers I can have a professional installation done or me and Rick can do it ourselves. I still think the savings outweigh the problems associated with the slight design flaw.

I hope I don't have bolt problems, all we really had was a slight problem mounting the Y pipe, it was misaligned, and the pipe being an inch too short, which was alleviated by pushing in the exhaust from the rear. If all goes well, my headers shall be here next week!

 

ouch, hope they end up working for you.

 

Someone should ask OBX if they do test-fit each headers produced on mounting frame that simulate the engine Block and catalic converter...

I guess that should be done... and assembled OBX headers test-fitted on a frame... , no?

 

i mean i could be wrong but maybe he put the rear bank on the front which made the down pipe wanna be too far foward

 

" the only issue was we installed the rear header in front ( It had the OBX badge) and it did not slide in easily ... rubber hummer was used.. but we found out that the headers have to be switched" wonder if this was jimcol711 front header bolt problem???

 

I was thinking the same thing..

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by dajuice27
"Dustbuster4 had the same problem with his headers and I helped him install his on his car last week. This is still not going to stop me from buying a set of OBX headers now that I know what it entails to install them. "

I thought dustbuser4 had a 3.0CL?? the accord v6 obx headers NEED to be modified for a 3.0CL application. NOT on a 3.2 CL
though..Like Nashua said the shit should fit like a glove.

 

guys, i just wanted to chime in here, i KNOW for a FACT that the headerbank with the OBX badge on it is for the back. i know you guys didnt mean to insult my inteligence but i can assure you, the problems i had are ONLY due to the quality of the OBX headers, this is not a mistake by me or any other of the guys who helped, it was just poor quality issues. i dont think there are 2 versions of these headers, i think there is just inconsistancy with the product. i guess thats why they are so cheap.

 

what if the badge was placed on the wrong header? did you try swapping the front to the rear ? just curious ?

 

well howabout this maybe OBX realized they were badging the rears and fixed the problem? and your badged one needed to go on the front just looking for excuses

 

There was no problems installing the headers here

 

I had the same problems with the "A" pipe being half an inch short..and one of the O rings did not fit the properly and needed to be hammered in...other than that everything was fine..

 

regardless of where the badge is, it is so obvious which header bank goes where. for you guys without headers, its hard to explain but when you actually hold a set of headers, each bank, its so obvious which goes where, one flange is at a totally different angle than the other, and when you bolt them together like not even on the engine, just to do a test fit, you can see that it MUST go a cetain way, so please understand that this was all due to OBX lower standard of quality and had nothing to do with me or anyone who was helping not understanding which bank goes where, simply put, the A pipe was too short and the front header bank needed to be re-drilled to fit. if you ever tried to put the header banks on opossite, it wouldnt work WHATSOEVER due to the angles of the flange, there is really no way to mess that up.

 

I had 0 problems installing my headers also.

 

go it..thanks or the expanation..Well seems like obx has some issues..

 

Me and a buddy of mine installed my OBX Headers without any problems. Are you sure you got the right application? I have no idea why there would be such inconsistancies between different sets of the same headers.

 

Comptech doesn't hide their badge on the rear bank!

 

I think I will just hold off for a bit on buying headers. Off Topic a bit: Did anyone figure out why OBX's supposedly identical design produces more low-end power than Comptech?

 

Jim,

The shop had the same problem as your #2. That was my only problem. There were able to solve it by widening out the holes on the cat/exhaust. It took them a while, but by widening out the holes, it allowed enough extra room for the bolts to fit... quite a pain in the ass.. took them an extra 2 hrs because of this problem.

But everything is cool now, and the Rock :thubmsup:

 

i have to say that i am still impressed with these headers in spite of the issues i had...this morning when driving to work i was VERY impressed again with the gains, it seems everytime i get in the car, it has adjusted more to take advantage of the headers. the pull in 2nd gear feels almost as strong as 1st gear now!! its great...i love it....problems and all, this was WELLLL worth it. i cant wait to hit the track on Nov. 2nd...should be a good day with some NICE RUNS!