Would you put headers first or cat back?

 

headers 100%, unless all you are wanting is more sound, then get mufflers.

 

well on our tl's a full cat back doesnt really add much as i know it. so i would go for the headers

 

yup! im getting my headers in this week. i want that boost in performance so i went straight for the headers. sound can wait, i already love the sound on my car as it is. its a TL and i dont really want it to sound really loud and raspy. i want it to be subtle, yet fastttt

 

On this car:

exhaust = show
headers = go

You decide...

 

HEADERS!!!

 

headers hands down!

unless you arent looking for power and want sound then i would go exhaust. the exhaust on the tl is pretty good at flow, and most aftremarket exhaust only give it 1-6 hp, where as the header can get up to 20-30hp gains depending on model and other mods

 

For basic bolt-on mods, besides a S/C, the estimated hp gains go as follows.

1) Header 25-30 whp
2) Intake 8-10 whp
3) Crank Pulley 8 whp
4) Catback Exhaust 5 whp

Josh
Excelerate LLC

 

No offense, but where do these figures come from? I ask because the dyno graphs at CompTech show the max hp gain for headers on a 1999 TL as 17.9 and the max cat back at 7.5 hp.

 

everyone wants to know exact numbers, but the fact is, there isnt any EXACT numbers because each car is slightly different and each dyno could read slightly different...that could translate to a few HP each way

 

THose numbers are closer to what those mods would give you on the J32A2 CL/TL Type S. The older TL/TL-P/CL-P will respond differently because of the different intake system, cams, etc.

 

Headers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I can understand that with the cat back (5 hp vs 7.5 hp), but there's a 39% (18 hp vs 25 hp) to a 67% (18 hp vs 30 hp) difference in the gains with headers.

I was just curious where the number came from.

 

True. The person who started this thread has a TLP according to his profile.

 

Ya you will get less of a gain with a TLP vs a Type S, and maybe even less with a 99 vs 00-03

 

Even so, headers are probably the best bang for the buck mod you can do to our cars.

 

The year of the TL-P should not make any difference as far as horsepower gains. The only difference between them is the transmission('99 - 4 spd, '00-'03 - 5 spd).

But by any means if you're looking for performance gains, definitely go with the headers.

 

yes i do

 

Who here has noticed gains with only headers?No exhaust intake...

 

If you would have looked at my sig in my first reply...you would see that is what I have. I noticed a huge difference in my car after the ECU got used to the headers. Pretty much the same when driving normally (3000 RPM and below), but when you floor it...wow big difference, and notice alot on the highway also.

 

I based the numbers off a CL-S/TL-S, not a CL-P/TL-P. So then the numbers would change for the latter vehicle.

Josh
Excelerate LLC

 

Got AW headers on my '02 TL-S. Big gain!!

 

I would do the COMPTECH headers... a friend of mine with the TypeS did that on his car, and it provided a pretty nice added kick upstairs while in vtec. That mod, as well as the pully provide gains that you will notice. While they are not exactly cheap, the saying applies here.... no such thing as a free horse... you gotta pay to play here, but boy do they provide some excellent gains on the butt dyno.

Sound was not much different after the header was installed, so the car sounds like a stock car, until he gets on it

pm "ndawood", he'll tell you more about it.

 

What about for a 04 TL, headers or exaust?

 

HEADERS

 

The 04 TLs exhaust manifolds are part of the heads, therefore they can't be changed. So your stuck with exhaust and intake for bolt-on performance parts.

 

headers WHP is correct, if installed on Type-S. However, no way an intake will give you 10whp, the crank pulley gives a Type-S around 12-13whp and cat-back exhaust on Type-S wont do much.. 5whp would be pretty damn good.. on a TL-P exhaust might do more though..

 

oh BTW, go with headers man you wont regret it.