Installed Megan headers today

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Old 12-01-2004, 10:06 PM
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Installed Megan headers today

Took about 3hrs to do, fits fine, but i dont notice the gains THAT much, i mean i see a gain, but not how everyone makes it seem, how when u get headers its a night and day difference, but there could be a reason why, because right now its leaking a good amount even tho i tighten the bolts pretty good maybe i missed one or two, im gonna take it to my mechanics shop on friday to get all the bolts tighten with air tools.
my question is,
if its leaking a good amount, would i loose a lot of hp, enough to not feel a big gain?

when i rev the motor in park , and rev to about 5k and let off it makes a whooosh sound kinda like a turbo from the headers, it sounds like a leak to me, and when i floor it , theres a little ticking noise and sounds like airs leaking out the headers.


O yea and i did reset the ECU twice and it didn't make much of a difference, how long does it take for the ECU to get use to the new headers?

Any suggestions? Im thinking its just cuz the bolts rnt tighten good enough??
Old 12-01-2004, 10:18 PM
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Originally Posted by BLaCk Acc
Took about 3hrs to do, fits fine, but i dont notice the gains THAT much, i mean i see a gain, but not how everyone makes it seem, how when u get headers its a night and day difference, but there could be a reason why, because right now its leaking a good amount even tho i tighten the bolts pretty good maybe i missed one or two, im gonna take it to my mechanics shop on friday to get all the bolts tighten with air tools.
my question is,
if its leaking a good amount, would i loose a lot of hp, enough to not feel a big gain?

when i rev the motor in park , and rev to about 5k and let off it makes a whooosh sound kinda like a turbo from the headers, it sounds like a leak to me, and when i floor it , theres a little ticking noise and sounds like airs leaking out the headers.


O yea and i did reset the ECU twice and it didn't make much of a difference, how long does it take for the ECU to get use to the new headers?

Any suggestions? Im thinking its just cuz the bolts rnt tighten good enough??
I would say to leave it unplugged for a good 15 minutes. Just make sure that you have your battery unplugged, and that you have the radio code because it is required when you cut power entirely.

Then I believe a lot of guys on the forum have said to really beat the shit out of the car for about 15 minutes so that it can really adjust the gains. Don't quote me on this, but I think that's the proper method. Basically I think your engine computer will reconfigure the air/fuel ratio and modify the fuel numbers to compensate for more air.

Can someone confirm this???
Old 12-01-2004, 10:22 PM
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if you unplug it for about 15 min it will reset the ecu. BUT it will take some time for the ecu to completley relearn and map things. give it some time. also i dont know what youwere expecting from the headers as far as "feel" but the gains are there, there not going to kick like a 50 shot of nos.
Old 12-01-2004, 10:27 PM
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The computers in our cars will automaticly compensate for the headers in due time. Reseting your ECU is just the first step. Sourced from previous posts, it takes a couple of days for everything to settle in and really see the gains. As for the whoshing sound that your car is making, If you do a search for alphawerks headers on A-CL you will find an mpeg that shows the same problem: it is a leak somewhere. There are many joints and bolts so going through each and retightening them would be ideal. By the way, your opinion on the Megans would be appriciated. From what I understand their quality is much better than the OBX's... I just jumped on the Alphawerks GB and am wondering if that was the right decision. Good luck my friend
Old 12-01-2004, 10:33 PM
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Wait so if i unplug the battery for like 3 to 5 mins it doesnt reset the ecu???? I thought its only for a couple of mins?? If it has to be 15mins im gonna have to do it again..

As far my opinion on the headers, they seem like there good quality and i didnt have any fitment issues at all, i will post my opinions on the performance gains in a couple of days, and on the whoshing noise.

fsttyms1 - yea i wasn't expecting it to be like nitrous, i had 60shot of nitrous on my accord (last car), and yea i wasnt expecting anywhere near that gain, but everyone said its very noticable, i keep thinking its all physological. We'll see the results in a couple of days.
Old 12-02-2004, 01:06 AM
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I have megan headers. It took me a good two to three days to see results after resetting. Youll know when your rpm go up faster and the sound will get meaner. I think the car begs for like 300 more revs till redline.
Old 12-02-2004, 01:07 AM
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dunno if it could have nething to do with the fact that they're leaking...that would'nt seem to reduce power
Old 12-02-2004, 01:24 AM
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Originally Posted by keepingitclean
I have megan headers. It took me a good two to three days to see results after resetting. Youll know when your rpm go up faster and the sound will get meaner. I think the car begs for like 300 more revs till redline.
Ya, it took my ride at least 3 days untill I could tell the increased power was all there. At first the engine was kinda slow and boggy at times, but after a few days it will be smooth and faster (especially after 5000RPM's)

on the noise, you need to re torque your bolts to the proper specs and do it again in a few weeks. Mine started making some noises after a while also, but all good after checking the bolts again.
Old 12-02-2004, 03:49 AM
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so resetting the ecu is by disconnecting the battery for 15mins?
Old 12-02-2004, 09:47 AM
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Originally Posted by em17henry
so resetting the ecu is by disconnecting the battery for 15mins?
Yep. Just be sure to have your radio code handy.
Old 12-02-2004, 09:57 AM
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Originally Posted by Whizzbomb
Yep. Just be sure to have your radio code handy.
where can one find the radio code?
Old 12-02-2004, 09:58 AM
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i might get headers too.. DO you have to reset the ECU or can i just leave it and in time the computer will adjust by itself?
Old 12-02-2004, 10:10 AM
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Originally Posted by TL260power
i might get headers too.. DO you have to reset the ECU or can i just leave it and in time the computer will adjust by itself?
from my earlier post..."Ya, it took my ride at least 3 days untill I could tell the increased power was all there. At first the engine was kinda slow and boggy at times, but after a few days it will be smooth and faster (especially after 5000RPM's) "
Old 12-02-2004, 10:11 AM
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Originally Posted by ou sig
from my earlier post..."Ya, it took my ride at least 3 days untill I could tell the increased power was all there. At first the engine was kinda slow and boggy at times, but after a few days it will be smooth and faster (especially after 5000RPM's) "
oh ok, i thought u reset it as well...


sounds good
Old 12-02-2004, 10:13 AM
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Originally Posted by TL260power
where can one find the radio code?
If you don't have the code with your manual (little card with the #code in it) you'll need to get the code from an Acura dealer....
Old 12-02-2004, 10:15 AM
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so its inside the manual? i never noticed
Old 12-02-2004, 10:18 AM
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I think some of the people who say the night and day difference have TL-S's ... I think the gains on the headers are a little more modest on the TL-P's (~17whp max gain versus ~32whp gain) and as such you won't feel as much of a night and day difference with the headers.
Old 12-02-2004, 10:22 AM
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Originally Posted by TL260power
oh ok, i thought u reset it as well...


sounds good
All good, you can just drive for a few days. Just be sure to get on it all the way to redline a few times though to give the computer every possible situation. And your code wont be printed in your manual, you should have a small business card looking thing with the radio and or navi code on it.
Old 12-02-2004, 04:00 PM
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Originally Posted by TL260power
i might get headers too.. DO you have to reset the ECU or can i just leave it and in time the computer will adjust by itself?
No, you don't have too. The ECU will adjust itself . . . that what it is designed to do.

Ruf
Old 12-02-2004, 04:00 PM
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Originally Posted by TL260power
i might get headers too.. DO you have to reset the ECU or can i just leave it and in time the computer will adjust by itself?
No, you don't have to. The ECU will adjust itself . . . that what it is designed to do.

Ruf
Old 12-02-2004, 04:09 PM
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Originally Posted by TL260power
so its inside the manual? i never noticed
No it's not in the manual it was a Card (credit card size) that you get with your manual and is normally placed in your Black Acura Manual case.
Old 12-02-2004, 04:47 PM
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Originally Posted by bearback27
No it's not in the manual it was a Card (credit card size) that you get with your manual and is normally placed in your Black Acura Manual case.
gotcha
Old 12-02-2004, 08:01 PM
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if you could post your opinions about the gains after getting the bolts retightened, that would be much appreciated! I am debating between the alphawerks and megan racing ones...
Old 12-02-2004, 09:02 PM
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Originally Posted by MQMH_03
if you could post your opinions about the gains after getting the bolts retightened, that would be much appreciated! I am debating between the alphawerks and megan racing ones...
there wont be any "gains" after you re torque the bolts...why would there be? you wont be able to tell a difference between the two brands performance wise. All they do is flow exhaust...and they are all a copycat design of Comptech, sooooo look at the Comptech website for gains and you can expect very similar from any brand of header. The only question is long term quality/reliability between the brands.
Old 12-02-2004, 09:22 PM
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Originally Posted by ou sig
there wont be any "gains" after you re torque the bolts...why would there be? you wont be able to tell a difference between the two brands performance wise. All they do is flow exhaust...and they are all a copycat design of Comptech, sooooo look at the Comptech website for gains and you can expect very similar from any brand of header. The only question is long term quality/reliability between the brands.
I think he meant after i fix the leak and my computer adjusts to them, i will defenetly post my opinion on the gains as soon as i feel them,

quality wise they seem pretty good to me, and fitment was perfect, they have that extra flex pipe so u can bend them around. I was thinking about getting alpha werks also, until the price went up , but fuk that im not gonna spend 700 vs 200, might as well buy used comptechs or new if ur going to spend that much for AW
Old 12-04-2004, 08:53 PM
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o daym i loveee the headers now lol, plus now its cold so with cold weather +headers my shit is a beast, in 1st if i punch it at like 4k rpm, it spins for like 2 secs and just takes off, and second is alotttt stronger in the upper rpms, 2nd is where i felt most of the gains. Although i still havent had a time to tighten the bolts again so its still leaking. but besides that 215 mod worth every penny hehe go get the megans!! O yea and it definetly took 3 days for the hp to kick in all the way, now im impressed

p.s. hopefully going to the track this weds, will post results.
Old 12-04-2004, 09:15 PM
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I left the ECU unplugged during the entire installation. After everything was put in, and battery reconnected, I went out and beat the shit out of it.

I immediately felt the gains. The g-force was stronger as the rev climbed, and the RPM itself was climbing faster than before. I figured it was good enough to cut 3/10-4/10 in the quarter, but it was actually 5/10.
Old 12-04-2004, 10:53 PM
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Argh ! You all make me so jealous !!!!
Old 12-05-2004, 01:25 AM
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Originally Posted by drcookie
Argh ! You all make me so jealous !!!!
yeah, me too, i'm still waiting for mine. The Type-S cars are such sleepers, I love sneaking up on poor unsuspecting Mustangs and Camaro's- with only a cold-air intake. Can't wait to see the difference with the headers!


Congrats on your Megan purchase, from what i've seen the welds and build quality are pretty good and hold up okay- i've sold people those units on other vehicles. They just take a proven design and reverse engineer it!
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