Man, I really wish I had dyno'ed my car before my header install. I feel ALL the power at the top end and it feels like I actually lost power down low. I'm not sure what is going on. Like I said I wish I had dyno'ed first.

When the car hits around 5000 rpm's and VTEC kicks in, I feel A LOT more power and all is well in my world . Or, when I gun it from a dead stop and proceed thru 1st, 2nd into 3rd its GREAT (because the rpm's stay high) .

But from a rolling start (rpm's low), just getting up to 5000 rpm's now seems tiresome . You know when your going like 60 mph and gun it in 3rd....the car feels like a slug until, like I said, you hit around 5000 rpm's and all this power pours on. I used to feel a good amount of power down low with just the CAI and UR pulley. Now when I gun it from a rolling start, its like the car is stuck in molasses slowly plodding its way up to 5000 rpm's.

Don't get me wrong, I love this mod and I can easily overcome the problem with my SS and driving skills but I guess I wasn't expecting the feel of losing power down low.

I'm not sure if its just me or if anyone else has experienced this but I guess I'm just a little disappointed. Like I said I wish I had dyno'ed my ride.

 

Torque numbers are made by having finely tuned exhaust, so installing headers can definitely move your torque curve to a higher rpm range. I doubt that the loss of torque on the bottom end would be as noticeable as you are describing.
I don't know what would cause such a loss of low end power. Post back if you find something.

 

60 in 3rd??

you should be in 2nd, not 3rd.....

 

Unfortunately, the dyno graphs at Comptech do not show hp or torque figures for just headers. They show with mufflers and with mufflers plus headers.

 

Scavange effect anyone?

 

It's not uncommon for a car to feel less "torquey" when changing headers. #'s wise, but the gains you've made in the upper rpm ranges are worth any slight loss there might be down low.

 

Depends how much time you spend in the upper rpm ranges versus in the lower rpm ranges.

 

What year car do you have and who installed the headers? When I had my headers installed, my actuator wasn't put back on (it was disconnected to get to the rear header bolts easier). The actuator opens up at around 4000rpms or so and gives you a good boost in horsepower in the midrange. It didn't make my car feel too much slower down low but it made the VTEC transition much more pronounced even though the car was slower. The actuator only exists on the Type S models though and if a dealer installed your headers on a lift, chances are they didn't touch the actuator since they'd be coming at the bolts from below instead of from above.

Check this thread for some videos of the actuator working:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158749

 

in the 5 speed thats the limit to 2nd gear. any thing above that is 3rd

 

Yep, exactly. I could (and sometimes do ) slam it down into 2nd and get ghost on a mofo (high RPM's), but I was referring to somewhat normal driving conditions when I just wanna pass or something (low RPM's). I definitely have a less torquey feel in the lower RPM's.

Overall, I'm definitely satisfied with these headers and I still need to get the bolts retightened but that loss of low-end torque, eventhough its slight, kinda sucks.

BTW, I have a '00 NBP TL-P.

Thanks for all the input too people. Let me know if theres anything else I can be checking.

Werd.

 

my bad for some reason i thought he had a 1999.

 

headers are definitely felt in the high rpm range. sounds like your next mod should be the UR Pulley's, they give you torque down low.

 

He got that already!

 

YEP! Check the sig beatch!!!!


LOL.....JK!

 

Considering you're on this site and interested in modifying your car, I'd assume you like to drive hard and see high rpm often.

 

True, but seeing high rpm and staying there are 2 different things.

Just personal preference, I'd rather spend my money on mods that provide a benefit in everyday, normal driving. Like a UR pulley or a CAI. I also think people's expectations need to be realistic. The only way I can think of keeping our cars in the rpm range where most of the benefits of headers kick in is to use SS and keep the rpms above 4,000.

Again just my opinion. YMMV.