The description on the last one you posted stated it is made of T321 but then you scroll down to the pics and they say the flange and mandrel bent pipes are T304 ..........which is it ? I have cheap Ebay headers on mine made of T304 , been on the car four years and so far so good . Having said that if these headers shown below are REALLY T321 I would purchase them . But at that price I doubt they are T321 either that or they are made in a Chinese sweat shop :mad:


http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?campid=5336391335&toolid=10001&mpre=https%3A%2F% 2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2FT321-STAINLESS-RACING-HEADER-MANIFOLD-EXHAUST-97-04-PORSCHE-986-BOXSTER-BASE-S%2F401774979366%3F_trkparms%3Daid%253D555018%2526 algo%253DPL.SIM%2526ao%253D1%2526asc%253D201310031 32420%2526meid%253D63bcdcdf151840079ffddab060cf509 2%2526pid%253D100005%2526rk%253D5%2526rkt%253D12%2 526sd%253D162427660994%2526itm%253D401774979366%25 26pmt%253D1%2526noa%253D0%2526pg%253D2047675%26_tr ksid%3Dp2047675.c100005.m1851

The cheap ones are fine. I have used them on both my Boxsters the first time being in 2012. Current set been on this car since 2013. You can spend a tonne more money for some FVD or Cargraphic ones for not a whole lot more gain.

As has been noted here previously, aftermarket eBay header fitment can be hit or miss. Some seem to fit and align perfectly, while others are off enough so as to be practically unusable. And there is no good way to predict this beforehand - you just have to roll the dice and hope that you get lucky.

Assuming that you currently are running the Euro non-cat manifolds, my personal opinion is that for most practical street-driven purposes, there is not going to be a huge performance gain to be had via the use of headers. Accordingly, if I were in your shoes, I would choose to keep things simple and would retain the OEM manifolds.

You would then end up with a system such as I posted on Page 1, Post 19 in this thread, reposted below:

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1568929448.jpg

And here's the finished view:

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1568929487.jpg

Just changing the OE manifolds out for the cheap eBay ones you can feel the engine rev a little freer especially in the last 1000rpm. If they are coming off anyway then you may as well change them.

Have y'all seen the new ones just released from soul performance for the 986?

Damn sexy.....
https://soulpp.com/?s=986

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Thanks all, I guess at this price range it´s all basically the same and as Dave80GTSi stated, they are hit or miss, so I went for the cheapest ones. Next stop trying to remove the manifold bolts.. :eek:

This is the setup I just purchased - thank you for the great idea :cheers:
How did you do the O2 sensors? did you use the original ones and did you need extensions for the cables or did they fit as is?

Another inquiry about the o2 sensors. Since the stock ones are very short (US 2004 S). Did you extend them yourself?

I tried searching for o2 sensor extensions and didn't see any (surprised, since my previous Miata had them available).

I tried searching for ROW o2 sensors as I assumed they'd be longer since they don't have primary cats, but couldn't find them. Anyone ever tried ROW o2 sensors?

Most of the guys I know who race 3.2+ motors use the Chinese manifolds with great success. I used a pair on my 3.4 street boxster and love them. For my 2.7 rallycross boxster I used 997 exhaust manifolds and love those too. You need some fabricating skills to make those work though. I go over the 997 manifolds in this thread. http://986forum.com/forums/show-tell-gallery/73877-6-months-live-build-thread-2.html

Oxygen sensor extension info:

See my post no. 13 here: http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-general-discussions/72788-searching-spock-o2-sensor.html

And my post no. 9 here: http://986forum.com/forums/diy-project-guides/73010-headers-high-flow-cats.html

Works perfectly!

Wood can you post a link to the "good" headers? Does great success mean fitment and performance?

Sorry I don't have one. I got mine secondhand but they were never used. I don't remember who made mine. They all seem to look the same and have the same fitment issues, as in the bolt holes need some tweaking to line up. The welds look pretty good for where they're made. In a street car they'll probably last a lifetime, but only last a few seasons in a race environment.

pro tuning lab .com is selling headers for $131 a pair

I wouldn't worry about a link. The seller supply and batch may not be the same anyway. I've had a set of the eBay ones on each of my Boxsters buying in 2012 and 2013/14 from different sellers on eBay. The cheapest price looks to be about 20% more now in the UK.

Well boys, just got all parts for my new exhaust.. At least it looks sweet! :cheers:

Does anybody have any experience with Racing Dynamics Headers? They look a bit better built than the EBay specials and the pricing is not as dear as Fabspeed etc.

Nice! What brands did you get for each component? Are you goin to ceramic coat every thing?

Are those long tubes equal length headers?

Hi, sorry for late response, I´ve been busy, unfortunately not with Boxster -related issues ;-)


Here are the exact links to what I purchased:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/151320114061?fbclid=IwAR3M8cSf06s7vSxjBWgWAXw8tuz--AX4ufTTn-u3Ut-8xL7a5u1f5cAkGpg

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Stainless-Steel-Exhaust-Header-Manifold-for-97-04-Porsche-986-Boxster-2-7-3-2-H6/233239962851?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid =p2060353.m2749.l2649&fbclid=IwAR17DivMbiRtPqDocW4 iAzqBimzSKLXWD5sxw_LT7B_tymi5McTh4Ze2FLY

https://www.ebay.com/itm/200CPI-SPORTS-CAT-STAINLESS-EXHAUST-DOWNPIPE-FOR-PORSCHE-986-BOXSTER-2-5-2-7-3-2/351973215955?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid =p2060353.m2749.l2649&fbclid=IwAR3Rt-61HdVDbfRjxP6LuEjeuv6H1sxmQoFIB0WaktcerltyxUorz9F6 JH0

I have actually not hade time to put it on yet, just need a few days off.. Soon..

As to your questions Jaykay, Initially I planned to ceramic coat but I haven´t found a reasonable/credible shop as of yet so I doubt it.

Equal length? Well, I would have to say almost, I don´t think they are 100% equal, but close.

Regarding quality I have to say that the Headers leave room for improvement, the tubes are not welded perfectly "end-to-end", a bit sharp edges internally, so I had to dremel a bit to make it more smooth. The other stuff, cat back and cats looks quite nice.

I have a used set of Fabspeed primary sport cat manifolds I'm going to sell if anybody wants to go that route.

So are you guys wrapping och coating the headers? Or just run then as is?

I was plannint to ceramic coat, but didn't find who could do it, now figuring I might wrap them.. Mainly to protect the surrounding areas from heat.

There's not a lot round to protect. Make sure the PAS pipe isn't in the way, wrap it if you want. You may need to bend a touch the corners of the undertray.

Okay y'all.... help, please?

I bought a set of headers from protuninglab in October. They were cheap enough, and looked just like the cheap ones on Ebay.
I've wrapped 'em and silicone painted them, and finally ready to install.

Wrong.

They are wrong.

The collector flange is too small to bolt to the mid pipes. ::sigh::

So in researching a bit, it looks like the flange changed in 2000. Most of the headers I'm looking at on Ebay say they fit '97-'04, base and S, just like these do. But on closer inspection, I see slotted holes. It appears most are making them with the larger flange but slotting holes so they can be used on any 986.

But not mine.

I think I have a work around: I'll simply slot the holes of the mid-pipe flange. But here's the question:

I am assuming that the flanges are the only difference: that the header pipe diameter is the same on ALL of these cheap headers? So I'm not giving up anything by using these? (I'm not holding my breath that protuninglab is going to make me whole here)

Waddy'all know? https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...2fc1fe18d2.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...870a78d30b.jpg

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BTDT. Search is your friend.

Posts #2 and #4: http://986forum.com/forums/performance-technical-chat/72706-whats-difference-between-early-late-cat-delete-pipes.html

DM

This is who I was going to suggest, I had always thought there were more differences too.

Ooohhhhh you're a gem!
Yeah, I used search, but it returned so many results, I read a sampling.... found nothing, tried again, ...... well.... you know the rest.

THANK YOU!

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I should probably update so it's there later for someone;
They wouldn't take them back because i'd already wrapped and coated them. So I simply slotted the holes on the mid-pipe.... back in business.


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disregard my post, dug into the thread and found the answer

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/OBX-Long-Tube-Header-for-1997-04-Porsche-Boxster-986-2-5L-2-7-3-2L-No-O2-/171998952057

Has anyone tried these long tubes? They look quite well made and look to have dressed primary entry transitions. There are no O2 bungs sooooo one could be susceptible to slow to warm codes. Perhaps if paired with mid pipes with a bungs right up front there would be no problem.

And then there are these:

https://www.fvd.net/us-en/210111986S/long-tube-sport-header-set-986-boxster-boxster-s.html

So, guess it´s time for a status report.. I put on the famous shiny ebay special.. as on the Picture below.

I was impressed by the fit, no fitment issues at all. However, it is just too loud, period. Drone? Well yes, but most of all it is to "boomy" too much bass.. I just dont like it, the sound on WOT is magnificent, I can admit, but the normal driving is just not enjoyable. Sounds "cheap" I´m sorry to say. (Well it was cheap so..)

So making a long story short I have now ordered the Brombacher Sound version, should arrive this wednesday.. :dance:

I really hope that this will be the golden ticket, I´ll keep you posted!

I went with fabspeed supercup setup, 2nd cat delete with stock manifolds and primary cats. TOO LOUD. I mean forget about drone, it is TOO LOUD, and makes me look like a jerk driving through the neighborhood.
I seeking some baffles now, or else I will fabricate. I've been looking for a good excuse to buy a welder and used to baffle bikes all the time, so have my hopes up I can quiet it down some. Anyone else have an experience they care to share?

Chang the exhaust box. Most of not all European 986 only have one set of cats in what you call the midpipes. Whether you have standard 400 cell or 100 or 200 cell sports cats the sound doesn't change that much. I've tried all of those.

Ok, here is the first impression of the Brombacher Sound Version on my 2003s with headers and 200 cel cats..

Right from the box I notice that it is made of Another steel quality than the oem, it is a bit lighter. (I´ll be back with the exact figures).

First testdrive: It sounds like a Porsche!!! Nothing like the ebay boom-box. Quite deep bass on idle, but not very loud. When I get on the throttle the sound is great all the way up to approx 5000 rpm where it goes from good to GLORIOUS! It sounds insane at WOT on high RPM:s :-) Also I´m actually pretty sure that the Power has increased, it pulls like never Before. Drone? Well, to be honest I haven't really gone at cruising speed yet, it is kind of a Little drone-like tone around 2700-3100rpm:s but nothing like the ebay box. However it might be ok at cruising speed at the highway, I'll test and get back.

This is a keeper, the car sounds discrete when I take it easy and absolutely glorious when I really push it!

How's the fit and finish? Any issues with install? got a link to the Brombacher site?

Robert,

How did the cats you ordered work out? Did they fit in your system? The circuit werks one are very pricey and don't seem to be available at present.

How did the headers work for you?

Jaykay, Thanks for asking, I guess I should have reported back sooner..



The cats:

Nothing wrong with the fit, the sound was glorious! However.. I didn´t pass MOT, too high CO (I think I made a separate thread on that, I should update, sorry). I had to put the old 400 cel back to pass the MOT. I discussed it with my tuner, he took a look inside and told me that they where not genuine 200 cel, rather 100 cel. So now I need to buy new cats again.. This time I´m afraid I´ll go for the real deal, the HJS. It´s expensive but I need a solution that works.

Hi there..

The fit was good, they are lighter than oem (somewhere I have the figures..) No major issues at all, I also really like the sound.. The sound is not super loud but compared to my previous OEM with Crios mod, this sounds more Porsche.. Not as much like a drilled muffler ;-)

So all in all I say it´s a winner! I can absolutely recommend them. Bought from: fvd.net/

I also have the FVD Brombacher "Sound" exhaust. It was noticeably lighter, and my experience is exactly the same as Robert986. I've had the exhaust for over year now. Fit and finish was like factory - no issues whatsoever, and I stand by it. The exhaust was extremely well built. I personally would recommend the exhaust.

The only "drone" I can truly think of is when you are cruising under 3000rpm, and it's not what I personally would even consider a drone. I've had multiple people try my car out to see if they believed it was an annoying drone (or a drone at all) and nobody felt that it was.

Just a note - I have no header or catalytic converter modifications, only the exhaust, IPD plenum, and the throttle body upgrade. I didn't want any emissions-related problems and surprise check engine lights lighting up on my dashboard.

Here is a link to the 2000 - 2004 Boxster S and I think a "non-S" version of the exhaust: https://www.fvd.net/us-en/BES98605000S/sport-muffler-986-boxster-s-2000-04-brombacher-edition-sound-version-dual-35-90-mm-tips.html

You'll need to search for your specific year and model to ensure proper fit as there are multiple versions of it. While you're at it, make sure you buy new installation hardware to install your exhaust. I don't recommend re-using your original hardware.

Happy new year to you all, and enjoy your cars in good health!