mchicia1

So I was going to pass on headers for a while, but I found the OBX headers...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/OBX-E...item2c5cc663ff

I don't want to get into a debate about the quality or price! I really just want to know if these are going to stink up the cabin...I am running the stock cam. They appear to be the bolted/donut type connection from the header primary to the x-pipe, so the seal looks like it should be good. My old pacesetters stunk because it was a crappy slip fit connection.

ztheusa

No cats=stinky, illegal, immoral, stupid

Bill Curlee

Contact SUPERMAN 09 and talk to him about XS Power headers. They work excellent and have an excellent ball and socket fit:







I had them on my 06 and installed them on a friends 04 Vert. The ball and socket collector fit works fantastic!

Why do you want to go catless???? You only gain 4-5 Hp and the smell will be more than you want to deal with. trust me.!

BC

sean.b

well, you gain more than 4-5, but yea the smell is VERY noticeable on catless cars. if you've never driven a muscle car, its barely any better than that. unless you're doing real racing or if this is not your daily driver, its not worth it imho.

00 Rooster

I was very worried about the catless smell. I bought my headers used and the cats had been gutted so I just installed what I got. I had my pcm bench tuned by ECS. Suprisingly, the smell is almost the same as with the factory cats. at start up, you can smell the gas but you can smell the gas when I start my truck and wife's equinox too. after a few minutes, the smell is fine. I have only had the targa off once but I could not smell the exhaust in stop and go traffic. I read a bunch of threads on here before I went catless and I saw mixed replies. some guys said the smell was horrible, some said it was fine. A few guys said that with a good tune, there should be no smell so I've credited ECS with the lack of a bad smell from my car.
I will monitor the smell all summer and may add cats over the winter if I find the smell is bad.

I won't even touch the enviromental side...sorry mother nature.

sean.b

to clarify, im running rich and im aware of the fact (havent tuned it yet as im not done adding parts) and after it's run, its not too bad. but if im dressed to go somewhere thats not very casual, i dont stay near the car when its warming up. on days that ive worked on the car involving many cold starts, i can smell gas in my hair when i shower that evening in the warmed-up regard its not as bad as a muscle car, as that just KEEPS on crankin on the fumes.

baxsom

texas speed headers with no cats
mail order tune from ecs
no smell.

sean.b

you guys are making me wonder how rich im running seriously? NO SMELL? i mean, you guys can smell your wive's cooking still right? when you start the car in the morning there's NO SMELL?

redrckt97

careful tuning can minimize the stink, but there will still be some.

baxsom

ok, it smells no different than it did with the stock exhaust. before it was tuned it was rich and you could smell the fuel but after tuning it just smelled like a normal exhaust.

to be fair, my c3 454 with sidepipes doesnt smell like fuel either. if you exhaust is smelling like fuel, the it needs to be tuned.

sean.b

haha you gotta be used to the smell then, or we're holding ourselves to different standards ive smelled 434 (bored/stroked 400 sbc's) motors run so lean we were glowing the headers like a candle and it still makes my eyes burn! maybe im being a picky princess, but i think anything w/o cats no matter the setup smells like fuel

00 Rooster

I actually got down, stuck my head by the exhaust tips and took a good whiff. Besides being a bit light headed, it doesn't smell any worse than factory. I'll take the top off (targa, not my shirt) for the commute home. I don't expect to have a bad smell but will let you know if I do.

to clarify, when I start it cold, it smells. but as I mentioned above, it is no worse than any other vehicle I own. and after a couple of minutes, the smell goes away.

ColeTrain'sC5

weird my car is running catless Texas-Speed headers/X-pipe and it stinks It's obnoxious sometimes but overall i don't mind it so much

WayneCar

I blew out my hi-flow cats and had to gut them out. Absolutely no
difference I can smell and I daily drive the car. Even my wife can
not tell the difference.
Wayne

zeevette

Installed HF cats to a previously catless system; no difference in stink; modest reduction in noise. Much more difference when switching from a cam with +8 deg. overlap, to a cam that's -2 deg.

baxsom

did you get it tuned? unburned fuel will cause it to smell, well like fuel.

before i got mine tuned in the garage idling it would make my eyes burn like a poorly tuned carb but after tuning it was not a problem. even my wife noticed the difference.

TwoValveKid

Had kooks 1 7/8" with a 3 inch catted kooks pipe and z Ti catback. Recently switched to a non catted kooks pipe and can barely tell a difference. Inside the car...i cant even smell exhaust. Outside...there may be a slight difference but not much.

printmanjackson

like others have said, it's in the tune to control the smell.

ColeTrain'sC5

yes mine is tuned, by a well known tuner and sponsor from here

D&A'sDad

2 C5's w/headers one stock engine, one stroker ...no cats...no smell

also pulled the cats off "while on the dyno" - no hp gain. louder yes.