I have been pricing arh midlengths with cats. I have been quoted by one forum vendor $1750 for headers and cats and another $400 for install. This vendor recommends tuning the car. They want another 400 to tune. They said they highly recommend a tune with these headers. The whole reason I want to go with the mid lengths is so I don’t need a tune and lose my warranty. A different vendor is priced at $2060 for headers and cats and another $625 for install and no tune. The say a tune is not needed. What is everyone’s thoughts on these prices and is a tune really needed. My thought is if I’m going to get a tune I may as well do the long tubes. Thoughts?

 

Prices second price is a little elevated. Some cars don't need a tune with mid length, including mine. You will benefit with the tune, but as you stated, if you're going to tune it then go with long tubes.

 

Tuned Long Tunbe vs tuned mids:

Long Tubes:
-A little bit more power than mids
-Requires changing the Xpipe to whatever the header manufacturer provides
-Will have two small cats on the headers and no cats on the X pipe
-Will be much louder

Mids:
-Not as much peak power but its not a huge difference
-Can retain factory X pipe and secondary cats
-Will have 4 cats, 2 after headers(hi flow) and 2 on factory Xpipe which are also higher flow than the OEM primary cats due to the larger honeycomb cells
-Will be louder but not quite as loud as long tubes
-Will have a unique sound at WOT, a little higher pitched scream then longtubes but still sounds great. A bit exotic actually.

* If you don't want to tune then Mids are the way to go. You will have to install the rear O2 reducers on the rear O2 sensors to avoid a Check Engine Light due to Catalytic Efficiency. However, this makes the fitment a little tighter in the tunnel and would need careful adjustment to avoid the sensors touching the transmission. Mids are much more forgiving than Long Tubes if you don't tune. If you're searching for power, then you should tune the car either way. Tune vs Tune Mids will be within approx 10HP/TQ of the long tubes. If you're just looking for sound and do not want to tune, then mids are the way to go. If you retain the factory Midpipe with mids, you will still be whisper quiet in Tour/Stealth mode and slightly louder in Sport/Track, and quite a bit louder at full throttle.

 

Not to Hijack but can one pass emission testing with these headers? We just have the OBD testing here so not like CA.

 

I'm running kooks 1 7/8" longtubes with their green cats and no tune. I've been running them for 3 years and no CEL. Everything else is stock on the car including intake and air filter. I only bought them for the beautiful sound that they make and didn't want to tune due to the warranty risk. Sure, if I tune it, it will make more power, but it already has enough to get me into trouble.

 

The proper answer is: "It depends". Technically, just changing the location of the cats is illegal. Going to aftermarket cats is also illegal. BUT...how picky are your emissions *****? In most states, a visual inspection is required along with the OBD showing no issues. If you are running cats, and your car passes the OBD computer check, you'll probably be fine.

 

I’m not really worried about it. I don’t even recall a visual inspection here in Oregon. As long as you pass the OBD test it’s good.