Quick Question About Noise and Headers

[wigginz]

Back in Sept. I installed the Belanger high flow cats and cat back with the intention of putting in their headers as well. The noise difference between that and stock was really dramatic and I love it.

Question is, now that I'm installing the headers this weekend, will my system get noticeably louder with the new headers? Even though I've already had the cats and cat back?

 

[dave6666]

What?

Sorry, I put headers on last week.

Actually, I'm getting close to doing all of the above at once.

My guess is though that the majority of your sound gain is realized by the cats and cat-back.

Rebuttal? Dave, you so stupid?

 

[ViperTony]

I don't believe it will make the system much louder but it will make the system sound MUCH better. I have this setup and its just awesome. There's nothing quite like the aluminized steel of the Belanger headers resonating through the exhaust system.

 

[wigginz]

What?

Sorry, I put headers on last week.

Actually, I'm getting close to doing all of the above at once.

My guess is though that the majority of your sound gain is realized by the cats and cat-back.

Rebuttal? Dave, you so stupid?

Haha, took me a second to get the "What?" joke

I was thinking the same thing, cats and cat back are what's going to make the exhaust loud. Sound will probably change, but doubt it will get louder.

 

[wigginz]

I don't believe it will make the system much louder but it will make the system sound MUCH better. I have this setup and its just awesome. There's nothing quite like the aluminized steel of the Belanger headers resonating through the exhaust system.

Nice! I needed a little more motivation to get the install finished... getting aluminized steel sound definitely does the trick

 

[Chris23120]

Tony,
Have you ran your bellangers on the dyno? How do they compare in power to the borla 1 5/8 headers? I'm sure they sound way better, although the borlas did have a great idle.

Chris

I don't believe it will make the system much louder but it will make the system sound MUCH better. I have this setup and its just awesome. There's nothing quite like the aluminized steel of the Belanger headers resonating through the exhaust system.

 

[ViperTony]

Tony,
Have you ran your bellangers on the dyno? How do they compare in power to the borla 1 5/8 headers? I'm sure they sound way better, although the borlas did have a great idle.

Chris

Hi Chris. I didn't go on the dyno yet but I will as soon as the weather clears up in the next few weeks. My seat of the pants dyno tells me I lost some torque in mid-range compared to the Borla's BUT I feel as if I picked up more in the higher RPM range which I noticed when I was at Pocono last year. Still much better than stock but I'll have numbers soon. Those Borla's had great low-mid range torque. I knew this when I purchased the Belanger's but I knew I'd have a supercharger installed some day so it was really done for the S.C. as well as the awesome sound. Hope you're doing well. - Tony

 

[wigginz]

Quick Update for those of you that are interested.

Finished the header install and after about 100 miles I can say pretty confidently that the exhaust sound has quieted a bit from my stock headers setup (stock headers, Belanger cats, Belanger cat back). The sound is definitely richer, but oddly enough it is a little quieter.

Other quick points:

I didn't re-install the heat shields, but I'm keeping them around for smog visual inspection. There is one wire/tube/? harness that comes close to touching the exhaust pipe from the #9 cylinder, fixed using a zip tie to move it farther from the pipe.

I'm getting some popping (backfire?) while the engine is warming up... it's not terribly loud but does happen every 5 to 10 seconds until the engine is warm. Not sure if this is normal. I'm expecting this (and rich exhaust smell) to go away once the computer has had more time to learn the new setup. It did when I installed the cats and cat-back last year.

 

[Iceman]

Does anyone have a sound clip before and after headers?

 

[plumcrazy]

might be quieter in the cockpit but i doubt its quieter out back

 

[Disturbed]

Try it with no Cats....it sounds MEAN!

 

[wigginz]

might be quieter in the cockpit but i doubt its quieter out back

I think you might be right... I only really listen in the cockpit. One of these days I need to find someone I trust to drive it while I'm following in my truck so I can see how annoying it really is to everyone else on the road

 

[Kenneth Krieger]

Have the Belanger headers, high flow cats, and Magnaflow mufflers......the sound is great....AND 57 more hp on the dyno........!!!!!!!