Oh man that sucks. But what you mean damage the rotary? You mean the heat won't dissapate or have anywhere to go?

Too much heat and the moisture that builds up in the wrap itself with damage them unless you re-wrap them from time to time (pain in the ass).

Well I have it installed and the CAT back on. There were some fitment issues and I have an slight exhaust leak, but it runs. I don't think it will affect the sound of the car much at all.

The end of the header seems like it either bent easily or was not straight. The plate part that connects to the CAT looked like it had a bend. I am not sure if I did this while tightening the connection or if it was like that before installation. My guess may be it was like that from the fabricator. I think you get what you pay for with this header, but it is the same basic design and concept as other more expensive ones, just not guaranteed fitment. I believe this is a step up from the OBX one since the collector is longer and there is more of a merge than a crimp of pipes.

My thoughts on this mod are it is a good thing to do, but not that important if you don't have the money. I wouldn't pay more than the RB headers cost. The single tube design on the stock header seems like a bad design to me since it can cause turbulence in the exhaust and unstable air flow. Installing this header reduces the turbulence and controls air flow more. I would recommend going RB for the instructions and better quality; I bet you won't have to grind down the CAT connection a little with the RBheader ;-)

If you want a cheap solution and don't mind doing more work, like grinding the CAT or fixing an exhaust leak, then this is probably the header you want.

As far as heat issues and proximity to the mounting brace, I don't think it will be an issue. The stock header got pretty hot, even with those heat shields. Granted it was not as close to the mounting bracket, but honestly it is not much different. I was surprised with that. Really the only tube of this header that gets close is the middle exhaust tube, which is more than 1/2" from the engine mount. The first exhaust port is right behind the engine mount and it really doesn't stick out that much further than the stock on did. I do plan on installing some heat shielding tho since I think it is a good idea.

I will wholeheartedly disagree. You cannot claim positive results simply will visual perception.

Good catch. Just my opinion at the moment until I can get on the dyno. Of course i don't have a stock baseline to compare with my car, except the default numbers from Mazda. Dyno will be next year. Until then all I have is my buttdyno and the header hasn't really done anything that I can tell from that. I think the pulleys did more than the header, lol.

/\ Pulleys don't do much...

True, but they probably did more than the header. Like I said, I have no real numbers, just my buttdyno. Course there is also always that feeling of ' I put a new part on! It does seem a little faster/smoother/better', even though it is not a noticeable difference on a lot of parts.

I'm not claiming anything, just saying mine is installed and it was a PIA compared to other cars I've done, mostly FWD so the headers were easier to get to.

Well the leak is fixed. No real difference in sound at all at idle. I would say that in higher RPMs is has added a slight growl to my MS intake so it is not as whiney. I'm happy overall. I might get a sound clip to post up to actually compare the two.