I've been recently looking for some mods to get an even nicer experience with the RX8 and I heard about the exhaust headers from Racing Beat as a nice mod to increase power and get a better sound.

But obviously they are not cheap... So in my search, I found a lot of headers from Ebay/Aliexpress. They look all the same but I want to know if someone has any reference and experience, because they look nice and you can get it for 200 bucks...


And just one more thing. I'm running with a new set of NGK Spark Plugs and coils, but I don't know how much time have the cables... They are from NGK too. MSD Cables are a great upgrade or should I get the originall NGK ones because it doesn't affect in any term?

Thanks.

 

ebay/chy-na headers are junk and will fail on pretty much any engine, given the fact that rotaries run hot i would guess the cheap ones will crap out even faster than on a piston engine. also headers wont give you much of a power increase and a cheap set might reduce power. if you want a louder car with a tiny hp bump get a midpipe

its a good idea to replace coils, plugs and wires together and oem/ngk is what i would use unless getting a bhr or sake bomb ignition kit

 

good news is that they are multipurpose and also act as underglow





only header that "adds power" also adds a snail, or diy a long tube header if you want NA

 

iirc team or brettus tested an equal length header a while ago but it was not a cheap chi-com pos

 

I'm actually running with an empty original midpipe and the original backbox. I'm more interested in heat evacuation or gain any performance than sound. But if I gets better I will be happy lol.

 

Keep the stock headers and save your money for a bhr midpipe. Headers (other than a longtube and/or turbos ) are just noise manipulators.
The stock header will do the best at heat mitigation.

 

theres no way to make power on the renny cheaply, well except maybe nitrous. mazda really massaged all the power out of these cars

 

ebay headers have fitment issues and major sealing issues. welds are weak and the "stainless" is crap and rusts to hell.

expensive name brand headers provide so little extra power that there would be no difference in performance. drains your wallet and you dont even get to see/appreciate them.

oem helps keep heat out of the engine bay and away from expensive components... as well as helping avoid a raspy drone in the exhaust.

the most power gained in the exhaust system is by eliminating the catalytic converter, and a handful extra hp from switching out the muffler... but thats it.

long tube headers are extremely expensive to fabricate and have even less of a return on investment than normal name-brand headers. youd be spending several hundreds to look for pennies and nickels.

Keep your OEM, get a LRB header shroud if you want to keep more heat away from the intake and engine bay, and spend a comparable amount of money on something that truly changes the car in a positive way like a pair of sway bars, top notch tires, or just general time on a track/autocross/behind the wheel in general.

 

I really like the LRB Shield!! I didn't know it

Maybe I should paint the OEM header with a special thermal insulator paint too.

 

You can leave the header alone until you're ready for boost. There's no point in changing or painting it and it's a pain to get in and out.

 

Avoid, aint gain any power only helps colling the irons.
the flange on them is wrapped, even if resurfaced, it would be cracked on the weakest/ usual point.

 

catalytic converter = engine leans, messing with AFR
long tube headers = no need, no overlap on exhaust timing, no help
drone = comes from other parts