If it works as claimed it will flow more air, and the overall design is different than OEM, so it will resonate differently.

 

i wonder how well?

 

The bracket support in the rear has me scratching my head. Doesn't the engine move when it is revved?

 

The fact that it flows more air is irrelevant. They all flow more than the exhaust ports themselves are capable of. More flow where it isn't needed doesn't do anything. These are still equal length which isn't going to do anything beneficial.

I can't tell what the power numbers that are printed say but if you print out the graph and draw a line from the power scale to the peak of each pull, the stock setup made 185 hp and the headers made 190. That's inline with the 4-5 hp gain that all headers give.

 

all that most street racer care about is thinking they sound and look good on paper regardless of the actual performance facts, they'll probably sell quite a few ...

 

Did the line thing and I got 184 stock, 190 exhaust manifold. Still does not say much but just wanted to toss that out there.

 

all i know is their exhaust is damn nice!

http://s147.photobucket.com/albums/r...new%20exhaust/

 

heres another header looks identical but cheaper!!!!http://cgi.ebay.com/Mazda-RX-8-Racin...sid=p1638.m122

 

Lets say soem one got a race porting adn upgraded bolts and seals. wouldn't this theoretically free up maybee a little HP . I was a little worried about under hood temps ...... perhaps a little in and out ceramic action.....

 

even $400 is expensive for a header.

 

yes it is, to me 400+ is not worth it!!!

 

You can't do a whole lot to the exhaust ports of the engine which means that while they can be improved over stock, they still have lots of turbulence through them due to their shape. This turbulence means that the ports in the engine, in realtion to the exhaust size, will always flow more than a header will. If you flow more than you need, you gain nothing else. The only reason any header gains anything is because the factory manifold has a square flange but a round tube and the transition is terrible. Flow is also terrible through this spot as a result. With a new exhaust manifold you are just getting rid of this trouble spot. You could keep the same design as stock but just have this area smooth and you'll see power gains similar to those of a header.

 

You are right, it looks like the same header. Price is about $600. I inquired about shipping to the States. I'll pass the info along if they reply.

 

The XS Power header looks pretty well made and at a good price. Looks better than the OBX one. There are differences between the Exoticspeed Header and the XS Power, but they look really similar, making the price of the Exoticspeed not to seem worth it.

Original and Exoticspeed





XS Power




Anybody know the weight of the XS Power exhaust? Anybody put it on?

 

Sounds like consumers are itching for a resonable priced exhaust manifold. RB better get in gear or they are going to miss this small market.

 

wow they are nice looking and for the price........NOT BAD

 

Yeah, but will RB deliver anything different? Any HP gains over the competition per price? Any weight loss over stock?

The only truly different design is the Knight sports header (Japan) that uses 4 pipes, weighs a pound or 2 less than stock, and cost an outrageous 1,000+ dollars. The HP gained seems about the same as the 3 pipe design, but it is not clear if this would hold true in FI situations and with tuning.

If RB comes out with a 3 pipe design, than that puts them with ExoticSpeed, OBX, and XS power. OBX, appears to messed up the design a bit and requires fixing. XS power (weight unknown) is selling their header for $300 dollars (or less) on ebay and at least put the o2 sensor in the right place.

 

RB has tested alot of different configurations from 3 pipes of various lengths and sizes to 4 pipes. All of them have only showed a 4-5 peak horsepower gain over stock and this pretty much matches what everyone else has gained. That's probably all there is in a header on a Renesis.

 

Well, there is weight reduction to go with the 5 HP. R-magic managed to trim off around 5 pounds with their header vs stock, of course they are charging an equally outrageous $1,000+ dollars.

Any word on the RB header's weight?

Also, what about HP gains in FI situations, like with a supercharger or nitrous? Would there not be an increased HP gain over NA?

 

RB has never been known to have the lightest stuff on the market. It's always well built and durable though.

 

What is this for? The air pump?

 

You answered your own question correctly

 

I think it is going to be more about price and durability. If they can come in with a $600-$700 exhaust manifold with the same numbers they are going to be raking in the cash. If it is $900-$1000 they will miss the mark.

We will never know until they actualy release some numbers (something they were supose to-do 3 months ago).

 

Since no one's design makes anymore power than anyone else's, and not much more than stock, the only determining factor in using one should be price. Of course durability should be considered too. Exoticspeeds header doesn't make any more power than an OBX, XS power, Knight Sport, etc. They all give about the same gain. Name means nothing in this area and doesn't mean that any of them will make anymore power than any other.

 

fwiw, for zero port timing overlap the transition from round/square is irrelevant

making it transition smoothly only adds cost, not performance