Advise needed with different Brands of headers Help!

What is the difference in quality and flow from brand to brand. I understand the merge collector, most headers from various brands seem to be almost identical, 304 stainless steel, equal length etc., so whats makes one better than the other? There also seems to be a big difference in price from one brand to another. I am looking at: fabspeed Dansk Schnell B&B Any insight or first hand experiences would be great. I have a 2002 C2 996 Cab. thanks in advance for the feedback. Ted

Well, speaking from the Boxster side, they're all over the map. I've read of large differences between them. B&B got terrible comments. The Dansk seemed to be decent for the price. There were large differences in the collectors, and S-Car-Go and TTP were said to have the best collectors. Somebody recently posted a picture of down the end of some headers (merge collector), and IMNSO, it looked like a terrible design. The S-Car-Go looks like a work of art (equal length, nice merges): http://www.scargoracing.com/graphics/bxhedstr.jpg . The ones from GHL didn't look too promising to me: http://www.ghlmotorsports.com/Mercha...96header_b.jpg YMMV and I wouldn't trust any manuf's dynos or numbers with the possible exception of Ruf and Porsche which tend to be conservative.

the scargo ones look so twisted, how can there be any benefit from extra air flow....ghl i will pass on although i have the exhaust and love it, i dont like the way the pipes merge together.....danks seem pretty nice and they are an OEM maker...i thought B&B was highly recommended go figure....founds some other ones made in denmark and germany, they all look so similar, what about the schnell, here anything about those? thanks

I thought that the consensus was that the factory header is very efficient anyway??

Ted, the S-Car-Go twisting all around isn't necessarily bad. Shorter is not necessarily better. You gotta think like an air molecule You don't want varying diameters as this will cause the mass of air to speed up and slow down. Sharp bends and edges also cause turbulence. Even lengths, gengtle-radii, and nice long primaries of the S-Car-Go let that long pipe of air mass build up inertia for better scavenging. Generally, long primaries are good for scavenging and torque. Think about a garden hose on full blast and you shut off the valve. The interia of the water just about tries to suck the hose flat. That interia is what's scavenging that last bit of spent exhaust gas. I think the S-Car-Go "look" like one of the best designs. They just cost 2X the Dansk. Don't know if 2X $ is going to get me 2X HP!

ok....seems this will be much more complicated than i thought.....spoke to a few shops here who build porsche race cars for teams and large corporations as sponsorships, they highly recommended 2 things to get any sort of increase in power, good exhaust and headers....not much more that can be done to the 996 C2 2002..i put the GHL exhaust on but dont like their headers, so now i must decide....for a little extra zip i am not willing to spend too much more....i am working on the performance before the appearance, got the short shifter and all the little stuff, this is the last item on my list and i am very confused with all the brands and prices....so i will take as much advice as possible. thanks Ted

Don't forget equal length tubes to the collectors. I have the Fabspeed headers on my car and thought the design and finish were impeccable. They are made in Germany, fyi - go figure!

Just a general note from a mechanical engineer, the longer the flows from each cylinder remain seperate (given the same tube diameter), the less restriction (greater HP) there is. Thats why long header designs work better on front engine cars and why adding headers on a rear engine-rear exhaust car doesn't add much. Now if you want to run the exhaust out the front, you have something

Your car already has headers stock, adding aftermarket models might add 1-3hp at the most.

I think the chip reprogram upgrade would be much better bang-for-the-buck. $/hp the header seems like a huge waste to me. I'm sure the chip doesn't add as much as they claim either, but if its +20hp for $1000, $50/hp which is about the most I think I'll pay...

but the chip creates warranty problems and the headers dont...just got a new engine in the car, some main drive shaft in the engine cracked so they put a complete new engine no questions, so i have a new engine, brand new clutch and fly wheel, new convertible top, new tires, new exhaust, new headers, almost all new....nowi need a new suspension coilover or something like that and some new brakes, than i can start on the outside of the car, this place is crazy, i was perferctly happy before all this...but now...crazier!!

Well Brandywine Porsche installs the chips, and Evolution Motorsports intakes, and they don't void the warranty for it...

I'll post some pictures of a car we did today (now this was a 997S) but my oh my were the new long tube headers (and diameter) and improvement over stock... The collector and so on... I'll post pictures but the Cargraphic set that went on a project 997S were especially nice (compared to what else I've seen). However, unless you do the rest of it including cats, exhaust etc... it's not going to help too much. HP-wise you'd be lucky to see 8-12 that is claimed... in conjunction with other mods you'll get more. However you do "hear" a difference...

hey sharky thanks for the input, only heard great things by the way, what type of cats? i have a GHL exhaust i just put on and love it....here in montreal i have to find what i like in the usa buy it bring it in and get in installed...any advice is appreciated....thanks Ted