Hi doing up my newage after a few years garaged , wondering do I refit the RCM headers that were on it or do standard ones ported perform better cars got a vf35 on it

 

my vf35 made 354bhp and 365ftlbs with rcm headers fitted. I wrapped them before fitting with magma-wrap.
I also had the rcm venturi up-pipe aswell.
I say go for it

 

What kind of exhaust did you have on it mate ? Cheers

 

i had a full 3" system consisting of

rcm headers - heatwrapped
rcm venturi up-pipe - heatwrapped
3" japspeed downpipe - heatwrapped
3" afterburner non-resonated center section with an afterburner raptor angled exit back box

sounded truly awesome

bought the afterburner stuff from scoobyworld, the headers were 2nd hand and the downpipe from japspeed on here with discount

 

Mines has RCM , headers,up pipe, downpipe ,full blitz r system tho had to get a custom jap slung backbox made was to loud every day , did you keep the factory air filter set up or did you have an induction kit mate ?

 

i had an rcm induction kit mate with the standard recirc valve

 

GT Spec/RCM/Lateral headers will make more top end than ported.

Properly ported will be more responsive.

 

I have run both now. The RCM headers are probably better in terms of outright power, but I had a couple of minor niggles with them:

1. Undertray didn't fit as nicely (very close to the headers on the turbo side)
2. The noise - no burble, and also not quite deep sounding (imo)
3. I found oil hose routing with the standard spec manifold easier. They are not as tall, so interfered less with my hoses for the oil cooler.

Other than that, I had no issues

 

Found the same mines burnt the bottom of the undertray ,also sound was never the same as my other STI with original headers

 

How much is it to get standard 05 widetrack sti headers ported and what power will they be good for? Cheers.

 

Ported o.e headers is what i would be running especially on a VF 35 your car will be much more responsive,RCM headers will gain more power then standard headers but with a bigger turbo, if you are looking to keep the VF35 I would just stick with a set of ported headers.SJ.

 

Think a might clean up my RCM headers and up pipe and put them up for sale on here , how much do they go for 2nd hand ?

 

It's dependant on condition but about £250-£350

If you want ported, speak to Alyn at AS Performance. He sells Harvey spec ported headers with matched uppipe to suit the turbo you're running.

 

cheers mate, and what power will they max out at? Hopefully he will pop along to fill us in

 

That depends more on the turbo you bolt onto them. I've had 360hp from a VF35 setup that included a set of harvey spec ported headers.

Thats not to say that the headers were a limiting factor. I'm planning to run a set of these on my 2.1 with SC42+ just to see how far I can get with them. I realise they will likely be a limiting factor top end but porting is more for response than outright numbers.

 

thanks mate

 

John i was over 420bhp with the Harvey headers and wrapped uppipe I even drove to darlington to get them fitted,and then mapped by Paul blamaire on the ecutek software with the Subaru standard ecu.Infact at that time I was disputing wether or not to take my car any further power wise,as my car was wickedly quick after those set of mods.SJ.

 

Forgot to mention that i was running a GTX2871R from Garrett at that time.SJ.

 

cheers mate, I’m definitely going to up the power to around the 420 mark and if getting my current standard headers ported for half the price of new ones then it seems like a no brainier. Plus the money saved can go on something else...

 

which turbo are you planning?

 

Definitely agree with you John....Alot of less experienced people start to modify their cars with parts that are just not needed for their level of tune,i always say that you should decide what peak power that you want to run on your engine and then modify it appropriately.SJ.

 

sc42 probably mate or even something like the sc38 which could make over 400 With supporting mods, I’ve already got the fmic,full exhaust and Perrin intake, need injectiors, ported headers and turbo plus remap hopefully ...what I don’t want is a lag monster

 

Cool, I ran an SC38 and got 395hp at 1.45Bar on 99 with Nismo 555's, FPR, RCM engine bay trumpet, Harvey headers and an HDI GT2 FMIC. I found it laggier than the VF35 i'd come from but that was to be expected. I actually didn't like it to the point I went back to a VF35 on a top mount that made the 360 I mentioned above.

Oh, and don't assume the SC38 will be more responsive than the SC42. The SC42 may outspool the SC38 due to bearing design. That was certainly true at the time. Not sure now if the SC38 is still a sleeve/journal type bearing.

 

cheers for that mate, I think il go with the sc42 then

 

if you do sell them i would be interested in them please - depending on condition

 

Al let you know dunno what to do can't make my mind up lol might keep them fit a lighter flywheel while the clutch is out get the car more responsive down the bottom end that way

 

Mate if you are going to stick with a VF35 i would just move them along.SJ.

 

Heres my graph of my old vf35 powered car with rcm headers,spool was great along with a good mid-range shove. I agree there not needed but I had great results from them,remember this was a WRX with NO avcs heads.as for them losing the burble........mine certainly didnt at all.

 

Shrek how much power was you running before you upgraded to the uprated headers,or did your car already have them fitted?.SJ.

 

the car was running 260bhp with sti headers mapped by power-station

i went down the typical route of

sti pinks
sti intercooler + sti scoop undertray
sti vf35 turbo
walbro pump
rcm induction kit
rcm headers with venturi up-pipe heat wrapped
full de-cat 3" exhaust with wrapped downpipe

i wasnt looking for the headers at the time but a set come up cheap (i mean really cheap) so i thought **** it why not. i certainly didnt regret it and never once thought my car felt un-responsive.
i agree they are not needed at his power level and im not saying they are better or worse than sti headers im just giving my input on what i found with them.

i have heard numerous cars from classics to newages with rcm headers and they certainly dont lose their burble unless of course they are the equal length headers.