keonigt

Aloha everyone,

Starting off, I am on a 2013 stage 2 (turbo back) WRX. My goal is to get a little more faster while keeping the car able to run daily at a safe level.

I've been doing some research for the past week or so about headers and top mount intercoolers for WRXs and STIs. I am looking into equal length headers and the process west TMIC. Through the search, I've come across some questions that still need answering.

I heard that headers on my WRX will need a new fuel pump as the supporting mod. Is this true? And are there any other supporting mods I will need to get with headers?

Is having aftermarket headers "un-safe" for the car? My definition of not safe in this specific question is if it will significantly increase the chance of failure in regular car operations.

I will be updating this thread with more questions if I come across more of them.

Thanks for reading and I appreciate any type of feedback.

04caliwrx

iTrader: (6)

Yes u will need a new pimp, no they are not un safe, just don't wrap th cause they can catch fire if they get oil one them. Do a nice power coat job and. The tmic with a tune and the supporting mods will make an amazing car! If you reall want that throw u back in your seat feeling get a ewg

keonigt

Thanks for the feedback

The thing, other than money, stopping me from getting the whole setup is the idea that headers won't be safe for my car while daily driving it.

Is it true that it is also the way you drive that makes the car less reliable? For example if I drive it conservatively with the headers, as opposed to driving it hard on those daily commutes.

moto96793

iTrader: (8)

i am also debating and think about going elh route. ive seen my oem inj hit 94% and am def thinking that i will need bigger inj. i already have a doner manifold for grimmspeed, but the power gain difference you get from the elh is pushing me more towards that route.

yes, driving like a @zz hat and ******* your car out = less life in your motor. i would be more worried about my transmission then the engine with those mods.

stupidchicken03

iTrader: (38)

I think that statement is pretty much true on any car, stock or modded.

Overbear

I would like to point out a few problems here...

1)Wrap will not catch fire if you use the proper stuff. Tossing the cheep DEI low end non coated stuff is not doing it right. Use a ceramic impregnated high temp wrap, make sure its tight and evenly overlapped, and you will never have a problem.

2)Many don't understand what a header wrap does for you. Unlike ceramic coating, a good wrap will retard heat loss. In a exhaust system your enemy is cold. It slows down the exhaust pulses (no, your exhaust is NOT a steady flow, its a series of pulses the same as seen in a jet engine). You want to keep the heat in the pipe, this raises the vacuum between pulses and helps the exhaust scavenge more efficiently.

SUMATIC808

ewg is too expensive of a mod for little gain. not unless you are having major boost creep issues then go for it, but as you want a "safe" tune, im guessing your boost psi decision wouldnt be that high, and with a good boost controller youll be okay. Generally people say with headers you gain more bottom end, which im pretty sure you know. and yeah pounding the **** out of your car everyday will take a toll alot quicker than normal driving, just like stupidchicken said that rule basically goes for any car out there lol.
and just with headers itself i dont think you are being 'unsafe' daily driving it. just get tuned...

k3k0a

iTrader: (2)

the day i put on my perrin elh i said to myself i would never go back, the car felt so much cleaner and smoother.. i didnt really care too much for the thump from the uelh anyways.. i say go elh.. and i have my stock intercooler in my shed.. did you ever look into how hard would it be to swap your intercooler for a stock sti?

subiED

I have a 2013 wrx with headder upipe 3in catted down pipe and 3in invidia exhaust with a k&n drop in air filter running a stage 2 cali cobb map using it as a daily no problems so far i had it like that for 2months waiting to get my ewg and my intake and electronic boost controller and my tune definitely no boost creep or surge or lacking in power. Thats my setup

subiED

All the newer wrx and sti u have to get a ewg if u wanna runn an intake and get rid of boost creep and boost over 20+psi spoke with cobb and they highly recommend it

sleepy_doe807

iTrader: (1)

-new fuel pump not "needed"
-depending on brand of header, may require changing out your up pipe (2-bolt vs 3-bolt)

My first tune w/ Jarad(PDX) was turbo back only. Next tune added elh, mbc, aem cai. MBC was used to increase/maintain boost due to seeing how the stock controller tapered off towards redline during the first tune.

I am now approaching 35,000 miles and still no engine issues (aside from the a/c compressor crapping out on me after warranty expired). I even ran it on CA 91 OCT gas for 3 months and still no issues.