i'm thinking i might go with an rrm or kamikaze header for my next mod, but i'm really worried about sound. i have a magnaflow catback, which is really nice sounding, but i don't want it much louder or the overall tone to change much. i really love the sound.

however, i would like the mid - high end gains, so i'm kinda stuck. does anyone have any sound clips before and after the header install?

 

i think i've decided on the kamikaze header, but i'm still worried about noise.

also, does anyone have a listing of gasket sizes for the entire exhaust system(headers on back)? i have the stock gasket in between cat and catback, and the kamikaze comes with 1 gasket, but i think i need one to replace the gasket from the dp to the cat.

 

I dont have a sound clip but I can tell you that with the kamikaze header it will get a lot louder.

 

With my RRM Header and Magnaflow Cat Back the noise did increase a bit. It did get louder than with the stock header due to the lack of the first cat of course. Also now I can hear a very slight raspy / hissy type noise when the accelerator is pressed to the floor, but it doesn't sound like a lawn mower with a coffee can taped to the exhaust. I have a test pipe I've yet to install, but I do believe that will give me a sound like I just described, which is what I'm trying to avoid. I may install the pipe, run it for a while, then see how bad the noise gets and possibly just reinstall the cat.

The thing to remember is if you don't slam the gas you won't get a very loud exhaust note, which is good if don't want to wake the neighborhood or bring attention to yourself in traffic or whatever the situation may be. Be easy on the gas and the volume of the car isn't much more than stock I've found. I've found my car can get very loud if I'm on the gas especially once I hit 3500 RPMs and higher where the AEM CAI starts to kick in, so there is tons of noise coming from the CAI in front and from the exhaust in the back end.

Also after installing the header I can hear the car pop when shifting between gears in the high RPM range, but again the noise isn't that bad and it doesn't happen all the time. The top end gains were definetly worth getting the header for. 4th gear pulls a bit harder and faster and 5th gear can actually accelerate the car fairly quickly when driving above 80 MPH. 100 or 110 MPH come up much faster than with the stock header in 5th. I do also have a Buschur downpipe so that might help things out as well. I've yet to run the car out to top speed since the install of the header, but with just the downpipe and catback 120 MPH was all I could get to. I would expect it to get a bit higher now.

Exhaust gaskets are all the same size between the header and downpipe, downpipe and cat, and cat and exhaust pipe. So there are three exhaust gaskets and they are around 7 dollars or so from a Mitsubishi dealer. I haven't bought a header gasket yet, though I should mainly for my own peace of mind, but I can't see them being more than double the cost of an exhaust gasket.

Overall I'm very pleased with the RRM header. Good gains, I didn't get a SES/CEL, and I won't have to buy a new header when I finally get around to dropping the turbo kit into my car.

If you have any other questions just ask.

K

 

hmm, i guess i want to know is: does it sound better or worse after the header install? my sri makes my ride sound ricey enough, i don't really want to add to it. i can deal with a "meaner" sound

 

your sri sounds ricey? never heard that before

 

dang kerensky, you didnt get a ses? lucky

 

oh yeah, after about 3500 rpm, you can hear the sri above the catback. its much higher pitched and usually goes away after 5k or so

 

azhunballa:

Yep, I was a bit surprised myself honestly as it seems 9 out of 10 people or so who install the RRM header do end up with the SES light on. I've probably got about 750 - 1000 miles on the header now with no light but who knows, it may decide to pop on down the line. Knock on wood.


GreenPsycho:

I can't tell you if it will sound better or worse because 1) I don't have a kamikaze header and 2) better or worse is subjective to the indvidual. Like I said in my last post, a header will increase the volume of the exhaust note and you might get a very slight hiss / buzz noise when accelerating hard. Again the noise will be compounded if you have a test pipe, but having the Magnaflow Cat-Back the resonator and muffler might take care of it. I haven't installed my test pipe yet so I can't say how the noise will be. I have a feeling it will get buzzy though.

As a side note I didn't know an SRI would give out a high pitch noise. My CAI gives me a fairly bassy hollow "whooooo" sound that gets louder the higher in the RPM scale I get. Though with all that tubing in the CAI, I can see how it would be a hollow noise.

K

 

well, i just ordered the kamikaze headers. i got some gaskets too, just to reduce the possibility of a leak. i'll be putting a thread up comparing before and after sounds, just to inform anyone else who might be interested.

yeah, i was suprised how the sri affected noise too. it makes my car sound ricier than my catback. but its not necessarily a bad sound. probably the same as the cai, but slightly higher in tone

 

yeah cant wait for your updated post..cause i want to get headers....but i dont know which ones to get...so yeah...give us an update when you can

 

I have had my kamakazie header for about 3 months, and within those 3 months, ,i love the way it sounded, it was mean and loud. but the only thing i didn't like about it was that when i punched it at very high rpms, close to redline, it woudl sound ricey, but den agen dat happens to almost all cars at very high rpms. and yes a sri sounds a lot meaner then a cai, just my opinion.

btw, i have kamakazie headers for sale, i need the money for a new hood

 

well, i was out driving today and it seems at high rpm's that my catback and sri sound would be drowned out by my engine noise. i'm not too sure what it is, but it sounded like a completely stock car gunning it. i'm kinda hoping that the headers will help, but i dunno.

i'm getting anxious now, i want my car to sound meaner, but not louder(that doesn't make sense, i know). guess i'll just have to wait

 

ur car is going to sound louder no matter what you do to it, well i mean if u do ne exhaust work, its definately going to sound louder

 

I have a Magnaflow Cat-Back Exhaust System and if I was to put on RRM Header will it sound too loud? I read over this thread and I'm still not sure what to do. So far my set up is Weapon R Intake with a Magnaflow Exhaust. Would like to get RRM Header. I wanted to know if it sounds good?