General warning on OBX header.

[alkemyst]

Don't know how so many had good luck with this thing...maybe the S13 guys are having the luck...I have a S14.

Main problems (all of which can be corrected):

1) Steering knuckle clearance. REALLY BAD. I had to cut the back of the bolt to get it just drivable (about 1/4") and it was still rubbing badly enough to have to force it in turns under load. Shaving the knuckle down and slightly clearanced the down tube (not enough to see a dimple or anything).

2) Exhaust flange bolt slots are too wide for anything but the stock exhaust and maybe a 2.25" one. filled the slots in with metal.

Minor problem was the egr tube was not in line...but that just took a little bending of the pipe on the car.

I also had to shave the lower part of the firewall exhaust heatshield (about an inch off it)...this may be removed probably all together, but since it fit with slight modification I left it.

Å

[S14DB]

Mine fit fine.

[98s14inaz]

OBX, you get what you pay for. I'm not flaming you but there are several companies that make better fitting headers. If it were me I would have beat the header with a hammer until it fit instead of grinding away on bolts and my steering knuckle.

[s14_legend]

sounds like a pain

[jackjack]

damn........ seems like a lot of trouble.

my friend bought one...... for his civic. it fit fine.

[g6civcx]

I would have beat the header with a hammer until it fit instead of grinding away on bolts and my steering knuckle.

I would have bought better parts, but truth be told, the steering coupler is probably so rusted that you don't need bolts holding anything. The coupler is probably seized to the shaft.

[alkemyst]

OBX, you get what you pay for. I'm not flaming you but there are several companies that make better fitting headers. If it were me I would have beat the header with a hammer until it fit instead of grinding away on bolts and my steering knuckle.

Wanted to go with DC's but they are not available until late may or june.

What other companies are out there making decent headers though?

[wangan_cruiser]

yep....thats true....you do a hard corner then coupler snap then you die.

[alkemyst]

I would have bought better parts, but truth be told, the steering coupler is probably so rusted that you don't need bolts holding anything. The coupler is probably seized to the shaft.

It was the one bolt that protrudes way past the nut on the knuckle.

Also there is a ton of extra metal on that knuckle that serves no real purpose.

[IIIXziuR]

Wanted to go with DC's but they are not available until late may or june.

What other companies are out there making decent headers though?

Is the DC Sports Header still available, I cannot find it anywhere.

I was browsing eBay and found a header made by Pacesetter, it comes in black coating and the price was around $225 shipped, I was thinking about giving that a go in my 14. Seems like it should be decent.

But, other than that it doesn't seem like there are too many good quality headers out there for the KA24DE...

[g6civcx]

It was the one bolt that protrudes way past the nut on the knuckle.

Also there is a ton of extra metal on that knuckle that serves no real purpose.

I'm thinking about just welding my steering column onto the shaft. No more coupler.

[murda-c]

mine fit perfectly the first time.

hardest part was getting the old one off.

[Flipzide]

I had one on my KAE a couple years ago... it fit fine minus the fact that the o2 sensor was hitting my firewall and made tapping noises because my engine mounts sucked, lol. I ended up selling it.

[240sxlove]

dam, that sucks

[98s14inaz]

Does hotshot still make headers? I got mine through enjuku a long time ago...back when I thought bolt-ons actually did something.

[projectRDM]

I've installed six of them, all on S14s. Four went on perfect with no issues, one hit the coupler, one had the EGR port way off. There's no guarantee since it's a mass produced copy of an already copied product. But for the price, weight reduction, and newfound power it's really hard to knock it too bad. True there are better fitting versions made but I don't know very many 240 owners who are willing to pay money for a quality part.

[s14_legend]

i didnt know DC Sports Header is gonna make a header for the s14...

[juniorjimenez]

mine fit fine only problem i had was with the egr tub but it fit with little bending no other problems at all

[ms!3]

its hit or miss basically.

[projectRDM]

i didnt know DC Sports Header is gonna make a header for the s14...

They already do, though it's listed as 'race only' because it deletes the cat.

[alkemyst]

Is the DC Sports Header still available, I cannot find it anywhere.

I was browsing eBay and found a header made by Pacesetter, it comes in black coating and the price was around $225 shipped, I was thinking about giving that a go in my 14. Seems like it should be decent.

But, other than that it doesn't seem like there are too many good quality headers out there for the KA24DE...

DC header is still available, no one I know of had one in stock in the US. PDM-Racing has them in stock, but shipping is very expensive.

AEM, Pilot and DC are reorganizing and moving their business overseas. I spoke to the people there and they do not plan on shipping any headers to dealers for at least another month, more than likely at least two.

Pacesetter I heard bad things about, OBX nothing but good except for one other person with a problem with their steering knuckle too....

S&S is supposedly a top notch company but I could not find any review of one.

[alkemyst]

Does hotshot still make headers? I got mine through enjuku a long time ago...back when I thought bolt-ons actually did something.

Hotshot has been closed/out of business a while now.

Also what do bolt ons not do? The header is the only variable you would not do in a turbo build. The rest is all reused with whatever turbo setup happens.

It's going to be at least a year for me to do anything major on the car.

[IIIXziuR]

Alright thanks for the heads up,
I am gonna keep a look out for a DC Header if possible or something else that is good quality.

[silnismo]

my old hotshot header also hits the steering knuckle, and their supposed to be high end. given it was one of their older versions. i know pacesetter header has this same problem.

[deuceforty]

lol @ people complaining about the quality of their ebay parts :) you get what you pay for mate.

[alkemyst]

lol @ people complaining about the quality of their ebay parts :) you get what you pay for mate.

you are a real dumbfuck. Quite a bit of 'our' parts come from ebay due to the nature of an older car.

DC is sold on ebay too.


To the poster about DC. DC has some posted issues as well. It seems all the headers have issues time to time.

[TRU_DAH-V]

I had the same issue with it rubbing on hard cornering but it went away once i replaced my engine mounts.

[projectRDM]

lol @ people complaining about the quality of their ebay parts :) you get what you pay for mate.

I love how idiots like you assume there's an actual 'ebay' brand. So the guy who buys a brand new HKS SSQV on ebay has just bought junk too?

I also don't see any complaining, I see people mentioning possible fitments issues due to numerous possible differences in the manufacturing of a product being installed on a car that could have different tolerances in chassis and driveline.

[alkemyst]

I had the same issue with it rubbing on hard cornering but it went away once i replaced my engine mounts.

mounts are new.

[deuceforty]

I love how idiots like you assume there's an actual 'ebay' brand. So the guy who buys a brand new HKS SSQV on ebay has just bought junk too?

I also don't see any complaining, I see people mentioning possible fitments issues due to numerous possible differences in the manufacturing of a product being installed on a car that could have different tolerances in chassis and driveline.

OBX is an ebay brand...

im new to this board, not to the 240 scene.

my post count isnt legendary, so apparently my opinion throws no weight.

i can't even tell you the shitty parts ive seen come from ebay.. lord knows i bought my fair share when i started out...

theres a difference between people buying real brands off of ebay, then buying "ebay" brands.. OBX is an ebay brand, its not a horrible ebay brand, but it is a sub par, mass produced "cheap" product. theres no arguing around that.

you people assume that i meant ebay is in "anything on ebay"

theres a difference between these 2 products, one is an ebay product, one is a quality product, found on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/CUSCO-PILLOWBALL-TENSION-ROD-F-S14-240SX-232-473-AN_W0QQitemZ8042328119QQihZ001QQcategoryZ42609QQrd Z1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem
^ quality part, found on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/Tension-Rod-Nissan-89-94-240sx-S13-90-96-300ZX-Q45-also_W0QQitemZ320240990727QQihZ011QQcategoryZ33593 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
^ebay part

[alkemyst]

OBX is an ebay brand...

im new to this board, not to the 240 scene.

my post count isnt legendary, so apparently my opinion throws no weight.

i can't even tell you the shitty parts ive seen come from ebay.. lord knows i bought my fair share when i started out...

theres a difference between people buying real brands off of ebay, then buying "ebay" brands.. OBX is an ebay brand, its not a horrible ebay brand, but it is a sub par, mass produced "cheap" product. theres no arguing around that.

you people assume that i meant ebay is in "anything on ebay"



:wtf: Dude you are freaking clueless.

[projectRDM]

OBX is an ebay brand...

im new to this board, not to the 240 scene.

my post count isnt legendary, so apparently my opinion throws no weight.

i can't even tell you the shitty parts ive seen come from ebay.. lord knows i bought my fair share when i started out...

theres a difference between people buying real brands off of ebay, then buying "ebay" brands.. OBX is an ebay brand, its not a horrible ebay brand, but it is a sub par, mass produced "cheap" product. theres no arguing around that.

you people assume that i meant ebay is in "anything on ebay"

theres a difference between these 2 products, one is an ebay product, one is a quality product, found on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/CUSCO-PILLOWBALL-TENSION-ROD-F-S14-240SX-232-473-AN_W0QQitemZ8042328119QQihZ001QQcategoryZ42609QQrd Z1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem
^ quality part, found on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/Tension-Rod-Nissan-89-94-240sx-S13-90-96-300ZX-Q45-also_W0QQitemZ320240990727QQihZ011QQcategoryZ33593 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
^ebay part

You just proved my point, fucktard. Both of your examples are found on ebay, so both are 'ebay products' by your explanation.

OBX is sold through numerous distributors and retailers, they also happen to have some of them who sell and advertise on ebay, just like any other supplier. West Covina Nissan advertises on ebay, so are their OEM parts also 'ebay parts'? I've seen Enjuku Racing sell on ebay before, so they must be an ebay wholesaler too.

Bottom line is anyone can sell anything on ebay, it has nothing to do with quality or fitment just because you bought it from there. Everything you find on ebay you can find somewhere else too.

[deuceforty]

you guys are completely missing my point.. im not saying "any parts found on ebay are shitty" im saying "lower quality, china built mass produced copies 99% of the time found on ebay might work sometimes, but its a luck of the draw scenario"

i come from a few different forums, so this "noob bashing" really doesnt get under my skin, just throwing out my experiences in the past with cheap, shitty "normally found on ebay" parts.

bought some OBX headers on ebay- a month and a half later it cracked, got my warrantied one and sold it
bought some megan racing tension rods- they rusted to hell literally a week and a half after i bought them, and about a month later the connector snapped on the passenger side
bought an SSAC exhaust- welds broke on the muffler and a chunk of it fell off, got another one which has been fine

a buddy of mine bought an OBX turbo manifold, it wasnt flush and he had to use multiple exhaust gaskets to get it to seal, only to have it crack a few months later

i personally know 2 people who have bought cheap "ebay" BOV copies only to have them leak like crazy and open WAY too soon.

another friend of mine bought the fake greddy intake mani for the SR, the casting was so shitty and the material was too porous that it leaked under boost, he got it powedercoated and it fixed the problem, but its just sub-par quality


OBX product reviews from the internet

hoses with horrible fitment
http://www.hondacarforum.com/210963-post5.html

piece of shit intake manifolds
http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1318908&postid=16740585
i cant quote specific posts, so ill just copy and paste replys

" friend had the obx manifold on his sohc for a month then the welds broke around the pleneum also it was boosted.... " - http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1312269 - link to that guys motor


" im in the middle of installing the same piece of junk OBX manifold on my H22 prelude, really should have thrown it away but i decided to make it work. anyways heres problems ive had to deal with...-same IACV problem, i just drilled and tapped the two holes on the IACV and i plan on simply hooking them up to vacuum.
-got the flange on the manifold surfaced ($40) at a local machine shop.
-rigged the throttle cable bracket to one of the studs that holds the fuel rail on.
-a few "T" connections for vacuum hookups
-oh yeah, had to say peace out to the fast idle valve on the throttle body because it wouldnt clear the rear engine mount with the new position of the manifold. i figured since aftermarket throttle bodies didnt hasve them they werent 100% manditory but i guess ill find out for sure.
-IAT sensor, planning on tapping the charge pipe for this as it will be the easiest fix and honda IAT's are so inaccurate anyway.
tried to start the car today with everything hooked up except for the IACV vacuum sources and of course the fast idle valve and my prelude started and just wouldnt idle, then died out pretty quickly. i have a feeling though that the IACV may fix this. ill post more after working on it tomorrow..."



not to mention the whole OBX cam fiasco, the cams were (maybe the changed now, but were) made of chromoly, which would eat up the rocker arms in honda engines.

[E2EKIELR34]

recieved my obx yesterday and installed today, well tried... my only problem was the egr tubing, but since i searched and found this thread, im going to try bending the tube in the morning. thanks you guys. yea i know obx isnt much of a great header, but it was better than paying for the price of dc sports. would rather save my money on tires or events or what not.

[Om1kron]

I thought headers was plural and not singular and the proper term was exhaust manifold. =P

figured id give you guys some shit rather than some advice lol.

[deuceforty]

I thought headers was plural and not singular and the proper term was exhaust manifold. =P

figured id give you guys some shit rather than some advice lol.

most time you see the term "headers" they are actually plural manifolds included. the 240 only has one exhaust "header"

LS series and the ford 350/302 etc have multiple exhaust manifolds, hence "headers"

[Flipzide]

recieved my obx yesterday and installed today, well tried... my only problem was the egr tubing, but since i searched and found this thread, im going to try bending the tube in the morning.

i told you so :down: . Should've just saved your money instead of buying a part that you have to modify.

[DohcKA]

pacesetter sucks more than your stack mani.... gauranteed.... most peeps i know with obx aren't complainin what so ever... i have obx headers on my 4ag

[IIIXziuR]

Does anyone run the DC Header?
I believe Russ said it deletes the cat.
Just curious as to how loud it is, fitement, etc.

The quality looks pretty nice, seems MUCH better than the OBX.

[alkemyst]

I thought headers was plural and not singular and the proper term was exhaust manifold. =P

figured id give you guys some shit rather than some advice lol.

nice try but header can be singular and exhaust manifold while not wrong, is usually reserved for the cast style parts

[alkemyst]

Does anyone run the DC Header?
I believe Russ said it deletes the cat.
Just curious as to how loud it is, fitement, etc.

The quality looks pretty nice, seems MUCH better than the OBX.

For S14s, all headers that have a downpipe attached to them eliminate the real cat and only leave the hollow one behind.

They usually all have the O2 bung in place though so with the spark plug non-fouler trick you can be back in business with no CEL. Throwing on a high flow cat at the same time would keep you legal outside california as well.

In regards to the DC Header...'loudness' is about the same as all headers. You will hear the engine internals more...I have heard less fit problems with the DC, but at the same time less people are running them. Power wise there really shouldn't be a difference.

The OBX is actually a better grade of steel though, AFAIK the DC is mild steel and ceramic coated. Ceramic is nice to an extent but isn't ideal on a header. There are some tests out there that ceramic coating cost a bit of power due to causing flow issues inside the pipes...this probably is splitting hairs though.

[IIIXziuR]

Oh cool thanks for all the info man!
Answered my questions perfectly.

Yeah I really am leaning towards that DC Header in the near future.

[madd ocx]

i have obx headers and they work just fine for me! no problems at all. i will be selling em quite soon being i'm in the process of going turbo. and i don't think people are getting the point duece forty is trying to make. you have reputable companies that sell on ebay, whether its a company like west covina or frsports selling it from an ebay they have or a third party selling brand name products. but then you have no name brand companies that just sell junk and never see they're producuts no where except ebay. i think thats what he was trying to say..

[drunklowlife]

Anyone used a Chikara header on a DE? A guy local has one for dirt cheap.

[E2EKIELR34]

does the CEL come one when you guys installed the obx since it deletes the cat? and has anyone got their car smogged with this and passes in CA? thanks.

[S14DB]

My code would take about 3 months to throw and 10sec to reset. To pass a sniffer you would need a Cat in the S13 location in place of the fake S14 cat.

[alkemyst]

use the oil fouler trick to prevent the CEL from setting.

http://forums.evolutionm.net/showthread.php?t=215795

[fashnootin]

Sorry to res the thread, but I have the same issue (95 S14 with OBX header, the steering part rubbed on the header as evidenced by the marking on the header at that point, though the parts don't touch at rest). I have Kazama engine mounts that I were put in the same time tne header was.

Contacted OBX and they said:
"You may want to check your engine mounts as they may be sagging and causing the header to rub on the steering column."


But of course this means nothing since they're fresh new engine mounts, to go with the fresh new header.

Can anyone share what kind of engine mounts they have whether you have this problem or not? Maybe some mounts don't work as well with the OBX header as others...?

[rb25crazy]

Does anyone run the DC Header?
I believe Russ said it deletes the cat.
Just curious as to how loud it is, fitement, etc.

The quality looks pretty nice, seems MUCH better than the OBX.



i got dc headers on my s14... fitment is spot on, loud.... ummm not to loud unless you really get on it. yeah it deletes the cat, but you just put a REAL CAT in place of the extra dummy cat nissan has after their real cat.

looks real cool too =0

[S14DB]

Sorry to res the thread, but I have the same issue (95 S14 with OBX header, the steering part rubbed on the header as evidenced by the marking on the header at that point, though the parts don't touch at rest). I have Kazama engine mounts that I were put in the same time tne header was.

Contacted OBX and they said:
"You may want to check your engine mounts as they may be sagging and causing the header to rub on the steering column."


But of course this means nothing since they're fresh new engine mounts, to go with the fresh new header.

Can anyone share what kind of engine mounts they have whether you have this problem or not? Maybe some mounts don't work as well with the OBX header as others...?


The Kazama/Cusco engine mounts lower the engine. This can have the same effect as worn out sagging mounts.

Did you install the mounts on the correct sides?

[let5l1de]

Did you properly center the engine on the lower mounting pads? A misaligned engine can surely wing the header in or out quite a bit.

~mario

[alkemyst]

Can anyone share what kind of engine mounts they have whether you have this problem or not? Maybe some mounts don't work as well with the OBX header as others...?
[/FONT]

Factory and Nismo both had mine interfering with the knuckle.

I had a shop just clearance it.