Headers: 94-97 vs 01+ vs aftermarket
09-24-2013, 11:44 PM
#21
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I don't doubt the durability of the header either, but again some people don't have the opportunity to track their car for hundreds of hours per year.
If I'm lucky, I can make it out to roughly 5-7 events over the course of the spring-fall here in the Midwest, which equates to around 10-14 hours per year of actual seat time. Assuming you're getting 50 hours of track time per year, the claim for a year or two with your seat time would likely be equivalent to 4-5 years for me. At that point, if it breaks, even purchasing a second header would still keep me under the cost of the Racing Beat.
If I'm lucky, I can make it out to roughly 5-7 events over the course of the spring-fall here in the Midwest, which equates to around 10-14 hours per year of actual seat time. Assuming you're getting 50 hours of track time per year, the claim for a year or two with your seat time would likely be equivalent to 4-5 years for me. At that point, if it breaks, even purchasing a second header would still keep me under the cost of the Racing Beat.
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09-25-2013, 03:19 AM
#23
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I don't doubt the durability of the header either, but again some people don't have the opportunity to track their car for hundreds of hours per year.
If I'm lucky, I can make it out to roughly 5-7 events over the course of the spring-fall here in the Midwest, which equates to around 10-14 hours per year of actual seat time. Assuming you're getting 50 hours of track time per year, the claim for a year or two with your seat time would likely be equivalent to 4-5 years for me. At that point, if it breaks, even purchasing a second header would still keep me under the cost of the Racing Beat.
With that said, we know that fitment and now durability can both be had in favor of the Racing Beat. But still, when it comes to actual power, can it truly be said that the Racing Beat header makes significantly more power gains than the eBay header?
I'm willing to spend my money where I can justify it (like the set of XIDAs I just purchased), but as a college student, I'm not one to spend the extra coin for a something if its actual purpose (power) can be had for cheaper, at least for now. The motor will be out already so fitment is out the window. Durability may be less, but for the amount of time I track my car, replacing it every couple of years shouldn't be an issue. However, if it can honestly be said that the power gains from the racing beat 4-1 header are significantly more (5 whp+) than an ebay 4-1 header, it would make me more keen on considering it.
So you're willing to save $250 on the header knowing full well that there's a high likelyhood that the part will fail and potentially ruin a $500-$700+ (entry fees, transport fuel, hotel, amortized brake/tire/bearing wear) track day? Especially when that track day represents ~15% of the track time you will get for the entire year? Sounds like a smart decision to me
And even then, the experiences that leafy and vitamin j have brought up completely contradicts the claims made about the durability of the Racing Beat versus the cheaper alternatives. If the RB has been known to fail after less than a year of use, that would also be putting me at high risk for the same situation as you described. So wouldn't knowing that a raceland header can outlast a racing beat under the same track conditions be enough to at least consider it?
That said, its not a matter of saving $250, its more along the lines of why would I spend an extra $250 for a header if theres not a significant difference in power or even potentially durability? That money can go towards a clutch, dyno tune, coolant reroute, track day, etc..
Based on the differences in claims even just from this thread, I hope you can see why this topic isnt as clear cut as it has been made out to be. That said, ill gladly shut up once I have an answer addressing power between the two headers.
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09-25-2013, 03:29 AM
#24
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I have no idea whether the eBay header makes more power. No vendor will ever do that A-B test, because headers aren't expensive enough and the test won't sway enough people to buy the RB even if it did produce a 4+whp bump (which it might, I don't know). What I do know is that RB is a Mazda-oriented company so they probably did a half-decent job designing a header specifically for the BP. If you think Raceland or whoever else is making eBay headers this week spent the same money on R&D/engineering, you're smoking some super awesome crack.
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09-25-2013, 04:05 AM
#25
itskrees:
Remember when you should have listened to me before?
I'll say it again.
I've had an ebay header. Even if it were free I wouldn't buy it again. I needed a six foot pry bar to install it, it didn't match up to anything and rattled like crazy.
Like I told you originally, get the RB, don't go lower.
Edit: I should say, in all fairness, the OGK header I have now was definitely not any easier to install. Six foot prybar plus two hours of sweating.
The RB I owned was slick, strong and looked great, though.
Remember when you should have listened to me before?
I'll say it again.
I've had an ebay header. Even if it were free I wouldn't buy it again. I needed a six foot pry bar to install it, it didn't match up to anything and rattled like crazy.
Like I told you originally, get the RB, don't go lower.
Edit: I should say, in all fairness, the OGK header I have now was definitely not any easier to install. Six foot prybar plus two hours of sweating.
The RB I owned was slick, strong and looked great, though.
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09-25-2013, 09:49 AM
#26
I just installed a RL in my 2000 and it's coming back out to be replaced by a 2001+ factory.
If I had the engine out and had room to swing a big sledge hammer maybe I could've got enough tunnel clearance but otherwise, even with one of the tubes flattened a bit to clear it still bangs/rattles against the tunnel.
The header went in + came out 3 times to get it that far. Then, the rear flange was rotated about 5-10 degrees so the bolt holes didn't line up. Had to slot the holes with a dremel cutoff wheel(s) to make them work. And, to make matters worse, the flange face was just enough out of square with the converter pipe to need 3 gaskets to seal.
What really set me off though was an email I got from the RL CSR telling me the fitment issues of old had been resolved. So, I'm going to send the POS back to them.
Just my thoughts and opinion.
If I had the engine out and had room to swing a big sledge hammer maybe I could've got enough tunnel clearance but otherwise, even with one of the tubes flattened a bit to clear it still bangs/rattles against the tunnel.
The header went in + came out 3 times to get it that far. Then, the rear flange was rotated about 5-10 degrees so the bolt holes didn't line up. Had to slot the holes with a dremel cutoff wheel(s) to make them work. And, to make matters worse, the flange face was just enough out of square with the converter pipe to need 3 gaskets to seal.
What really set me off though was an email I got from the RL CSR telling me the fitment issues of old had been resolved. So, I'm going to send the POS back to them.
Just my thoughts and opinion.
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09-27-2013, 10:13 AM
#28
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It's clear who has and who hasn't been to the track.
Moving on, how long would it take you to contact OBX or Raceland? I think the longest it took me to call up Racing Beat was 2 hours because I live on the East Coast and their office wasn't open.
Moving on, how long would it take you to contact OBX or Raceland? I think the longest it took me to call up Racing Beat was 2 hours because I live on the East Coast and their office wasn't open.
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09-27-2013, 01:09 PM
#30
Huh?
Well, to be fair to RL I got the first email from them about 10 minutes after I sent it. I got the RMA # about 1/2hr after I requested it. So as far as the customer response I'm ok with it. Just the fitment of the product.
And I have a fair amount of RB products on my car.
And I have a fair amount of RB products on my car.
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04-11-2014, 12:25 PM
#32
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Old thread is old but still relevant to my interests so here goes:
My first 1.6 Racing Beat header cracked after a couple years. Racing Beat kindly replaced under warranty and told me they had some problems with a certain batch of manifolds.
My replacement 1.6 Racing Beat header cracked again after 1 year. It was repaired by my welder friend and is sitting on the shelf collecting dust.
I upgraded to Mazdaspeed motor mounts to eliminate that as a possible culprit. Installed a generic 1.6 eBay header, has been on car for past 4-5 years with no problems to report.
I know eBay parts are a crapshoot and many people have had fitment issues with the 1.8 headers. Quality control varies and with the supply chain being what it is you never know if you're going to get a decent one or a bad one. What worked for a guy 5 years ago might be crap today or vice versa. Same problem when buying Harbor Freight parts.
Now I'm looking for the right 1.8 manifold to go with my 1.8 motor swap so I'll probably give Racing Beat another chance. I just wish TDR thermal insulating blankets lasted longer before burning through as you definitely need to use some sort of heat shield and I don't want to do header wrap again and Jet Hot supposedly doesn't last well on polished SS headers.
My first 1.6 Racing Beat header cracked after a couple years. Racing Beat kindly replaced under warranty and told me they had some problems with a certain batch of manifolds.
My replacement 1.6 Racing Beat header cracked again after 1 year. It was repaired by my welder friend and is sitting on the shelf collecting dust.
I upgraded to Mazdaspeed motor mounts to eliminate that as a possible culprit. Installed a generic 1.6 eBay header, has been on car for past 4-5 years with no problems to report.
I know eBay parts are a crapshoot and many people have had fitment issues with the 1.8 headers. Quality control varies and with the supply chain being what it is you never know if you're going to get a decent one or a bad one. What worked for a guy 5 years ago might be crap today or vice versa. Same problem when buying Harbor Freight parts.
Now I'm looking for the right 1.8 manifold to go with my 1.8 motor swap so I'll probably give Racing Beat another chance. I just wish TDR thermal insulating blankets lasted longer before burning through as you definitely need to use some sort of heat shield and I don't want to do header wrap again and Jet Hot supposedly doesn't last well on polished SS headers.
Last edited by freedomgli; 04-11-2014 at 01:53 PM.
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04-11-2014, 12:28 PM
#33
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Join Date: Jan 2007
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Pictures. I didn't have any problems fitting the generic 1.6 header to my car and it mated perfectly with my FM cat and the rest of my RB exhaust. Just needed to rock the motor over to the passenger side a bit for clearance during install. A helper comes in handy for that part. As always, YMMV.
Cracked by addlightness, on Flickr
generic Racing Beat copy vs. authentic Racing Beat header by addlightness, on Flickr
generic Racing Beat copy vs. authentic Racing Beat header by addlightness, on Flickr
generic Racing Beat copy vs. authentic Racing Beat header by addlightness, on Flickr
generic Racing Beat copy vs. authentic Racing Beat header by addlightness, on Flickr
generic Racing Beat copy vs. authentic Racing Beat header by addlightness, on Flickr
Racing Beat ports by addlightness, on Flickr
generic Racing Beat copy ports by addlightness, on Flickr
Cracked by addlightness, on Flickr
generic Racing Beat copy vs. authentic Racing Beat header by addlightness, on Flickr
generic Racing Beat copy vs. authentic Racing Beat header by addlightness, on Flickr
generic Racing Beat copy vs. authentic Racing Beat header by addlightness, on Flickr
generic Racing Beat copy vs. authentic Racing Beat header by addlightness, on Flickr
generic Racing Beat copy vs. authentic Racing Beat header by addlightness, on Flickr
Racing Beat ports by addlightness, on Flickr
generic Racing Beat copy ports by addlightness, on Flickr
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