Aftermarket Accord Exhaust Header

A stock automobile usually comes with a manifold which receives the hot exhaust gas flow from the engine and then routes them into a pipe which then carries them to the rest of the system. Unfortunately though it was designed to be inexpensive to make and fairly easy to install on the assembly line, it has a major drawback in that it creates back pressure. Back pressure means that the gas flow hits some type of resistance which forces some of the gas back into the engine. Now some of the power of the engine is diverted to forcing the exhaust gases past the restrictions. The net result is less power to the ground.

•   A different approach is using a device called a header. This is a different design that uses individual pipes for each exhaust header port. The typical exhaust header pipes have much smoother bends which means it decreases airflow resistance. Next the exhaust header pipes then combine together at an at something called an exhaust collector and then on to another exhaust header pipe which then feeds the gas flow to the exhaust catalytic converter.

•   When the exhaust header pipes have been "tuned" in by changes in their length an exhaust header system  is created so that when  exhaust gas passes down one header and then through the common header pipe, (sometimes referred to as a down header pipe), it creates a slight vacuum in another header pipe. This then tends to suck the exhaust gas from the second header pipe through the system. This further reduces back pressure. Using this approach an exhaust header system can be even more tuned to perform best or offer the least restrictions at particular RPM ranges. This means that an exhaust header is normally  designed for a particular application of where you want the maximum power.

•   Since colder air is denser than hotter air, and weighs more it is harder to push or suck through an exhaust system. So you want to keep the exhaust gases hot for a while. This is the reasons why some exhaust header systems are ceramic coated which reduces the heat being radiated in the engine compartment, and this helps to increase the temperature in the exhaust header pipes. This also results in an increase in the velocity of the gases. In place of ceramic coatings some types of special paints which are less expensive are available for your exhaust header. A third choice to retain heat when you wrap each individual pipe in some special tape which helps the pipe retain internal heat.

•   When when you add an exhaust header  to your car you can get certain benefits including: the engine sound is changed to a more pleasing sound by the exhaust header; mileage may be increased using an exhaust header; an exhaust header should give you an  increase in peak engine power; and also stainless steel exhaust header pipes, which last much longer can now be used.

•   However, nothing is free, and there can be some exhaust header disadvantages along with their benefits. The typical increase in sound from a header may annoy other people or lead to vehicle noise infractions and tickets from the local police department. Some system designs  decrease the automobile's ground clearance and thus can be damaged or dragged off of the car. Because of the tuning effect some systems can also lower your torque at low engine rpms.

Accord Exhaust Header