Ceramic or Stainless Steel headers?

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93civicracer

Oh, I do a little here and there.
So I'm going to be buying some headers and a 2.5" test pipe soon and I don't know which one is better? I don't mind the way either of them look, both are alright to me but how good are the ceramic headers? Are they made of ceramic or just coated and if they're coated is the coating that strong?

Thanks for any response, they will be from ebay :). All of them are 4-2-1 tho but they're only like $60 shipped! I would think 4-1 would flow better but o well.
 
bump I'm ordering tomorrow! how long does ceramic coating last and how long does stainless steel last?
 
I have a ceramic DC header, and they're coated. I dont have any problems, there's a darkened spot where it gets especially hot (right out of the head) but other than that it looks like the day I got it. As far as which is better, I think stainless is more cosmetic which is why it costs a little more but I'm not entirely sure.

PS $60 eBay headers? come on...
 
Come on..? Come on as in you don't believe me? Or come on as in I can do better?

Haha, ebay's exhaust products aren't bad and pretty much exactly the same as name-brand. It's made of the same steel, mandrel bent, guaranteed no rust and perfect fitment or moneyback :). And looks just as cool for the ricers. Not to mention about 1/4 THE PRICE. I'm buying an ebay N1 cat-back exhaust after the header and test pipe. Then a S2 intake manifold and high-flow TB maybe have the head ported n polished, that should last me til I can save up for pistons/rods and a turbo set-up :).
 
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Come on..? Come on as in you don't believe me? Or come on as in I can do better?

Haha, ebay's exhaust products aren't bad and pretty much exactly the same as name-brand. It's made of the same steel, mandrel bent, guaranteed no rust and perfect fitment or moneyback :). And looks just as cool for the ricers. Not to mention about 1/4 THE PRICE. I'm buying an ebay N1 cat-back exhaust after the header and test pipe. Then a S2 intake manifold and high-flow TB maybe have the head ported n polished, that should last me til I can save up for pistons/rods and a turbo set-up :).


have a link?
 
Ebay Header There's the header I'm getting. I tried to find links to the exhausts with the fitment/no-rust guarantee but I can't find them. They used to ALL be guaranteed! If you look around you can find them but still, they are stainless steel, mandrel-bent, high-flowing quality exhaust products and you can always coat it with something to prevent rust.

edit: check the customer feedback, you can always find out the ones that rust/don't fit maybe not bad feedback, but good feedback for the money-back and easy transaction :)
 
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Thanks for lookin out for me there Blanco but they don't test for emissions where I'm at. Every other redneck truck out here (older than 1990 or so) has the cat taken off and straight pipe welded in completely illegal shit. Plus the magnaflow cat isn't model-specific so I'd have to get it welded on or something where I can just bolt on the test-pipe. Not to mention ebay test-pipes cost like $15-30 shipped :). And do the ceramic headers make much difference like do they actually retain the heat any better?
 
Thanks for lookin out for me there Blanco but they don't test for emissions where I'm at. Every other redneck truck out here (older than 1990 or so) has the cat taken off and straight pipe welded in completely illegal shit. Plus the magnaflow cat isn't model-specific so I'd have to get it welded on or something where I can just bolt on the test-pipe. Not to mention ebay test-pipes cost like $15-30 shipped :). And do the ceramic headers make much difference like do they actually retain the heat any better?

Don't worry about the heat. It probably wouldn't make a difference.
 
it all depends, but getting them on ebay is a risk, ive gone through 3 pairs of the 4-2-1. the stainless headers start turning a rainbow color within the first 30 min. of driving. than they turn purple with a hint of blue, and sometimes they crack. i dont know anything about the ceramic tho.
 
it all depends, but getting them on ebay is a risk, ive gone through 3 pairs of the 4-2-1. the stainless headers start turning a rainbow color within the first 30 min. of driving. than they turn purple with a hint of blue, and sometimes they crack. i dont know anything about the ceramic tho.

are you serious ebay headers just change color and crack? that fuckin blows but what the hell they're cheap and i'll try it :)
 
it all depends, but getting them on ebay is a risk, ive gone through 3 pairs of the 4-2-1. the stainless headers start turning a rainbow color within the first 30 min. of driving. than they turn purple with a hint of blue, and sometimes they crack. i dont know anything about the ceramic tho.

You could've bought a DC sports header by now. lol
 
:D gotta love those ebay specials!! i once had some head lights from ebay, lol damn things fogged up that night when it rained. only reason i keep buying these damn headers is cuz im waiting for my property i have for sale to close so i can get the turbo kit. good by purpleish cracking garbage...hello iron manifold!!
 
oh by the way, you dont have to worry so much about the down pipe, they will last a good while. i dont know why, to be honest. i still have the first one on there. keep your eye on it tho. and dont use the alluminum gasket either, they cause problems. go to your honda dealer get a new header gasket. for the other gaskets its ok to use the stock ones, just check them out first. but they will hold up.
 
I'm just gonna buy the ebay ceramic header with a ebay test pipe (under $100 for both so I HAVE to give it a try), then buy the ebay N1 catback if and ONLY IF I can find another one that's guaranteed to never rust and fit perfectly or money back.
 
So I'm going to be buying some headers and a 2.5" test pipe soon and I don't know which one is better? I don't mind the way either of them look, both are alright to me but how good are the ceramic headers? Are they made of ceramic or just coated and if they're coated is the coating that strong?

Thanks for any response, they will be from ebay :). All of them are 4-2-1 tho but they're only like $60 shipped! I would think 4-1 would flow better but o well.

After reading through this entire thread, I think you need to chill and rethink this.

My thoughts:

1.) Who says that Ebay's exhaust products are just as good as the name brand stuff? They're not. There's a reason name brand stuff costs more, and that reason is because it's better. I've heard about and personally seen many examples of crappy Ebay headers cracking and blowing their welds. I've also personally ordered a test pipe from Ebay, and it was complete crap. The welds were shitty and the O2 sensor bung was in the wrong place. I would have had to buy an expensive O2 extension wire just to use the piece of crap. I sold it to some ricer and stuck with my stock cat.

2.) Not all Magnaflow cats are universal. You can buy them for tons of different applications, your car included.

3.) If you're planning on going turbo in the near future, then why buy any of this crap at all? You realize you're not going to be able to use the header with the turbo, and you may end up wanting a bigger exhaust depending on how much power you're pushing with the turbo. I'm sure you're probably thinking, "well, I'll just buy cheap Ebay crap for now, and then replace it with better stuff later." My question though, is why spend any money at all on junk that you're going to end up replacing? All of that money could go towards saving for your engine build and turbo setup instead.

4.) Seriously, if you plan on boosting to the point where it's going to require an engine build, then you're probably going to need a 3" exhaust. Why waste your money on a cheapo cat-back now? Even the cheap ones usually run around $150. I can think of lots of better ways to spend $150 than a crappy Ebay exhaust.

Just a few things to think about...
 
I have an extra exhuast, bought it from Loco like 3 years ago. It's for a hatch though, been outisde since I bought it and hasn't rusted yet. I'm to lazy to go outside and see what brand it was.
 
I'm just gonna buy the ebay ceramic header with a ebay test pipe (under $100 for both so I HAVE to give it a try), then buy the ebay N1 catback if and ONLY IF I can find another one that's guaranteed to never rust and fit perfectly or money back.

i hope you're prepared for an annoyingly loud exhaust.. one to get you pulled over a lot
 
nobody said anything about them being the same quality as brand named shit. we all know ebay specials are garbage. either they dont fit or they brake.:D
 
i have one more thing to say ... goodluck w/ your eBay parts.. when i comes to an engine i'll never use cheap parts

let me rephrase that actually.. cheaply made parts.. OEM or high quality aftermarket only
 
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