The largest reason I purchased the pacesetter header was because of cheap looks, Id also appreciate any performance gains that come along with it. I dont really want to spend more money on this car, as I am partial to my Honda 
However I do favor the DSMs brute engine attitude. So, anyways, I read a lot about the tubular header before I got one, I read all the good and bad things about it. It seemed to come to a 50/50, half the credible people had good things to say about it, and half had bad things. Some of the things mentioned were, it wont seal, because of the botched up flanges, the paint burns off within 10 minutes of idling, the welds are poor and will impede flow, it will crack!
I ordered my manifold from machonecar (http://stores.ebay.com/Mach-1-Car-Accessories) on ebay. It arrived very quickly and was packaged very well. I was actually surprised at the care that had been taken to package the header. I was also surprised that there were gaskets and bolts included.
When I received it I looked it over very well. I did take notice to the oddly designed flanges, after further inspection and thinking about it for the rest of the day I decided I wouldnt worry about them sealing. I went back and forth in my head, should I get the surfaces machined or not. I concluded back at my main reason for purchasing the pacesetter brand, cheap looks. So, I had decided the surfaces would seal enough. If they so happen to leak, I can understand why.
Another thing I noticed was the paint. The paint defiantly looked like it would burn off right away, as it was flaking off in the packaging. But wait! Whats this, a sticker that states, For longer lasting finish. High Temp paint is recommended. Follow paint manufactures instructions. So, pacesetter tells you that it needs to be coated, or painted with high temp paint. No where does it say that the paint should hold up under extreme heat. So, why expect it too!?
To all the people that expected the non-high temp paint to stay on at 1000+ degrees, booo on you.
Next thing to check out are the welds. I dont know much about welding but it does look like a decent welding job. You can tell that this thing has been mass manufactured, nevertheless, it still looks good. All welds seem to be made from the outside-in, and nothing is protruding in the way of exhaust flow. At the collector everything mates up perfectly.
As for the header cracking Im not worried about it as this point. I has come with a 3 year warranty from the manufacture for cracks and other defects and looks stronger than most people say it did.
The things that disappointed me about the header were very minimal, when keeping my goal in mind (cheap looks). One thing was that the collector bottle necks right before the flange, so porting of the flange is virtually useless. And the other was that it wasnt an equal length header, which I knew before I had bought it.
I wouldnt buy this header with dreams of 20+ hp, I would however buy this header on a budget.
Summary:
-I was surprised with craftsmanship.
-3 year manufacturer warranty.
-Gaskets are junk, but hardware was handy
-Paint will burn off, its not designed to stay on there.
-Great manifold if you like Hondas more than DSMs
-Cheap Looks.
I'll have another review after its been installed for a few weeks.
pictures can be viewd at imagestation: http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=2373955093
Well, I finally installed it and I'm happy. Apparently I had a previous exhaust leak, which contributed to my lumpy idle. I think I finally have all the idle issues worked out. So anyways, I think I figured out why everyone says the manifold leaks. The way it is designed you need to use the gasket that comes with it, no the OEM one. The ports on the Pacesetter manifold are actually narrower, from top to bottem than the stock one. It fit very well, no problems with the header design on install, just the normal things (broken studs, etc...)
I even used those cheap gaskets supplied with the header just for fun. It's much easier to take off than the stock unit, expecially without the stud in the turbo. But the gaskets have been holding up for now, surprisingly.
The header has made the cars exhaust note sound much smoother. Much like a supercharger whining away. It's also cured my 20+ psi boost spikes, that could have be a result from the leaking exhaust, on the old gasket? I guess it makes sence some how?
So, to wrap things up, the car is running much better than it was before and Im much happier with the manifold than expected. Still have to work on the paint. I'll find some that doesnt burn off More pics soon!
Well today I've officially ground the pacesetter logo off the runner, since it is no longer a pacesetter header with all the work I have put into this thing. I still like the manifold but I would consider it unfinished. After further inspection, trying to get it to seal and what not...The ports are ~2mm smaller than the stock head ports. I'm going to have to get some more welds put on the manifold, due to my porting and Im planning on making a custom gasket, because the stock style will not seal, no matter what you do or say, It will not seal. A special gasket needs to be made for it.
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Ok, for those of you that have made it this far! I've modified the manifold quite a bit to make it work better. And soon I will be throwing it in the trash. This thing is complete junk! I thought one of the welds had cracked on the collector, but apon futher inspection, the pipe has actually cracked around the collector. the metal they use is too thin? I had thought about welding this, but the angle and space will be impossible to weld. Thanks all for reading, and good luck!
DONT BUY THIS WORTHLESS MANIFOLD!!!!
However I do favor the DSMs brute engine attitude. So, anyways, I read a lot about the tubular header before I got one, I read all the good and bad things about it. It seemed to come to a 50/50, half the credible people had good things to say about it, and half had bad things. Some of the things mentioned were, it wont seal, because of the botched up flanges, the paint burns off within 10 minutes of idling, the welds are poor and will impede flow, it will crack!I ordered my manifold from machonecar (http://stores.ebay.com/Mach-1-Car-Accessories) on ebay. It arrived very quickly and was packaged very well. I was actually surprised at the care that had been taken to package the header. I was also surprised that there were gaskets and bolts included.
When I received it I looked it over very well. I did take notice to the oddly designed flanges, after further inspection and thinking about it for the rest of the day I decided I wouldnt worry about them sealing. I went back and forth in my head, should I get the surfaces machined or not. I concluded back at my main reason for purchasing the pacesetter brand, cheap looks. So, I had decided the surfaces would seal enough. If they so happen to leak, I can understand why.
Another thing I noticed was the paint. The paint defiantly looked like it would burn off right away, as it was flaking off in the packaging. But wait! Whats this, a sticker that states, For longer lasting finish. High Temp paint is recommended. Follow paint manufactures instructions. So, pacesetter tells you that it needs to be coated, or painted with high temp paint. No where does it say that the paint should hold up under extreme heat. So, why expect it too!?
To all the people that expected the non-high temp paint to stay on at 1000+ degrees, booo on you.
Next thing to check out are the welds. I dont know much about welding but it does look like a decent welding job. You can tell that this thing has been mass manufactured, nevertheless, it still looks good. All welds seem to be made from the outside-in, and nothing is protruding in the way of exhaust flow. At the collector everything mates up perfectly.
As for the header cracking Im not worried about it as this point. I has come with a 3 year warranty from the manufacture for cracks and other defects and looks stronger than most people say it did.
The things that disappointed me about the header were very minimal, when keeping my goal in mind (cheap looks). One thing was that the collector bottle necks right before the flange, so porting of the flange is virtually useless. And the other was that it wasnt an equal length header, which I knew before I had bought it.
I wouldnt buy this header with dreams of 20+ hp, I would however buy this header on a budget.
Summary:
-I was surprised with craftsmanship.
-3 year manufacturer warranty.
-Gaskets are junk, but hardware was handy
-Paint will burn off, its not designed to stay on there.
-Great manifold if you like Hondas more than DSMs
-Cheap Looks.
I'll have another review after its been installed for a few weeks.
pictures can be viewd at imagestation: http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=2373955093
Well, I finally installed it and I'm happy. Apparently I had a previous exhaust leak, which contributed to my lumpy idle. I think I finally have all the idle issues worked out. So anyways, I think I figured out why everyone says the manifold leaks. The way it is designed you need to use the gasket that comes with it, no the OEM one. The ports on the Pacesetter manifold are actually narrower, from top to bottem than the stock one. It fit very well, no problems with the header design on install, just the normal things (broken studs, etc...)
I even used those cheap gaskets supplied with the header just for fun. It's much easier to take off than the stock unit, expecially without the stud in the turbo. But the gaskets have been holding up for now, surprisingly.
The header has made the cars exhaust note sound much smoother. Much like a supercharger whining away. It's also cured my 20+ psi boost spikes, that could have be a result from the leaking exhaust, on the old gasket? I guess it makes sence some how?
So, to wrap things up, the car is running much better than it was before and Im much happier with the manifold than expected. Still have to work on the paint. I'll find some that doesnt burn off
More pics soon!Well today I've officially ground the pacesetter logo off the runner, since it is no longer a pacesetter header with all the work I have put into this thing. I still like the manifold but I would consider it unfinished. After further inspection, trying to get it to seal and what not...The ports are ~2mm smaller than the stock head ports. I'm going to have to get some more welds put on the manifold, due to my porting and Im planning on making a custom gasket, because the stock style will not seal, no matter what you do or say, It will not seal. A special gasket needs to be made for it.
--------------------------------------------------
Ok, for those of you that have made it this far! I've modified the manifold quite a bit to make it work better. And soon I will be throwing it in the trash. This thing is complete junk! I thought one of the welds had cracked on the collector, but apon futher inspection, the pipe has actually cracked around the collector. the metal they use is too thin? I had thought about welding this, but the angle and space will be impossible to weld. Thanks all for reading, and good luck!
DONT BUY THIS WORTHLESS MANIFOLD!!!!
