Hey, I was doing some thinking (scary huh?) anyway since WRX headers are much more un-equal lenght then NA headers, and they also flow way better (or can be made to flow way better after porting) why not put some OEM wrx headers on an NA car? they are relatively cheap when found used, and are readily available on tuner forums. so today i grabbed my extra set of wrx headers, which i had laying around, and held them up under my car. it looks like the cross over pipe will clear the oil pan and oil filter just fine. the flanges are dual port, but so is my 2.2l. the one issue i have found is that the part of the wrx headers that goes to the up pipe leads directly into the cross member. here is where my question lies. If you were able to cut the headers back farther towards the collector area, and remount the flange the headers should then be able to clear underneath the front cross member and allow you to use them for NA use. so what are the OEM wrx headers made out of? i know i can find away to cut it, but the real question is, can you weld the flange back onto it? if you can i might have to give it a shot.
hmmm..... this could be pretty sweet. i wonder if i am going to loose alot of back pressure by going to these headers? i know i woul for sure if i through my 3" catback on there too, but boy that would sound sweet! hehehe..... well this is would just be an NA thing. something to have fun with until i get farther into my build. But you never know, i might have to make an officail build thread.
MAKE THOSE HEADERS! you could get it to mate up just fine, because you would hafta have a custom flange made, get it done! go visit nathan
Martin, cast is kinda hard to weld. It has too many air pockets in it. It can be done if your patient enough to take your time though. Nathan may be able to weld it for you, otherwise I can always give it a shot too. The WRX cross pipe isn't crazy big compared to your N/A stuff because they still have to keep enough pressure in the pipe to spool the turbo. I think it would sound decent, but you won't know until it's done.
I think welding would be better using a TiG which I dont have.. I have a MiG welder.. we could try but like driftin240 said.. may be more frustrating then not... could try to make an s-bend to reposition it?!?!?!
I will see if i can get it welded before the install night, just to save time and make things easier. I will have to ask around and see when i can wok the welding into someones schedule, i know several people with welders. As for the S-bend idea, it wont work. It would be super easy if it would. however there isnt enough room between the headers and the x-member to get enough of a bend to get around. so it will need to be cut and welded. i guess its good that the wrx headers are a ton larger then my stock ones. i fear that if they flow too much i will loose to much back pressure and thus power. i will see how things go. i think Chux is going to help me chop the headers tonight or this weekend.
are these cast steel/iron/aluminum? what are they? i thought they were steel. I have yet to cut them up, becuase i wanna make sure i can weld them back together first, lol. so you guys think a MIG welder would do it just fine?
^elaborate! i need info before i dive in. also it sounds like i may have to re-direct the lower radiator hose. due to clearance issues. if there are many more issues it might not get done.
Cast is not an easy metal to weld. Its varry brittle and takes alot of heat to weld. My work does some welding and my boss wont even touch cast anymore.
found out there is a great welding shop downt he road from me. but alas i highly doubt i will be doing this. i put the header peices on to my car this morn, after my oil change. the driversside flange that connects to the x pipe looks like it is going to interfere with the thermostat. the new angle on the passenger side is going to need to be something fierce. also i may encounter scavenging issues but using the different style headers. franky i would love to try this but i dont have the time to sink into it. plus this way i can save my headers for later use! on a slightly different note, i now have a 2nd set of NA headers, which i may hack up and try to make UEL.
