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New equal length header from Synic Motorsports (56K talk to a cable guy now)

Joon525

By Joon525
in Intake and Exhaust

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Joon525 Proficient

Joon525

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Updated pictures of Swain Tech's White Lightning coating in post #9.

Update after the install in post #12.

Well some of you who frequent NASIOC might've seen the following thread: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1141302

 

Well I bought it even before that test and it finally came today. One thing you'll note about it is that it is VERY similar to the Fujitsubo equal length header. The main difference is that the Fujitsubo header finally merges to one pipe earlier than the Synic header.

Fujitsubo header:

http://www.rallysportdirect.com/shop/images/fujitsoboheader.jpg

 

Some other info:

  1. It's 304 SS.
  2. It's welded inside the pipes and then smoothed out.
  3. There's no EGT bung so you'll have to drill that yourself if you want one.
  4. It came with the 2 manifold to head gaskets, 1 uppipe to manifold gasket and bolts/nuts (I'll probably be using OEM gaskets, as for hardware, I only need 2 bolts/nuts for the uppipe, no clue as to why more were provided).

Here are some pictures:

http://www.joon525.com/images/Legacy/Synic/Header01.jpg

http://www.joon525.com/images/Legacy/Synic/Header02.jpg

http://www.joon525.com/images/Legacy/Synic/Header03.jpg

http://www.joon525.com/images/Legacy/Synic/Header04.jpg

http://www.joon525.com/images/Legacy/Synic/Header05.jpg

http://www.joon525.com/images/Legacy/Synic/Header06.jpg

http://www.joon525.com/images/Legacy/Synic/Header07.jpg

 

Final notes:

  1. I'm going to TRY to test fit this header this Saturday, I'll take pictures of it on the car if I do.
  2. I will not be starting the car with these on there because I want to get it coated at Swain Tech.
  3. I also will not be dynoing before and after due to money.
  4. I've got a lot going on now with work and home. There is a chance I might not get around to installation until MUCH later. It doesn't help with this time of the year being upon us. But if any of you members in the Tri-State area KNOW that you'll be installing some other aftermarket header soon, I could try to stop by just to bolt this up to your car.

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CasopoliS Veteran

CasopoliS

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I do not think that design is optimal. From the looks of it, there will be a lot of turbulance at the "Y" where the pipes meet in the center. I could be wrong though.

 

EDIT: after looking them over more I guess they did a good job with the transition. The bend just before the "Y" looks like it will help alot, and the fact they meet into a larger pipe will also help.

 

That is an awesome dyno if there is no tuning between runs. Really suprized. They would need coated and wrapped for sure to keep heat in.

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Joon525 Proficient

Joon525

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For anyone that was following this thread, I tried to test fit this header on the car today but I couldn't get the passenger side manifold off the car due to the uppipe forcing a bolt between the two flanges to sit at a slightly skewed angle thus requiring me to unbolt some of the uppipe bolts at the turbo to get some slack. I was running out of time and couldn't go the whole 9 to test fit this but I held it up and it looks like it's going to work out alright. I'll be sending this to Swain Tech sometime next week to get coated then once it's back in my hands it'll go on the car (if it's not freezing outside by then).

 

In regards to the design, I had some doubt as well when I first saw the Fujitsubo but in the end I'm going to trust it. If it gets rid of the "boxer rumble" then I'll have absolutely no complaints.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Joon525 Proficient

Joon525

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Well I just got the header back in my hands today from getting coated at Swain Technology. I got the White Lightning coating which is a real ceramic coating not just a high temp paint.

 

Here are the pictures:

http://www.joon525.com/images/Legacy/Synic/Coated01.jpg

http://www.joon525.com/images/Legacy/Synic/Coated02.jpg

http://www.joon525.com/images/Legacy/Synic/Coated03.jpg

http://www.joon525.com/images/Legacy/Synic/Coated04.jpg

 

I took the last one twice in different lighting to let you guys get a better idea of the texture of the stuff.

 

In the end this was $214.31 including shipping back to me. Of course I had to pay to get it shipped up to them as well.

 

If all goes well I'll be installing this on Sunday.

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Joon525 Proficient

Joon525

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Well I installed header today.

 

Here's some pictures:

1

http://www.joon525.com/images/Legacy/Synic/Installed01.jpg

2

http://www.joon525.com/images/Legacy/Synic/Installed02.jpg

3

http://www.joon525.com/images/Legacy/Synic/Installed03.jpg

4

http://www.joon525.com/images/Legacy/Synic/Installed04.jpg

 

Other mods (that matter):

  1. HKS uppipe
  2. Cobb catted downpipe
  3. Borla cat back exhaust
  4. Cobb AccessPort 93 octane Stage 2 map (off the shelf)

Observations:

  1. In that picture it looks like it's close to the oil filter but I assure you there's ample room around it. I just didn't take a picture from that angle.
  2. This went in very smoothly. Nothing had to be pushed or pulled anymore than I had to do in getting the stock manifold off of the car.
  3. The exhaust note has DEFINITELY changed and in my mind it's for the better. I wasn't a fan of the "boxer rumble" at all and now the car sounds and feels like it runs smoother than before. The exhaust quieter overall.
  4. This header weighs a lot less than the stock manifold. I this header weighs 14-15 lbs. The stock manifold weighed in at 31.2 lbs. for a weight savings of about 15 lbs.
  5. Spool up doesn't really seem to be affected to me but I honestly wasn't trying to check that too much when I did my test run. I will try to give this aspect some more attention at a later date and edit this post with my findings (or lack of findings since I don't really remember where the spool up started before I changed the header).

YouTube videos:

  1. Idling: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Wa4eNcqFAM]YouTube - Synic header, Cobb dp, Borla ex., 05 LGT[/ame]
  2. Giving it some gas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EddbUeRxz9I

  3. A note about the sound: The digital camera I used isn't capturing the sound as accurately as I would have liked. In my opinion it sounds good. If anyone's local and wants a listen, PM me and I'll try to set something up.
  4. Keep in mind that the car was fully warmed up when the video was taken. When I usually start the car up in the early morning I'm sure it'll sound louder.
  5. Also, the backfiring was there even before the header went on. I think it's typical to stage 2.

Performance:

Sorry that I couldn't dyno the car before and after along with tuning but I don't have the money to throw around to do that right now. So the best I can give you is a seat-of-the-pants review (get your grain of salt ready).

The top end doesn't seem to be all that different, maybe a little bit. The midrange does feel as if something's changed. Here's a quote with dyno graphs from a NASIOC thread that Synic themselves posted (I'll highlight the important parts):

Test car is an 02 wrx with an ERZ up pipe, helix catless downpipe, fujitsubo legalis R evo, and a cobb accessport with a stage 2 flash. This car is pretty mild and isn't much louder than stock. The car was dynoed at Harman Motive out in Torrance, CA (dynojet).Very professional and overall great guys to deal with. Without further delay, here are the numbers:http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p208/synicmoto/Dyno_Sheet1.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p208/synicmoto/Dyno_Sheet2.jpg

Just a note, Dan Harman from Harman Motive said that that dip at 5k is knock:(

Before:

Max HP 219

Max TQ 218

After:

Max HP 225

Max TQ 240

 

Although the peak HP and TQ gains are minimal, the mid range is huge with up to 23HP and almost 30TQ TO THE WHEELS!

 

Impression: The boxer rumble is gone(:( for those in love with that), but the car drives totally different. This header surely accentuates how smooth this motor can feel with an equal length header. Mid range has definitely improved without a noticable difference in lag. I'll leave further comments to the owner:)

All in all I'm experiencing what they cited even though that graph is for a 2.0 motor.

 

Now one last bit and this is a little geared toward you CasopoliS because I know from previous threads that you HAD an equal length GP Moto header and had trouble hitting peak boost. I couldn't hit my usual peak of 17.5 psi. Instead my Defi gauges peaked at 17 psi. Not a whole lot to cry about I suppose. Now there's 2 things to add to this.

  1. Today was abnormally warm for a December day in northern NJ.. It was about 61-62º F today at 3PM. When I usually hit peak boost it's at 6:50AM when the temperatures were about 40º F. That could have something to do with it.
  2. Also:
    Initial driving/tuning impressions: The sound of the exhaust is changed quite a bit by these headers. The rumble at idle is significantly reduced. It is still there, but not as obvious. Between 2000-3000 RPM, the exhaust is a bit louder but more mellow in tone. From 3000-redline the exhaust is also a bit louder but angry rather than mellow sounding. Pre tuning, the turbo did spool a little later, maybe 200-300 rpm later but the top end was noticeable faster and smoother. After fiddling with the tuning a bit (I’m not done yet) I got the difference down to ~150rpm compared to the stock manifold. The VE of the engine has definitely improved. Before adjusting the boost tables, boost was down 1 psi from 3k to redline yet the mass flow rates were up. Also, before tuning, the engine started knocking a bit a 3k and 4k rpm (increased cylinder filling with no adjustment in fueling/timing). Calculated load has increased about 5% from 2500-redline with a couple percent drop below 2000. Clearly, more fiddling with the tuning is in order…..
    bugblatterbeast apparently has a slight boost issue as well with his headers even though they're not equal length which could mean (and I guess some of you might already know this to be true) that our engine needs to be tuned to gain the full benefit from any header. I know that's kind of stating the obvious but I just wanted to throw that in there.

Finally, I know my review of this header is a favorable one but I also know that reviews without actual dyno plots only hold so much water. I really wish that I had the funds to dyno the before and after to get some solid conclusive numbers :(. I know that my claim of a midrange gain could PURELY be psychological so please don't think that I'm swearing to GOD that there's a gain. I just honestly feel something after the 2 test drives I went on today. I hopefully might be meeting up with some other Legacy owners so that I can see/hear the new SPT exhaust so maybe when I do I'll get the opinion(s) of the other owner(s) in an effort to be fair. And if anyone's wondering I DO plan on getting protuned (TDC, XX Tuning or Automaster) in spring 2007 so a dyno of some sort WILL be posted of this car.

 

I tried to be as thorough as possible but if there's any questions please ask away.

 

PS: I'll gladly do some datalogging if someone can tell me exactly which fields to include. I'm a little new to datalogging but have enough competence to provide results if asked.

 

PSS: If I can get an IR thermometer I would like to compare underhood temperatures of a local member.

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Joon525 Proficient

Joon525

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Thanks for the intricacies A++ for effort and looks good too. How does the lower plastic splash guard/undertray get along with the header?

Look at the picture of the header on the car. Look at the left side of the picture where the 4 primary pipes merge to 2. Notice how it slopes downwards? That's the only place where it comes close. I had some of this:

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=THE%2D13575&N=700+115&autoview=sku that I cut and stuck to the undertray just in case.

 

Be aware that my undertray is a bit messed up. It's cracking in the back and I think it's missing some parts that might be making it twist in odd directions. If I took a picture you'd see how wavy my oil filter door is. So bottom line, YOU might not have ANY problem at all. I am ordering a new undertray in the spring so we'll see how it goes on my car then. It might not even be an issue to be honest. I might not need that heat barrier at all, I'm just being careful. Even if I had a Perrin I might've put it there.

 

You did remind of something though. I cut some of that thermo barrier and applied it to the pipe in the front that goes to the stock oil cooler just in case.

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Joon525 Proficient

Joon525

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Update: I edited post #12 with the weight of the stock manifold. A weight saving of about 15 lbs. is to be had with this header.

 

Also, this morning I drove the car in 43º F weather for the first time and once again I hit about 17 psi. I'm going to check tomorrow for possible leaks around the gaskets since I reused every single one. I couldn't find my new OEM gaskets at the time of installation and just reused what I already had on there and wouldn't you know it? I found the box they were in AFTER I was done with the installation.

 

Even if there are no leaks and I peak at just a hair under what I used to the mid range gains are definitely worth it. I once again have to say that I honestly felt something significant in the midrange today.

 

Man, I can't wait to get tuned. If this condition still exists I hope to have the Protune take care of it like it did for one of the guys in this thread: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=888743

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  • 1 year later...
Joon525 Proficient

Joon525

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It's holding up fine.

The only thing that happened to it is the little badge that said "Synic Motorsports" had its weld break loose. So now there's a small rectangle of bare header where it once was.

 

My O2 sensor is working but stuck in the header as well but as long as it's working what do I care.

 

The coating is holding up nicely the last time I looked.

 

This header was my favorite piece of my exhaust system but I may be selling it. I'm not into cars anymore and will be parting out the car later this year when my injured wrist heals.

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