If you’re setting up a street racer or a track car and you want to make sure your expanded intake and EFI upgrades are providing as much additional power as possible, you also need to upgrade your exhaust. Whether it’s a performance manifold or weld up headers, an expanded airflow out of the engine is an important part of an expanded power profile for the engine.
Header Upgrades for Optimized Torque and Horsepower
Headers have been the go-to choice for maximum power and torque for about as long as people have been customizing cars with serious intent. Straight line tubes designed to maximize airflow out of the engine just work better for moving exhaust out of the way of your next reaction so that the intake and fuel delivery system both operate at peak efficiency.
When you want to be sure your ECU can achieve the best possible efficiency for your current environmental conditions, you need to have an exhaust setup that keeps spent fumes moving or you simply won’t get there. The downside to straight weld up header kits, though, is that it they are loud. In some cases, too loud to be street legal.
Headers also take up a lot of space. They don’t usually fit the same as a stock exhaust, so extra modification may be necessary to install them, and that can limit your other options for upgrades under some circumstances. Those times are when a performance manifold system could be the best option.
Maximized Manifold Design for Street Performance
Today’s performance exhaust manifolds are significantly more sophisticated than your stock setup. Even high-performance small-block manifolds can often be upgraded after a few years because of constant design improvements. Today’s top designs learn from the best header designs by offering better airflow and expanded tube width while still providing the noise reduction and relatively small engine compartment footprint that the stock system has.
The difference between the best exhaust manifold you can get and the best header setup is small, which is why many drivers prefer the performance manifold. With a full header setup, you might wind up having to put your vehicle on a trailer and drive it exclusively on the track, but with a performance manifold you can build a beastly road trip machine that still puts up competitive times when you need to show off.
Tools To Complete Your Home Garage
Getting the most out of your ride means being able to make the tweaks you need to accommodate changing circumstances. Your ideal tune-up for a cross-country vacation ride is not going to be the same as it would be for a weekend doing laps at the track or a drag competition. To make the most of your setup, you need automotive shop tools that give you that level of control.
Luckily, you can find those tools at the same part suppliers you already trust for your performance upgrades. Start looking today to make sure your garage is fully equipped for your next round of upgrades.