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Headers

by Cyberbilly, November 14, 2007



OK.

I'm still not giving up on engine mods for the Corolla. Anyone have experience with installing a header on the 1ZZ-FE? And did it make a performance difference?

PPE headers, DC Sports, and JP headers were some brands that 1ZZ-FE owners were able to use successfully. I should also note that some Celica GT owners have found very good results with porting the existing header vs what they dyno'd with an off the shelf header. A Corolla owners ported their own exhaust manifold also got similar results.

The 1ZZ-FE did not respond as well as previous generations of Corolla engines to usual bolt on mods - but there was some tangible gains found by porting the stock header. Adding a catback or running a test pipe did not change much - but pairing exhaust mods with a head swap from a 7th gen Celica GT or MKII MR2 (same 1ZZ-FE engine except they have slightly larger valves than the ones on the Corolla), a good intake work, a decent muffler upgrade (better results for N/A apps), cams, upgraded valvetrain, and a piggyback fuel management - people were seeing 15%-20% increases in power to the wheels (~15-21WHP). Those are huge numbers for the 1ZZ-FE - being as optimized as it is from the factory.

With only exhaust work (porting or aftermarket + catback to just muffler replacement) on the 1ZZ-FE family of engines - results varied from Celicas and MR2s getting 7-10HP gains to Corollas getting 5-7HP gains on the dyno.

Doesn't sound like much - but when you see that our engine dynos at around 100-105WHP - even a 5%-10% gain is significant.

PPE headers, DC Sports, and JP headers were some brands that 1ZZ-FE owners were able to use successfully. I should also note that some Celica GT owners have found very good results with porting the existing header vs what they dyno'd with an off the shelf header. A Corolla owners ported their own exhaust manifold also got similar results.

The 1ZZ-FE did not respond as well as previous generations of Corolla engines to usual bolt on mods - but there was some tangible gains found by porting the stock header. Adding a catback or running a test pipe did not change much - but pairing exhaust mods with a head swap from a 7th gen Celica GT or MKII MR2 (same 1ZZ-FE engine except they have slightly larger valves than the ones on the Corolla), a good intake work, a decent muffler upgrade (better results for N/A apps), cams, upgraded valvetrain, and a piggyback fuel management - people were seeing 15%-20% increases in power to the wheels (~15-21WHP). Those are huge numbers for the 1ZZ-FE - being as optimized as it is from the factory.

With only exhaust work (porting or aftermarket + catback to just muffler replacement) on the 1ZZ-FE family of engines - results varied from Celicas and MR2s getting 7-10HP gains to Corollas getting 5-7HP gains on the dyno.

Doesn't sound like much - but when you see that our engine dynos at around 100-105WHP - even a 5%-10% gain is significant.

 

What do you think of this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/STAINLESS-H...1QQcmdZViewItem

Don't really know - price is really good at least. Can't really tell from the pics, but it looks like it will fit OK - not sure if they are equal length pipes there or not. Should have included pics from the flange and collectors ends to give you a better feeling. Personally, I would rather port my own header than pickup an unknown make header.

Bikeman982

It looks pretty good to me. Direct bolt on and supposed to increase performance.

Is the hole in it for the O2 sensor?

Is the hole in it for the O2 sensor?

I presume that it is.

Bikeman982

Is the hole in it for the O2 sensor?

I presume that it is.

In California we would still need to have the catalytic convereter and a muffler - no straight pipes allowed.

 

 

In California we would still need to have the catalytic convereter and a muffler - no straight pipes allowed.

I have no problem leaving in the Cats and a muffler. In fact, they are now advertising a TRD exhaust system for the 1998 - 2002 Corolla. TRD Part number 00602-17500-001

 

Look here: http://www.trdracing.com/corolla/corolla.htm

Bikeman982

In California we would still need to have the catalytic convereter and a muffler - no straight pipes allowed.

I have no problem leaving in the Cats and a muffler. In fact, they are now advertising a TRD exhaust system for the 1998 - 2002 Corolla. TRD Part number 00602-17500-001

 

Look here: <a href="http://www.trdracing.com/corolla/corolla.htm" target="_blank">http://www.trdracing.com/corolla/corolla.htm</a>

I think the cat and muffler work against the headers.

 

More power would come from straight headers and exhaust.

I believe anything that restricts the exhaust will reduce power output.

Headers are great for reducing weight - less exhaust piping.

I think the cat and muffler work against the headers.

I'm sure they would. But where I live, I have to worry about emission inspections, so I sorta have to leave the cat in. default_sad

the difference with muffler on or muffler off is pretty small. the cat is hardly any restriction in the system also. infact the piping that runs from the engine to the cat and through the cat is larger in diameter than the rest of the exhaust. if anything the exhaust from the cat back would be a restriction, but its not! the pipe diameter is tuned to the engine very well, the header helps the stock exhaust to scavenge much much better and really improves power from 3000-6500, 6500 rpm being the limit of what the head.valves, and cams can flow. you'll hear it fall off just as the engine hits 6300-6400, my auto trans shifts at around 6450. with the muffler off i hardly noticed a difference in power except for the very upper rpms. from 5000-6000 there was a change, but the noise difference is dramatic. leave the stock resonator in the system tho, its very important to keeping the car from sounding like crap. if you want to do a muffler, get one off a V6 camry and have it stuck on, it will flow more than enough for your 1.8L and still be quiet.

Bikeman982

Put the headers on and let us know how it affects your performance and also the exhaust noise.

I would just port your existing exhaust header and go with a decent axle-back muffler - especially if you are staying naturally aspirated at the moment. Those will all change when you go forced induction anyways.

Guys at newcelica have dyno'd some self port jobs and saw 5-10HP at the wheels (2ZZ-GE), the 1ZZ-FE got slightly less - but they are real WHP gains.

The TRD axle back muffler is a nice piece - I actually had one, but sold it to another member on a different board a few years ago (wishing now I didn't). You could see and feel the gains - but was a bit too loud for hte locals, kept banging into my parking lot curb, and every ricer on the planet wanted a piece of me on the street default_ohmy.

Same deal with that part - dyno pulls show tangible gains with just a muffler swap only - in the case of the 2ZZ-GE engine, 10-15WHP gains! - about 1/2 to a 1/3 less for the 1ZZ-FE apps. Bitter's right on the cat delete option - only save you 1-2WHP difference, not worth messing with + you get some wicked backfires pops out the exhaust if you run without a catalytic converter. Oddly enough - the gains combining a CAI + exhaust + porting are not cummulative - total gain turns out closer to 10-20WHP depending on application.

I havent dealt with Corolla's,

but on my Celica (1zz), i ported the headers, and i think it did better.

Never dynoed it, but it "felt" like more power. mind you, after spending an entire weekend removing, porting, cleaning, & remounting the damn thing, it might have been just an emotional thing... kinda like putting on a CAI and being able to "feel" the additional power (i doubt if i can actually "feel" a gain of a couple hp.)

its prob more of a noise thing...

good luck

tdk.

Bikeman982

I havent dealt with Corolla's, but on my Celica (1zz), i ported the headers, and i think it did better.

 

Never dynoed it, but it "felt" like more power. mind you, after spending an entire weekend removing, porting, cleaning, & remounting the damn thing, it might have been just an emotional thing... kinda like putting on a CAI and being able to "feel" the additional power (i doubt if i can actually "feel" a gain of a couple hp.)

its prob more of a noise thing...

good luck

tdk.

Might have been a psychological perception of the additional power gain, even though there probably was only some marginal gain.

 

 



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