There is alot of power to be made on the 350Z from changing your Headers and or Catalytic converters. Here is what to look for and what to stay away from!

If you were going to modify nothing on your car and want to make some extra power and not increase noise that much look into purchasing headers. With true Equal Length Headers you can make 8-14 HP to the wheels and not increase the sound of the car. There are some things to look for in your headers though.

Just like the Cat Back Exhaust system there are different materials headers are made from. Mild Steel (Ceramic coated usually), Stainless Steel and Titanium.

Mild Steel headers are genearlly less expensive but will not last as long. Mild Steel is corrosive when exposed to Salty air or Salt on the road from snowy climates. To keep the steel from corroding these headers are generally Ceramic coated. If the coat chips away or is scrated, the headers may rust and or crack. If you are expecting to keep your headers for the life of the car, stay away from Mild Steel.

Stainless steel headers are generally more expensive then mild steel. They will last the life of the car and are generally more resistant to cracking and corrosion. Stainless steel headers are either left un-finished or polished. There is no performance gain from a Polished looking header.

Titanium Headers are light weight, just as resistant as Stainless steel. Since Titanium manifolds are usually thinner walled, they can crack when under high heat and stress. There are a couple of manufacturer's of Titanium headers, they are mainly for Right hand drive 350Z's.

What to look for in the construction of your header?

Equal Lenth headers will make overall more power in the Mid Range and High End of the pwer band. When non-equal lenth headers are used, they will make power on the Mid Range but not up top.

DC Sports has released Ceramic Coated Mild Steel and Stainless Steel headers that are 50 State Legal! They are also very well constructed and make power.

The next best option is NISMO Headers but are not CARB approved.

There are some other specific things to look for in headers when it comes to collectors and diameter. These are some things that can make more power out of the header's. If there are any questions about this please email me.


Catalytic Converters:

There are High Flow Cat's and Test Pipes.

High Flow Cats are just what the name says. A high flow catalyst in piping. These will increase power from 10-14 HP while not adding a "Raspy" tone to the exhaust system and not allowing for the exhaust smell since there is a catalyst inline.

Test Pipes also known as Cat Delete Pipes will eliminate the Catalytic converters completely. They will increase power from 10-16 HP but will increase the sound of the exhaust drastically and most likely make the exhaust tone more raspy and loud. There are some company's that offer Resonated Test Pipes which can decrease the raspy sounds but they are still overall loud.

When getting ready to purchase High Flow Cats or Test Pipes, take into consideration the extra sound to the 1 or 2 extra horse power that can be had.


If there are any further questions on Headers or Cats please message me. We also offer headers and highflow cats.