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Detailed Pictures of RaceBits Headers ... and some observations.

H

Hydrargyrum

Veteran CEG'er
Joined
Sep 28, 2009
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Location
Chicago, IL
I took the time to take a closer look at my RaceBits headers this morning, and then did some comparisons to the MSDS headers I once had in my possession.

From the looks of things, I am wondering if the MSDS were better designed after all... ? I must admit that the one thing that I did not like about the MSDS was their lack of stainless steel, and thus the propensity they have to rust. Nevermind the whole painting and wrapping stuff...

The RaceBits are nice and shiny, but when closer examined, some things stuck out:

The MSDS:



The RaceBits:













The most obvious observation is that MSDS made a much better attempt at making them equal runners. On the other hand, as you can see from a few of the above pics, the RaceBits collector pipe sits a bit too high IMHO, and thus the pipes are much more unequal in length...

Any thoughts? Opinions?
 
I have not had any headers, but i see what you mean by the length of the tubes being whatever worked best.
One thing i noticed of my Y pipe and decat pipe from RaceBits, they are rusting! ALREADY! It's been maybe a month at most? And probably 2.5K miles since install. I can post pics if anyone wants to see.

Is there any difference from equal length header tubes and unequal length header tubes??
 
At the time we purchased them, they were ~ 400 shipped to your front door, sold along w/the Y Pipe as a complete package.... The MSDS at that time would have cost about a 100 more, for a similar package.

Of course, as soon as MSDS cought on, they offered a 'customer appreciation sale' which offered a nearly identical price to the RaceBits...

Judging from what I have seen thus far, and now the rusting part, I am not too encouraged with this product. And in addition to all of that, the RaceBits don't come with all the O2 bungs either...

Oh well, we'll see how they shape up once they are mounted and on the car. At least the Y Pipe seems to be a better design than the MSDS, with that bizarre design of theirs...
 
silver rocket said:
One thing i noticed of my Y pipe and decat pipe from RaceBits, they are rusting! ALREADY! It's been maybe a month at most? And probably 2.5K miles since install. I can post pics if anyone wants to see.
Click to expand...

PLEASE do so! I would really like to see this!

silver rocket said:
Is there any difference from equal length header tubes and unequal length header tubes??
Click to expand...


Each time a power stroke occurs and an exhaust valve opens, a positive pressure occurs in the exhaust manifold. A negative pressure occurs in the exhaust manifolds between the positive pressure pulses, especially at lower engine speeds. Some exhaust headers are tuned so the exhaust pulses enter the exhaust manifold between the exhaust pulses from other cylinders, preventing interference between the exhaust pulses. If the exhaust pressure pulses interfere with each other, the exhaust flow is slowed, causing a decrease in volumetric efficiency (and thus decrease in horsepower). Proper exhaust manifold/header tuning actually creates a vacuum, which helps to draw exhaust out of the cylinders and improve volumetric efficiency, resulting in an increase in horsepower.

That said, unequal length headers do a poor job of drawing out the exhaust compared to equal length headers. This is due to the fact that the difference of length of pipes disrupts that balance... So to answer your question, equal length Headers make more HP and Torque.
 
Wow the racebits have real short runners before the collector. From a performance & design standpoint from what I see here MSDS wins no questions asked. The only thing I wish was different on the MSDS is the placement of the upstream o2 sensor bungs... It would be nice to see them in/after the collector so the upstream o2's are grabbing an 'average' reading of the 3-cylinders that feed them as opposed to just the 1. Although in 'theory' they should all be the same.

I'd be willing to bet that the racebits hold up better just due to the SS but from what's been said here perhaps the quality of the SS used isn't very good. If that's the case these will be rusting pretty quick. I'd recommend to anyone to put some type of coating on either type of header. Even if it's a high temp primer and base coat of something like VHT's header paint. That's what I used on my MSDS headers and so far so good!

I'll keep my MSDS which still look pretty good after 2 years... :)
 
Well, until someone actually mounts theirs on, we won't know how this things perform or if they'll rust.

I plan on putting them on the first time I have an entire weekend off ... which is no time soon.
 
one thing, one of the most important on headers is the thickness of the flanges. the ones on the racebits are alot thicker than the msds headers.
i hope to have mine mounted in a month or so.
 
silver rocket said:
I have not had any headers, but i see what you mean by the length of the tubes being whatever worked best.
One thing i noticed of my Y pipe and decat pipe from RaceBits, they are rusting! ALREADY! It's been maybe a month at most? And probably 2.5K miles since install. I can post pics if anyone wants to see.

Is there any difference from equal length header tubes and unequal length header tubes??
Click to expand...

Pics coming?
 
pithon987 said:
Pics coming?
Click to expand...

x2... while I don't doubt you see something on the y-pipe, I do doubt it is rust. If their pipes are made of 300 series stainless, it won't rust. It will discolor, which is normal, but it will not rust. It would only rust if it was made of 400 series stainless.

EDIT: Their website states T304 stainlesss steel... you are not seeing rust.

Mondeo / Cougar V6 Stainless performance Headers and Y pipe




Ford​
​



larger image
£300.00 £199.99
Save: 33% off

STAINLESS STEEL PERFORMANCE HEADERS and Y-PIPE KIT * Custom manufactured from T304 grade stainless steel.
* Exclusive to Racebits.
* Up to 30+ bhp power gain over standard headers.
 
Yes, the pics would be really helpful.

On a side note, I would like to take the opportunity to point out that nobody (myself included) has mounted these as of today. I really detest when people jump to conclusions, so I will reserve any and all comments pertaining to their performance until I, or somebody else, has them on the car.

What I will reiterate is the overall design of the Headers and the Y Pipe seems to be of good quality. The MSDS Headers seem to be better designed, while the RaceBits Y Pipe is definitely better designed. Other than that, I have nothing to add.
 
newb said:
one thing, one of the most important on headers is the thickness of the flanges. the ones on the racebits are alot thicker than the msds headers.
i hope to have mine mounted in a month or so.
Click to expand...

Thicker flanges are nice, but keep in mind there is a metallurgical difference between stainless and mild steel. Any stainless I've ever worked with just pulls harder when it has been heated and cooled, such as in welding it. Another words, thicker flanges are more crucial with stainless than on mild steel. However, I'm not trying to make a case for thinner flanges just stating that the MIG welded mild steel flanges probably pull less.

One thing to look at on the Racebits Y-pipe is the exit flange. That flange more than likely started life as 3/8" plate stock. The piece I have in my hands appears to be surface ground on the outboard face (gasket side) leaving it plus/minus 5/16" in spots, which in my mind tells me they are trying to be rid of some of the pull that occurred after welding. By running a straight edge along that surface you can still see some of the bow.

That's just the nature of the beast. A person could go thicker, maybe machine more off for an even truer surface as a counter measure, but the average Bear most likely is saying, "That's why they have gaskets." :cool:


CSVT#49 said:
x2... while I don't doubt you see something on the y-pipe, I do doubt it is rust. If their pipes are made of 300 series stainless, it won't rust. It will discolor, which is normal, but it will not rust. It would only rust if it was made of 400 series stainless.

EDIT: Their website states T304 stainlesss steel... you are not seeing rust.
Click to expand...

Actually... :laugh:

There is a thing called cross contamination that can happen with stainless. This can happen as early as it being formed through the rollers at the mill or later when grinding on or machining. Tooling chips or grinding dust particles have a chance to imbed themselves into the surface of the work piece. These left over particles can rust.

High amounts of heat will cause 304 to corrode and 304 will rust if its exposed to loads of salt. Which is why I don't think it's used much in the marine world. I've also heard that chlorine will screw with 304 pretty badly causing it to corrode.

I wouldn't recommend running your 304 stainless headers down a MN winter road with all the salt we use...plus the added heat from driving...yikes! :blackeye:
 
Sorry i have not gotten any pictures.. I have been stupid busy with work and homework i needed to catch up on, along with my SVT breaking every 5 miles..
I will get some up tomorrow, that i promise. I really do think that it is rust, it looks just like the crap on my old stock Y pipe/cat.

Pictures are work 1000 words so i will get them up early tomorrow.
 
DSCN0097.jpg


There is the picture of my Y pipe. I cannot get any more/better pictures as my SVT doesn't move yet. If anyone needs/wants more just lemme know. I should have my SVT going by tonight!
 
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