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OBX Header

33K views 49 replies 29 participants last post by  BEZIZZLE 
#1 · (Edited)
I was skeptical about the OBX header at first, then after I went for a spin in Superskunks car I knew I really wanted one. There are noticeable torque gains throughout the RPM's and the needle moves considerably well through 5k to Redline where the Versa tends to bog down on performance. I love the header, I don't think anybody would be disappointed at all. I would say go for it, you will like the gains. The header definetly put a smile on my face as soon as i hit the gas I felt the car have more power and it makes the car just a lot more fun to drive. I had the header welded to the stock CAT's because I get pulled over all the time and the last thing I need is a cop to look under my car to find that Im running a straight pipe. Maybe later down the road I will put the straight pipe but for now it's just the header to the CAT's. The whole install took 2hrs 50min. and it cost me $130. i tried to get the pictures in some sort of order. Hope everyone likes the pictures.

Here are some pix of the install :)

The obx header








My Car that needs a wash, bad.


took out the oem cats



The oem header after the cats were taken out


The cats and the straight pipe side by side. i noticed that the straight pipe and the oem pipe have the same diameter


The heatshield (i didn't have them install this back on the obx header)


Oem header taken out, notice in the 4 pipes they are crimped at the end to fit in together, and then tightly packed in.





Notice the difference inside the OEM header compared to the Obx header at the beginning of the post. These look really small and restrictive.


Side by side comparison



Welded the flange from the down pipe onto the pre-cat



Obx header now installed and in place


Cut and adjusted my exhaust to make sure everything fit




Obx Header installed





So that's it for the pictures. Here is the exhaust video, first with the OEM header and then the OBX header and then some sound bytes at the end. hope you guys like it

 
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#33 ·
i was waiting for the Dc sport one because i got DC sport CAI and Catback i wanted so bad to keep it dc all the way.... saw some people here saying that versaspeed was testing one but it was last year posts. Now i sent an e-mail to DC sports in april they told me that by this summer we will be able to buy one.... that isnt true, the header still not available and dc do not answer to my mails anymore. So ill have to go for that obx one i think
 
#37 ·
Talked to a DC Sports sales rep and he said, as well as Bob from Versaspeed, that they are just waiting for it to be shipped...whatever that means..but they said it should be available the second week of August 2012...cross your fingers and wait if you want to...we'll see if this fans out
 
#39 ·
I've had the obx headers for a lil while now and no leaks at all. no problems. I reused the stock gasket instead of the cheap paper one that comes with the header. If you've never done a header install where it's facing the rear instead of the front, then I suggest you take it somewhere where they have lifts and the proper tools. CUZ IT'S A BITCH!
 
#40 ·
Any word on the DC HEADERS??? Been waiting a while for these...
That would be the last piece of the trifecta :)

BTW
Nobody ever mentions the need for a HAF Resonator when you install CAI and CATback; this should really be a topic.. Unless you want cops writing you up every so often.. I learned the hard way that the growl w/o is alot too EXTRA to do w/o one. Hoping the header doesn't throw me back to that volume once they are actually available and installed; have no tricks after that happens to silence it...
 
#42 ·
Just installed these headers last week, so I figure ill update this thread.

First things first, its a real PITA to do by yourself in the garage, but yeah its do-able.

Main problem I had was the fitment of the rear O2 sensor. When I snugged the bolts on the header/testpipe flange the wires on the sensor hit the heat shield. Tightening the bolts made it worse. I had to take off the heat shield entirely to torque the bolts all the way..

Fitment with the stock resonator was off too. It lifts the resonator up and causes it to hit the heat shield and thus sounding like horse shit.
(Oh and you will need to buy two 3/8x16 bolts to thread into the test pipe. For some stupid reason they don't include them, and none of the stock bolts will thread in.)

I managed to tweak the exhaust for the time being to not hit anything, but I'm going to weld a new exhaust from the test pipe back to get things sorted permanently.

Check engine light came on after 50 miles (removed cats), I switched from 87 to 89 octane and the code cleared itself and has been off since.

As far as power gains, its all mid range and top end. 3rd defiantly pulls harder and it moves quicker through the 5-6k rpm range in all gears.

I can't comment on sound to much right now as the only thing muffling it is the one stock resonator. Much too loud when you step on it... Like stupid loud. Hilarious really. I should really make a video so you all can get a good laugh before I weld on the rest of the exhaust.
 
#43 · (Edited)
Right, so how does switching octane make a cat efficiency code go away pray tell? Tell me your theory!

Also in a less condescending, more serious tone, what did you notice for gains? Entire range? Response?
 
#44 ·
lol tbh it was more of an observation. I'm not entirely sure how the secondary O2 sensor determines when to throw a code or not. I based my statement off my experience of switching fuels then having the code clear on the way home. In this case it could be any number of untested hypotheses :)

Power wise, low range seems unchanged. But lets say I do a WOT pull for 2nd and 3rd. At about 3.5-4k in second you can feel the torque difference and it will stay constant to red line. Shift to 3rd and the torque will keep pulling and the car gets moving pretty good. 4th is healthy as well but I wont rev it out that far on public roads...

Response in 6th at freeway speed (~70mph) is improved, but I still downshift to 5th if I want to pass quicker.

When downshifting, the revs pick up a little faster, but I think the light weight flywheel would make more of a difference.
 
#45 ·
Post cat sensor is a conventional narrow band sensor which sees the lean/rich sine wave, except the exhaust composition after the cat will be closer to stoich, so really it's monitoring that sensor for a very minimal swing (lean to rich) since the cat uses oxygen to oxidize the hydrocarbons from rich swings, causing the downstream composition to have less oxygen than the pre-cat mixture. Combine this with programmed values in ECM for the maximum post cat lean/rich variation and you get a code if the sensor feedback is over the threshold. After removing the cats, the sensor sees a switching singal that is too great because there is no post treatment.
 
#48 ·
Hey guys. So I have a 2008 Nissan versa sedan and I'm wanting to put the obx header and exhaust on it but I was wondering if someone could send me the link where I can buy it at. I have already been burnt once when buy a header. So just looking for a little help on where I can get the parts at. Thank you
 
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