Re: Headers cause emissions changes, why?

[George Graves <gmgraves@domain.elided>]

On Friday, July 26, 2002, at 03:04 PM, alfa-digest wrote:

> Date: Fri, 26 Jul 2002 12:30:35 -0700
> From: Jon Pike <jhpike@domain.elided>
> Subject: Headers cause emissions changes, why?
>
> > You could buy some
> > "magic headers"  which would reduce your car's emissions to NOTHING, 
> > and
> > it would still be illegal to fit them to your car. That's the legal
> > answer. Now here's reality. Nobody who smogs your car is going to 
> > notice
> > (or care) that the headers aren't stock. All that is, ultimately,
> > important, is that your car still passes the smog test with the new
> > headers fitted. So, let your conscience be your guide.
> Good theory..  barring you being in CA or some other "original
> equipment" state,
That was my point, I was talking about California, which is an original 
equipment state. But the reality is that if the car passes the emissions 
test, nobody is going to care about the modification. I know too many 
people with performance headers on their CA Spiders, GTV-6's and Milanos 
who have never even had a smog station LOOK TWICE at their after-market 
headers. If the cars passed without problem before fitting the headers, 
they passed afterward too.



>  and your car has an
> air pump,  and the headers (like just about all of them) don't have air
> ports..
>
> I used to hear the classic Alfa cast iron headers were pretty darn good
> anyway..  you wouldn't get much
> out of a new one, for street use anyway,  is this still the case?
Actually, the only real-world advantage to fitting tubular headers on a 
V-6 car like a Milano or GTV-6 is to end manifold cracking. These cast 
iron headers do tend to crack - a lot. OTOH, one can also get a few more 
horsies at higher RPMs with the tubular headers, but not anything much 
in the mid-range. One would probably get more of a horsepower boost from 
fitting a K&N filter to the stock airbox than one would get from new 
headers.
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