OBX Longtube Headers

[Badbubba]

Originally Posted by MarylandSpeed

That like saying there are only so many ways to make a car...you know four wheels..engine..hood. It's all the same. Or a phone...speaker, mic, screen..it's all the same.

I can give you 10 headers from 10 different brands, and besides being bent pipe, none of them look similar (assuming you have some basic cognitive ability). There are difference not only in the bends, but in overall length. So when one header is the exact mirror image of another, plus works with that companies mid pipes, yes it is a copied design.

Yes, there are two headers in this picture.....





If designing a header was so easy, and R&D is something with no cost and value..why don't they design their own stuff? Would seem like the right way to build business to me? Certainly would shut me up. But I bet it is hard to R&D prototypes when all your machinery is owned by a contract manufacturer overeas.

The thing is, most people forget this stuff is designed using very expensive equipment like CMM arms that map the engine bay. They are also bent on CNC benders. Both of these require damn near engineers to run and program. That is why when you buy a header now, it fits, and has a life time warranty.

Also forgotten is 15 years ago and earlier, installing headers was a terrible experiance. Sure you could get some $200 Hooker or whatever headers at Pep Boys or Track Auto. But they were mild steal, and made with zero consistancy because nothing was made on computer controlled equipment. It was the norm to have to beat headers to get them to fit, or cut your car. 5 years later when the header rusted away, you did the same thing over. And there was no complaining on a forum about a header rubbing..you just dealt with it...it is part of the game.

Because of that, the whole value in a Kooks header, or any of the premium brands is their fit. The fact that they spent 400 hours engineering a header using high dollar equipment. The fact that they are made on computer controlled CNC benders, and welded in high dollar jigs so that every header is the same. The fact that the person who makes them actually knows what they are welding, and the support rep on the phone likely has first hand experiance with your car are part of the value.

Again...my point is..if it was easy, and it was just bent pipe..then I see no reason to ever steal anyones design.

WOW on the photo.

[matt55]

Originally Posted by S3XPanther

Don't need one. Look at the pics posted earlier. They obviously copied the ball and socket Kooks design.

Iam not talking about the ball and socket, but where primaries merg together.
the obx looks like it has a 2" crease
the kooks look like it has 4 crease

[MarylandSpeed]

The main difference is that they do not use a merge collector like Kooks, so that is different. The placement and length of the collector is the same however. Also, they use multiple segments welded togethor because for some reason they can't bend the complex one peice primaries like Kooks. The overall length however is the same because Kooks mid pipes work with them. Matter of fact, when we did our dyno test, we only used Kooks mids.

Originally Posted by matt55

Do you have a side by side of the colectors?
Its looks different to me like the obx mergs are shorter.

[matt55]

Originally Posted by MarylandSpeed

The main difference is that they do not use a merge collector like Kooks, so that is different. The placement and length of the collector is the same however. Also, they use multiple segments welded togethor because for some reason they can't bend the complex one peice primaries like Kooks. The overall length however is the same because Kooks mid pipes work with them. Matter of fact, when we did our dyno test, we only used Kooks mids.

Thank you for taking time to dig up pics.

[Quick]

Well,after all the grief you gave me on my thread about shorty headers.I decided to see the light and go lt's like you said. Yesterday I ordered my OBX headers from e-bay. 689.00 with high flow cats delivered to my door.Thanks m-speed for showing me the way.....Quick.

[ss/rs-matt]

Here, you guys really want to make a difference? You really want jobs to come back to the US? You really want american workers to make a fair wage? I present to you the man who started it all, the GOP god and hero of Faux news. Put your vote where you mouth is because bitching about here will never change anything.

[Mud]

oh and I'm going to have them built in Canada because, well, thats ok with everybody.

You keep bringing that strawman up.

It's not about where it's manufactured, it's about copying another's design and selling it as your own.

[ss/rs-matt]

Originally Posted by Mud

You keep bringing that strawman up.

It's not about where it's manufactured, it's about copying another's design and selling it as your own.

I understand. There really is two aurguments here. One is that we should only buy american. My response to that on this forum is, your a hypocrite and if you really believed that you would of bought a mustang which is manufactured in Detroit.
Two, that this header is copied. Ok, maybe it is, so what. There are lots of products that are copied, from sunglasses to watches to guitars to shoes. It doesn't matter. Some people like myself are fine with wearin fake Oakleys or playing a replica Chinese guitar. I would never spend $300 on sunglasses or $10,000 on a watch, EVER! Therefore by my buyin a copy I'm not taking away from Oakley or Rolax. Below is a picture of my Jim Beam Gibson guitar. It is a fake, a made in china knock off. The real one sell for around $8000 to $10,000. I'm into mine with aftermarket Seymour Duncan pickups for maybe $400. Guess what, it plays and sounds awesome and looks great on my guitar wall. Point is, I'm not in the market for a $8000 guitar and never will be, so who am I hurting? No one.

[dekan513]

im going to find someone around me with kooks and ill pay for the dyno testing and ill do the mech work on mine and if they want a shop to do it on theres or if they are brand new just put them on a car urs or mine and do a dyno comparison of the 2. i want to know myself. i have the obx and they look good to me i do a lil welding not much but i have a friend that owns a mining repair place that does nothing but repairing equipment so i know the diff and they look like a good product to me. im sure they will be cases where one may have a problem but i bet my car that the other companies aswell have had some problems with theirs too.
but again im waiting for my 1g so i can replace mine just pm and ill give u my paypal account info.
remember go look around your car i bet it has alot of china or japan parts on it. from factory

[1969geauxmaro]

So, I am not posting this to argue or start anything. I have two kids under 4yrs old. If I were single and had extra money I would've bought the Kooks just because they are made in America. But diapers and formula and daycare and dance fees are kinda expensive these days. Actually I had Kooks on my last car. I got the OBX with the High Flow Cats today and I have to say I am impressed with what you get for the price. So, I will install them once my O2 extensions come in and try to document with a video or some pics.




Thanks guys. CANT WE ALL JUST GET ALONG!!LOL

[1969geauxmaro]

Oh thought you guys might want to see what my dad and I are working on currently..

[matt55]

Got mine today

[ss/rs-matt]

Nice looking headers! They really look great after about 500 miles when they turn this bluish purple. Reminds me of chrome pipes on a Harley. Looks awesome!

[ss/rs-matt]

Hey you guys should look at the ports and report whether they are smoothed out. In my OBX thread I was told mine were a fluke for being so nice. Something about I must of got lucky cause these are made with Walmart lawn furniture or some BS like that.