NEW LONG TUBE HEADERS.....

[morrisg]

Ok, I have removed the stock exhaust system from my 2009 Touring 6 speed and here are the weights of the individual pieces:

Stock header is 16 lbs not counting the heat shields; stock midpipe is 17.5 lbs; stock muffler is 27 lbs, so total stock system is 60.5 lbs.

The PPE long tube header system came in at 34.5 lbs without any muffler; add 7 lbs for a Goodwin Race Single muffler for a total of about 41.5 lbs.

That's a total savings of 19 lbs overall, but it's broken up into some interesting chunks: the PPE header is 2 lbs lighter than stock; the PPE midpipe is 3 lbs heavier than stock; the Goodwin Race Single is 20 lbs lighter than stock. So this exhaust system is going to remove a great deal of weight (20 lbs) from the rear with a large moment arm to the center of gravity of the car. This should reduce any rear pendulum effect in autox maneuvers, meaning more stick at the rear!

Gee, all this and more power, too!

[morrisg]

Install Notes on the PPE Long Tube Header. I have the car mostly back together except for the battery and resonator and last end pipe plus turndown. Just wanted to post some experience with the install here before I forget.

I removed the battery, battery case, and completely removed the alternator. This is simple, just a few screws and it really opens things up for access to the other parts. Removing the drive belt from the alternator pulley is simple as Mazda uses a spring tensioner. Just put a 14mm wrench on it and rotate it clockwise to relieve tension on the belt and slip it off the pulley.

I built my own extensions for the oxygen sensors by cutting the wires and splicing in 30 inches of high temperature teflon wire for the first sensor (pre cat) (black connector) and splicing in 42 inches of wire for the second sensor (post cat) (gray connector). The 30 inches is about right for my mounting path, but the 42 inches is maybe 4 inches too long. I routed the wires using cable mounts, only I took off the normal foam sticky pads and used 3M VHB foam sticky pads, plus I cleaned the mounting points on the car using isopropyl alcohol. I chose to route the sensor wiring up against the heat shield on the passenger side of the transmission tunnel and transitioned to the metal bodywork as the wires entered the engine compartment. This keeps the wiring as far away from the header as possible. However, this was a major PITA: If Brian has extensions for both oxygen sensors I recommend you purchase them and make this plug and play.

Getting the stock header out was not easy as the opening just didn't seem big enough, even without the battery case or alternator in the way. Don't worry, just keep trying things and be gentle, don't force anything. I got things wedged once or twice and it took me awhile to undo my mistakes. Patience, grasshopper, it does come out without using a hammer. Same advice for putting the PPE header in. At one point I thought I had to remove the motor mount, but you don't. Just backed out, started over and found a way to get it in. I think I tilted the header more vertical so the pipes went straight down and moved things towards the rear of the engine compartment as much as possible and then it slipped in. It goes in from the top, though I did try to get it in from below once! Wrong Answer! :<P

You won't need a new exhaust gasket or any sealer as the Mazda stock one is metal and doesn't use any sealer or goop.

Take a picture of how the stock midpipe is connected to the stock header using the springs. You will copy that order of hardware with the PPE header / midpipe and it's easier to look at a pic than to try to remember at 10pm.

After the PPE header was in, I was trying to fasten the heat shield with the screws that go in from underneath. Once I got the two front screws started, it was much easier to go underneath the car and use two 6 inch extensions and a 3 inch extension for my wrench and then just tighten them from below. I didn't do it this way when removing the heat shield so I don't know if it is possible when the stock header is in place.

Ok, that's it for now. I'll finish tomorrow and report on how things turned out.

[mitchman]

(Morris is probably enjoying his new header so much he hasn't provided a final post for us!)

[morrisg]

I haven't posted til now because I have little to report, but since you asked, here is the state of things.

Everything went together easily and fits well. It was important to not tighten the midpipe to header or the clamps holding the three midpipe sections until everything was mounted and positioned properly. Then it was easy to tighten the spring loaded bolts for the midpipe to header connection and then the clamps holding the resonator to the fore and aft sections of the midpipe.

Started the car and everything worked well, No CELs at all, not at the beginning and none up to now.

However, I tried a simple turndown pipe after the midpipe because that is what I had on hand, and it is LOUD. So loud, that I only opened the throttle completely twice on an uphill stretch of test road further away from my house, a lot further away. My butt dyno is no more accurate than anyone elses, but it told me there was a LOT MORE POWER, especially in the midrange. But it was so loud, I was sure any cop within a mile of me would come straight to me with his lights on.

So I came home and put the stock muffler on. And it works but has choked off most of the new found power (again, butt dyno results and not reliable). So I have ordered a Goodwin Race Single with baffle, contacted a friend with a Goodwin Street Single, and I'm going to test May 5 & 6 at an event. We'll see what levels the car blows and I'll report if either of these setups brings it into sound compliance for SCCA STR class.

In the meantime, the San Diego Tour is running this weekend and they will also take sound measurements. I know of two cars that will have the PPE LTH installed and we will see how they do.

[mitchman]

Thanks for the update Morris. I look forward to hearing your car next weekend. Should sound AWESOME!

[Brian]

Dyno Report.....supplied by PPE.

Dyno Run 1: Stock car with only an intake.
Dyno Run 2: PPE Long tube header +PPE midpipe + GW RoadsterSport Race muffler + same intake.

Conclusion:
V2 PPE Long tube header + PPE midpipe with free flowing muffler improves a stock car by gain + 12.7hp, + 9.8tq

[Brian]

Supplied by PPE, this is a very interesting comparison our PPE STR header with converter, and the new PPE LONG TUBE header. The comparison shows the gains in torque across a broad range.

1: STR Prepped MX5: 2 dynos (File: PPEMX5 V1_vs_V2.pdf)
Dyno 1 PPE orig catted header + PPE midpipe and GW RoadsterSport Race muffler: 154.3hp; 138.1 ft-lbs torque
Dyno 2 PPE Long tube header +PPE midpipe + GW RoadsterSport Race muffler: 154.3hp, 144.1 tq

Conclusion:
V2 vs V1 header in tuned STR car has same max hp, but, + 6.0tq

[morrisg]

The interesting thing about the stock to PPE header dyno chart is not just the 9% horsepower gain at peak.

Look all across the rpm band and what you see are solid gains from 2500 rpm right up to 6800 rpm. And a big chunk comes in at 3750 to 5200 rpm. This really shows off the value of those long primaries in building torque down in the midrange. It looks great higher in the rpm range too!

I wonder what will happen when someone does the tuning of the ECU with this setup in place. I haven't seen any A/F ratios with these dyno runs, so we don't know if there's more power that's been left on the table by the stock tune. Anyone know if MotoEast is planning on doing this? Or Dynotronics? It might be interesting to see what a specific tune can add to these curves.

Great looking header performance! You might be seeing more sales of this setup, Brian!

[mitchman]

Thanks for posting this Brian. I wonder how much weight is saved going from the catted header to the long tube (no cat) header?

[Brian]

Thanks for posting this Brian. I wonder how much weight is saved going from the catted header to the long tube (no cat) header?

Pretty good data for that question at top of this page.

[ronbauer]

I installed ours yesterday on our DP car. I can tell you that the PPE setup weighs about 6 pounds more than the Goodwin header and mid pipe. So it better do better power wise...

Will be running the car later today and will have a better idea after that whether there is a difference seat of the pants.

Sound-wise, so far it seems similar, if not slightly quieter. It does have a larger cat and reasonator, so if it is quieter, that would probably be why.

The Goodwin stuff is now on our STR-light street car.

Ron

[bob_]

I installed the long tube header and pipe on my 2009 GT soft top last weekend and have put about 500 miles on. This car has Goodwin's RoadsterSport II duals on as well. Immediately I noticed an increase in power and some more noise over the stock header and pipe. However, under 2500 it's surprisingly quiet. Accelerate above 4k and the exhaust pops a bit when shifting - no biggie, just needs tuned. Over all it sounds very sporty. There is an unexpected stereo effect produced by the RoadsterSport duals that sounds NICE under overpasses, in tunnels, and whatnot.

Some installation notes:
- be sure to read the product description closely. You need 2 extension cords - 1 long length and 1 medium length. I ordered only one and had to put up with a CEL for a few days.
- the o2 sensor cannot be removed from the factor header without an o2 socket.
- the 2 band clamps around the resonator leak. Maybe I overtightened them. I'll have these joints welded.
- There was a leak in the joint between the midpipe and muffler. Upon closer inspection a ring gasket on the stock midpipe had made an impression on the RoadsterSport II gasket. I carefully positioned this ring gasket back where it has been, tightened, and no leak.
- I followed morrisg's advice (see above post) about removing the stock header and installing this one. Things went fairly smoothly. I did scratch the bottom of the lowest pipe on the header pretty badly during installation. It's only visible under the car, and is in a place where road debris would have scratched it anyway. It's not a beauty contest, but if you're concerned with scratches, wrap that pipe in something before installation.
- This can be installed in a day if you have the tools on hand.

I am very happy with the entire exhaust setup. The old tubes are off to the scrap metal yard this afternoon!

[morrisg]

Sound Report on PPE LTH with Goodwin Race Single and Roadster Sport Duals:

I was sound control at a recent autox event and took measurements of all the competing cars which included two with the new PPE LTH header midpipe combo: my 09 NC2 STR MX5 with the Goodwin Race Single and Ron Bauer's DP NC2 MX5 with the Goodwin Roadster Sport Duals. The STR car blew 88 db with both a 4 year old Goodwin Race Single (with baffle) and a new Goodwin Race Single (with baffle). No difference due to any carbon buildup in the Race Single mufflers. This was measured at 50 feet in calm wind conditions on a 70 degree sunny day. The DP car blew 85 db with the Roadster Sport Duals. Both of these setups would work at any SCCA event with 93db limits like San Diego, which is the most restrictive limits I know of for SCCA Solo competition.

At the San Diego SCCA National Tour event, the PPE LTH + Goodwin Race Single w/baffle equipped 06 STR MX5 blew 91db or less, usually in the high 80s. Another 06 STR MX5 with the PPE LTH + a custom muffler blew 90.2db at full throttle on the Test N Tune course. Neither car had any problems with the 93db limit for the event.

Bottom line: The PPE LTH plus a Goodwin Race Single w/baffle should be good to go for SCCA Solo competition events.

As for everyday use, I drove over 200 miles each way to last weekend's event with the Goodwin Race Single plus baffle installed, plus a number of days beforehand around town. While it isn't terribly loud at partial throttle around my neighborhood, it can get too loud for everyday use when I put my foot in it and I tend to do that a lot. Plus I found it tiring after a few hours on the highway at 65 to 75 mph. For everyday use I would probably go with the Roadster Sport Duals which are quieter yet give plenty of flow for making power. Ron Bauer's DP car with the Roadster Sport Duals was comparatively quiet at 85db under full throttle on the autox course, so that's probably a better setup for the street if you don't want to attract a lot of attention.

[Brian]

Thanks for the great report on the sound details.

Also, big Congrats to fellow PPE Long Tube customer Max Hayter for overcoming the S2000 threat to win the Pro Solo at El Toro!

[Flex]

Supplied by PPE, this is a very interesting comparison our PPE STR header with converter, and the new PPE LONG TUBE header. The comparison shows the gains in torque across a broad range.

1: STR Prepped MX5: 2 dynos (File: PPEMX5 V1_vs_V2.pdf)
Dyno 1 PPE orig catted header + PPE midpipe and GW RoadsterSport Race muffler: 154.3hp; 138.1 ft-lbs torque
Dyno 2 PPE Long tube header +PPE midpipe + GW RoadsterSport Race muffler: 154.3hp, 144.1 tq

Conclusion:
V2 vs V1 header in tuned STR car has same max hp, but, + 6.0tq

Are those tested on the same car or different cars ? Because it seems to me that the red line is a NCFL 2009+ (7500 rpm max) while the blue a 2006-2008 (7K max)
If so, we should consider the power gap between NC and FL....