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.
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!
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 wrote: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....
UPDATED Answer. I got an email from Jay, the SCCA STR class racer who owns the NC the testing was competed on. He informs me that the results are all on the SAME NC.
As Jay explains: "STR prepped car is mine - same car with same bumped limiter to ~ 7450rpm. Lower rpm dyno was soon after getting the ECU back.. I was hesitant on bumping up to the limiter back then. Be assured - those dynos are from the same car."
Brian Goodwin
Good-Win Racing
www.good-win-racing.com
What I found interesting is the sound comparison of the roadstersport headers versus the ppe long tube headers. I did some reading on both posts(this one and the older NC DYNO post). The information is old, so I'm not exactly sure how reliable it is.
[Aimless comparison of old headers versus new]
Would you guys agree that these numbers are accurate?
Last edited by Panic.button on Mon Jun 11, 2012 1:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Sorry, useless comparison...because those numbers are not on the same day, same humidity, same recording instrument, same distance, same section of the course, etc.
Certainly competitors are running both setups at the same event....and checking the sound logs might be helpful if you know who was running what.
Brian Goodwin
Good-Win Racing
www.good-win-racing.com
Panic.button wrote:But is it safe to assume that the PPE setup is louder than the roadstersport setup, both using a race single muffler?
Sorry, I would guess so....but that's merely a guess...and without comparison on same instrument at same event at same distance, etc.,....I don't actually know.
Brian Goodwin
Good-Win Racing
www.good-win-racing.com
