Ebay headers

[JDM88]

Anyone got one? I know for Subie's the borla replica headers were of better quality than the originals but on miata.net the general consensus tends to be negative (nothing out of the ordinary then for anything cheap ;) ).

[metalman]

RE: Ebay headers

They work but often need 'fitting' with a hammer. On EGR models sometimes things dont line up either. On some the O2 bung is in a crappy area. Sometimes they fit fine, its a crapshoot. :)
Some OBX stuff is okay, some doesnt fit right. The OBX catbacks for NAs seem good for the money. The Racing Beat header is probably the best fit and quality for a Miata. Jackson Racing is good too.

[JDM88]

RE: Ebay headers

Groovy. There were some worrying pictures of an ebay header where the pipe really didn't line up well with the flange.

[amaff]

RE: Ebay headers

Yeah I've seen some scary ugly e-bay knockoffs. I just stayed patient and bought a used RB 4-1 at a decent price off of the miata.net classifieds.

[JDM88]

RE: Ebay headers

Notice much of a difference?

[amaff]

RE: Ebay headers

From stock? lol yes. There's the small bump in peak power, but it really changes how its delivered. It's a very nice piece.

[MeFryRice]

RE: Ebay headers

Yeah I've seen some scary ugly e-bay knockoffs. I just stayed patient and bought a used RB 4-1 at a decent price off of the miata.net classifieds.

^^ I agree 100%. When it comes to performance parts, I strongly recommend saving up and buying quality parts instead of settling. If you going to go through the hassle of removing the OEM stuff, I'd do it right the first time knowing that you won't have an issues down the road.

[simontibbett]

RE: Ebay headers

I used to only use eBay headers on my cars, and NEVER had a problem with any. And for the record, NEVER had one crack. BUT my RB header is complete cracking hell.

[MeFryRice]

RE: Ebay headers

Some people getting lucky like that I guess.

[Sawyer]

RE: Ebay headers

^^ I agree 100%. When it comes to performance parts, I strongly recommend saving up and buying quality parts instead of settling. If you going to go through the hassle of removing the OEM stuff, I'd do it right the first time knowing that you won't have an issues down the road.

Agreed.
It seems like everyone on Mazda-speed.com has an Ebay intercooler etc. on their cars. As tempting as it is for the price, I'd rather save up and buy a quality part.

[JDM88]

RE: Ebay headers

Well I think it varies dramatically from part to part. Alot of things can be of equal quality when it's a complete ripoff from of another original design. The procedures involved aren't out of the ordinary and shouldn't be anything too challenging for the infamous Chinese factories.

[MeFryRice]

RE: Ebay headers

Actually, a lot of the parts these days are made in the same factories. It's up to the manufacturer to determine the quality of the item. Most of the off-name stuff just wants to make an easy profit and arn't looking for quality which would draw costs up.

[JDM88]

RE: Ebay headers

They also don't bother with expensive advertising campaigns which lead to lower prices.

[MeFryRice]

RE: Ebay headers

They also don't take the time to dyno their products before releasing them either so they have no clue if it's better or worse. This has been a big debate on the S2K boards as all the off brands have been post tuned and proved to hurt the powerband then help it.

[JDM88]

RE: Ebay headers

Really? That's surprising. In the Subaru community I recall the OBX EL header matched and surpassed some of the name brand ones. As for the ebay UL header, it was identical to the Borla header except it had better welds and never cracked!