UEL Header Questions & Concerns

Hey there everyone! I'm fairly new with this whole car situation, my first car (and only car so far) has been a 1997 Subaru Legacy GT 2.5, now It is a great car but I'm not pleased with the sound of the exhaust. I want something louder, more powerful. But me, not being familiar with cars, has barely a clue where to look or start. I've looked at UEL Headers, EL Headers, and not quite sure if it'll even help my situation.

If I could have any help in where and what parts to look for that will get the sound I want, for decent price, would be greatly appreciated. I'm not too good with cars, but I'm learning!

UEL headers will help give you the "boxer rumble" but they can be quite expensive.

Buying a muffler and resonator and having a shop weld everything up will save some money over a catback.. How much are you looking to spend on everything?

200-300 dollars, being a highschool student with no job doesn't help my money situation. I also want to get my car lowered but thats another 250 (without labor costs) for the springs alone, so I have a bit of saving to do. What type of muffler and resonator would I get?

I could maybe squeeze 300-400 out of my savings but it'd be more that i'd like to spend, so if there is a cheaper way, I'd rather do that.

I've been a long time fan of Magnaflow. Vibrant makes a good resonator too.

 

Check out http://www.performancepeddler.com

I looked for my make and model and found a few catalytic converters, struts, and a oxygen sensor. Would I find a resonator on that website as well?

You wouldn't have to go by your model, really. Just find a muffler with tip you like the looks of. Probably 2.25" inlet.

Oem resonator should be fine

I found this to be a nice muffler tip,

http://www.magnaflow.com/02product/shopexd.asp?zone=main&id=11086

And for the Oem resonator, I couldn't find any for the few minutes i was looking around on google and ebay. Any idea where I could find it?

If you like it, you should get it

The oem resonator, I mean the factory one thats on your car already. A new one wont change the sound too much

So just to make sure I'm putting my money where I should, this would make my car generally louder? I'll be going to a muffler shop tomorrow in town to check it out, their website says they sell them there.

you might call performancepeddler to check prices, they are usually considerably cheaper (in my experience) than anywhere else. You just have to call to get the best price.

 

if you have the stock muffler now, the Magnaflow will make it louder.

 

this one is my favorite, and what I have on my car

http://www.magnaflow.com/02product/shopexd.asp?zone=main&id=11105

Ill definitely go and look at that one. Are you pleased with the sound on your car? & I'll definitely call and see if its better than the price at the local muffler shop.

Also, thank you so much for your help. I'm pretty clueless when it comes to things like this involving cars and what not so I'm pretty stoked on getting this done. I also want to get my car lowered but do I have to get my shocks and struts replaced? Or just buy the lowering springs?

You're welcome. I'm by far an expert, I learn more every day but I try and help!

I love the sound. Hope you like whatever you get.

 

From what I've read, you can install just the springs, but it will severely limit the life of your shocks. The lower you go, the worse it is on them.

Ah I see, do the size of my tires affect how low I can go? I don't even know how far my car is off the ground, but its just a little too high for my taste and bothers me.

Width of the tire can effect it, but I think you would have to be significantly wider than stock to cause any problems. Do some searching on here and you'll find a lot of info about which springs would be best, how much they will lower it, etc.

You need two things to make your LGT sound great- an uel header and have a good shop weld your choice of Magnaflow muffler on there for you.

 

Type in 'Subaru 2.5rs header' on eBay- they are $140 shipped

Booze, I found a header on eBay, but I went to a few mechanic shops and got quotes for labor, now the one I went to get the muffler installed and get the resonator removed gave me a quote of 160. I went to a different place and they quoted me 200 but also said I would need new gaskets which they didn't give me a price for, is this true?

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=181073095905&index=0&nav=SEARCH&nid=83883055453

Also, are there any other complications I should be aware about?

Install the header yourself, its very simple on an NA Subaru. Literally one of the first times I ever turned a wrench was installing a rsb and header on a 2.5rs.

 

Have the shop weld a new muffler after the rear axle flange, and be done with it with a sweet rumbling Subaru.

What tools do I need to do this? Obviously a jack to put the car up but I'm not even sure where the stock header is. Just worried ill mess something up which is not the best situation when it's my only way around.

You'll need some sort of penetrating oil spray, a socket set and some muscle. Spray the nuts & bolts with the penetrating oil a day before you start on it

Well you can spend a couple hundred bucks for it to he done for you, or you can save half of that and learn how to do this yourself. It's really not difficult if you are at least somewhat mechanically inclined.

 

You'll need a socket set and extensions, some penetrating spray, and either ramps or jack stands. Under the front of the car is the header, its the exhaust piping surrounding the oil pan. Take the aftermarket header and you'll see exactly what you're removing, two points under the motor (3 nuts x 2) and the flange before the first cat (2 bolts). Remove old and replace with new, but get everything loosely installed and then tighten it all up after its basically installed. Should be obvious if its leaking.

 

Search RS25.com, here and nasioc for DIY guides with details and pics. And get your ass in there and learn something new!