F355 - What type of headers should i go for?

Hi.
First: I would be happy with either Fabspeed or Nouvalari...

I bought Nouvalari for a few reasons:

1.The cost. I do own a Ferrari, but not a yacht or an island.

2. 4-2-1...I think the 355 needs every bit of mid-range it can get. The top end? I spend very little time there. 70% of my driving is in the mids, from 3500-5500. I will see 8500 once in 6-7 drives. I say hello to 7000 often though. I just don't vacation there as if I were on a track. The top end will scream no matter which system you choose. GOT to LOVE a 355. wow.

3. Tazio Nouvalari was Enzo's favorite racer, {arguably, yes} It's not a huge reason, but I do like the racing heritage connected to Ferrari, which Nouvalari is, as a company. Same family, from what a Nouvalari rep told me. Yah, I know.....whatever.

What I wish I knew ahead of time? OK....i did not know that they would take exactly one month to make. The wait was....excruciating as I could not drive with a blown driver's side manifold.

I wish I knew the heat was going to affect the alternator, despite ceramic coating and simple heat shields... About to do my second rebuild. As of right now I am guessing the regulator got cooked AGAIN. Rebuild on Friday. Second rebuild in 700 miles.

 

Tubi is 4-2-1 and has proper heat shielding, which is important as the engine bay of the 355 is a very hot place to begin with even with the factory and Tubi heat shielded manifolds.

 

Guess that is why they are the big bucks.

 

I would suggest talking to representatives from the companies who's products your interested in. Go in with an open(unbiased)/non-influenced mindset and determine which best suits yours application, taste in sound & aesthetics, and budget.

 

I would also talk with a couple of the top mechanics like Dave Helms and Brian Crall and get their opinion as well.

 

scroll down to the link... great headers in the clamshells.... not $7000

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/348-355-sponsored-bradan/456286-fabspeed-exhaust.html

 

Tubi headers are mandrel bent. I believe they are purge welded also. They use 304 s/s which is 2mm thick. They are slightly thicker than 16 gauge s/s which is 1.59mm or .0625". Of course they use the 4-2-1 design and are shielded. Every aftermarket company uses at least 304 s/s or better. Tubi pipe diameters are 40/54/60.

 

JPExhausts rebuild the primary pipes on the OEM headers and use the original collector. They seemed to be interested in rebuilding the whole header and not just the primaries when I told them that was what I was looking for.

JP Exhausts Gallery | Jp Exhausts Ltd

Quicksilver would not rebuild the whole header. They would just rebuild the primaries.

 

I went with tubi headers, tubi downpipes and tubi exhaust with bradan y pipe

 

And once again I will repeat... I was told by both of these gentlemen , one directly and personally and the other indirectly that the best option out there at this time are new OEM headers.

The pricing on them is competitive with all of the other mentioned brands FYI. Do your homework on this issue. I have posted the invoice for what I paid for mine last year. If you need the link , let me know.

They come with a Two year warranty , the same as tubi as well. My '97 headers lasted 22000 miles, if these improved ones do that or better I will be pleased.

 

I was not questioning you, I was suggesting that anyone that is looking at headers should look at at having them properly insulated. I know what Dave recommends, he is my friend and has taken care of my 355 for almost 9 years and 2 majors. My car is one of his test mules for his products. He currently believes factory headers are the best solution for properly running cars (which he will also tell you are not the majority of the 355s out there today).

 

I've got 70.000 km or 40.000 miles on my Fabspeed headers with there heat shields.I have never had a problem with the headers or alternator.I did get them coated black on my major 3mths ago and they look like new now.

 

I was on the Nouvalari website yesterday and emailed them regarding prices for both the ceramic coated headers and their exhaust. According to his response, they don't make the headers anymore...

" hi Christopher the price for the rear box is £895 plus shipping plus vat we no longer do the manifolds regards Richard"

 

Is there a problem with that? I've never heard of anything but primaries failing. Quicksilver does use 304 SS and heavier gage than OEM, and claim they have had no failures. Maybe I'm a cheap SOB, but it seems like a more that satisfactory solution and the most economical. OEM flow paths, shields, reasonable price.

 

Sorry. That wasn't meant as a retort to you but just a general comment.

 

No problem with it. I figured if I was going to have the primaries re-tubed I would have the whole header rebuilt. Quicksilver and JPExhausts both use 304 s/s. I haven't seen any pictures of the Quicksilver headers but the JPExhaust rebuilt headers appear to have mandrel bent primary tubes.

 

Rebuilt ones look like this, in process:
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

^ of course the insulation and heat shields will be reinstalled before they are complete.

 

I know shielding was important to Dave from some of the old header threads that he posted on. Since Dave is recommending these headers, I am sure he would probably know the answers to a few of these questions. If you speak with him, could you ask him these questions?

When were these headers updated? During the F355 production run or more recently.

What type of s/s was used?

What is thickness or gauge of s/s used?

I had looked into these a few years ago when Capristo had these on sale, which was about $800 more than what Bob had paid for his. No details or specifics were provided to my questions.
Ferrari 355 : Ferrari 355 Motronic 5.2 Model OEM Header Set (2)

I had also inquired about these headers at two Ferrari dealerships and no one could provide answers.

Since this is one of the two major problems of the F355 and they are expensive, some of these details might help owners make a more informed decision.

Thanks.

 

Daniel, has JPExhausts started rebuilding the whole headers now as an option?

There is a picture in the gallery section on their website with a newly made F355 header, which looked very nice.

 

Great pictures Daniel. I presume those are Quicksilver, or are they JP? Either way, question for you. Do you have to pull the headers off your car and send them to be rebuild, or is it an exchange where you get a rebuild set and pay a core charge until you send you old set in, at which time you are refunded the core charge?

 

John, those headers are rebuilt by JPExhausts. The work looked very nice.

 

They are JP. I have several sets here at our facility in North Carolina. We send a pre-paid label for the customer to send their cracked ones to us. Once we see the parcel "scanned" by UPS, we'll send out one of our sets from inventory. That way, there are no core charges or substantial wait times.

 

See Jim's thread: (these look awesome!) http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/348-355-sponsored-bradan/404054-f355-headers-stainless-headers.html

 

Danial
Would you have any pictures of them final, with the shields installed?