The Temple of VTEC - Honda and Acura Enthusiasts Online - Articles - Project TSX Product Test: DC Sports 4-2-1 Headers: DC Sports AHC6016 Ceramic-coated 4-2-1 Headers for 2004-up Acura TSX

Introduction

Stock Manifold vs. DC Sports

OEM "funnel" collector

For quite a while our TSX Project car's sole upgrade under the hood was an AEM Short Ram System Intake, which we tested about a year ago. The gains from that simple and rather inexpensive upgrade were pretty impressive, so our next plan was to see what a set of headers would add to the equation. We didn't think it would take another year for us to take that next step, but gosh, time flies. Fortunately that long drought led to a virtual monsoon of performance parts testing - in the last two months we have installed and tested 4 engine-related upgrades on the project TSX, starting with the Hondata ECU Reflash. The DC Sports 4-2-1 header was the 2nd to be tested.

Design

DC Sports' header offering for the TSX is a fairly standard 2-piece 4-2-1 design, constructed of ceramic-coated mild steel. This is compared to the stock header, also a 2-piece design, which gives the appearance of a 4-1 design, but is actually a somewhat crude 4-2-1 internally. The OEM design has 4 rather short primaries dumping into a large diameter funnel shaped collector which then connects to a single large diameter pipe to deliver the spent gases to the catalytic converter. Inside the collector, there's a plate about 6 inches long that bisects it horizontally (see photo), effectively merging the primaries of cylinders 2-3 and 1-4 together. The DC Sports is a proper Tri-Y design, using merge collectors which improve flow characteristics compared to the stock system.

Impressions

My past header purchases have been stainless steel Mugen pieces, each running over $1000, so I was surprised when I saw a list price of only $435.24 on the DC Sports header. That's quite a deal IF the header delivers gains. Of course one reason it's so reasonably priced is the ceramic coated mild steel construction, but if performance is your main concern, the cost savings are a nice bonus. If you really want to have a pretty set of stainless pipes sticking out of your TSX's motor, don't forget that the header is mostly hidden between the engine and the firewall, so most people wouldn't even notice your extra expense. The question then comes down to durability. I don't personally have any experience with ceramic coated headers, but I understand that there can be problems if the coating becomes compromised. During installation it's important that the headers are handled properly. Basically you want to ensure that the finish remains fully intact and that the headers are very clean and free of oils before firing up the motor for the first time. Other than that the only other thing I noticed about the appearance of the DC Sports Ceramic Coated headers was that the (less costly to produce) MIG welded joints aren't as pretty as TIG welded joints seen on some of the pricier alternatives, but again, that's something that's nearly invisible once the headers are installed. Everything you need to perform the installation (except of course, the tools) is included in the box.