Ok so I bought on eBay, a set of OBX Mirage Headers (4-2-1) in a nice brilliant stainless steel and all, in order to save a few hundred bucks. I did the research on here prior, so as not to have a problem, and found out that it could in-fact be done, and wasnt too big a problem.
Well... I didnt have the problem that everyone here discussed.

Everyone else had stated that the downpipe and the header are a bit short of eachother, but nothing a few extra gaskets couldnt fix...
Mine were in fact about 4-6 inches apart. and the downpipe was bent incorrectly (opposite direction to the natural bends of the Lancer).
They tried to use the stock downpipe, but the bolt pattern was 2 and the Header I have is 3, so that wasnt happenin' either.

So they said I was never getting these headers on this Lancer. Then charged me 45 bucks to tell me that. ...

So Im thinking I need to have someone make me a flange w/ a 3 bolt pattern to go in between and connect the Header & Downpipe to together.

Any Help or Ideas?

 

sell it and buy one for your car! not a mirage

a lot of people have had problems with these headers

 

Yes, PM Alchemist.

 

My advice: find a new shop. retards and welding don't mix. Here's how you fix this: cut off only the 3 bolt flange from the new DP and weld a spacer to a 2-bolt flange (you said 4-6" gap, you'd better measure). For that matter, you can cut the material you need off of the old DP since you're not gonna be using it anymore. Then bolt the flange/spacer to the header and tackweld the DP to the flange/spacer you just bolted up. Then either finish the welding under the car (messy but get's the job done) or take the DP/spacer off and finish the welding- up to you.

that's about all you can do, as I see it. someone else is gonna say "just get a custom DP " and, well, this is how you make a custom DP

 

AWESOME!!!

Thank You Man!!!

Im going to another shop then, and tellin' 'em this.

 

Something tells me its not going to come cheap. Would have been better off buying a lancer specific header (I guess the obvious answer isn't so obvious).

 

just a question but wouldn't the mirage header piping have a smaller diameter than heqaders made for lancers? being that the engine is a .2L smaller....

 

Not really, it wouldnt cus this Header and Downpipe were 135 (including ship.) and the RRM Headers (which are ugly) are 4 sumtin'. Even if the price were close itd still be worth it in my opinion, cus their the same basic thing AND their nicer lookin' in the end.


225 (Labor w/ straight back Exhaust)
+ 400 (Est. aftermarket header)
625

VS.

135
+ 225
360

Its a small burden of it takin' longer but I see it as a plus in the end.
That extra 265 could be coilovers or what-not later on...

 

I thought the same thing, but I searched before buyin' 'em, and found that their the same thing, only the Mirage's is a shorter length from header to downpipe (thats the 1.8 change), so the distance between the downpipe and the header is extended on the Lancers so it doesnt hit against the oil pan (and so it can actually connect. Like in my case).

 

Umm....The RRM headers are 319$ currently and are far from ugly (and honestly if you're buying headers based on looks you're a damn ricer). Kamikaze headers with downpipe are even cheaper I believe and thats if you buy them new. For the price of all the crap you need to do to this thing, coupled with the fact it won't perform as well (remember shortie headers sacrifice low-end for top end, something not desirable on a lancer), and will potentially have problems in the future, I think actual lancer headers just seem like a far better option.

 

Surely you know some one (or know someone who knows someone) who can cut exhaust pipe and weld it back together. It's not a structural piece- as long as they can stick two pieces of pipe together without leaking you're good to go. Ask around-you can probably get the DP fix done for almost nothing.

the RRM header is a 4-1 design, the 4-2-1 if done properly will yield more gains up top and won't hurt the low end.

 

I just realized tho, Im not sure I understand the one part about the spacer and the 2 bolt flange...
Heres why:
The DP is made to connect with the new Header it comes with, so naturally the new Header has a matching 3 bolt flange at the bottom of it... so whats with this 2 bolt flange???

 

I didnt say Im getting 'em "based" on looks. I said they look better in the end.

Im not gonna engage in an argument about this, like everything else...

Ok... Im a Ricer if you want.

Im crushed.

 

I thought the 4-2-1 setup doesn't give as much high end as a 4-1 piece. It creates more torque/low end because it has more backpressure due to the 4-2 area and the 2-1 section. Am i wrong here?

 

4-2-1 show higher top end than a 4-1 and as much or more torque than a 4-1. IF they're properly designed then they're nothing but good. Take the RPW header: slightly more top end and more torque than the competition's 4-1 header. A lot of it has to do with the length of the 2-1 section. I don't know what the math it but longer 2-1 section (to a point) is supposed to make the HP higher. I don't know what R&D OBX did or whose design they outright stole, so I can't say that THIS 4-2-1 is better than a RRM 4-1. I can say with some certainty that it's better than stock

CK: If you need 3-bolt flanges the method applies there too: cut off the flange on the DP and weld in a spacer.

I've advised how to fix this and made my guesses at the effectiveness of the 4-2-1 header. I'm signing off and going back into stasis.