First of all thanks to all members who have posted info about all make of headers in the past that lead to my decision!
Other relevant mods at this time:
AEM CAI and HKS Hiper Exhaust

The headers were sent for pro coat for a thermal coating that is similar to the HPC one...reduces skin temps of about 20%...the header was coated inside and out and the finish is a polished metal look... Nice...

Install:
Took 1 hour exactly for 2 people... we had a car hoist so it was very convenient...Straightforward install...
Stock heat shield for the brake master cylinder (US has the battery on that side) was retained successfully with no hassles...
The stock cat convertor was also removed and a straightpipe was custom made...sorry environment but i need that extra 0.00001 kW even!
Battery was reset at this stage and new oil added as well... I'm back to Royal Purple again! yay!

First impression:
Idling sounds the same. Sounds different in all rpms otherwise...
Low RPMS: Car pulls with noticably less effort starting from about 3000-5000rpm. This is how the car shouldve been from factory! Street driving definately feels better. There is no great power surge, just noticably less effort to accelerate thru the low rpms. Sounds here is more throaty... not louder at all to my relief.

Mid RPM: Can't feel as much VTEC surge anymore as confirmed by other members using the spoon header... The vtec crossover sound is also somewaht less obvious. May have been the hottest day for many weeks that made this so. I will confirm again on later occations. I do miss that VTEC crossover point that was so obvious before. The feeling of vtec surge is less pronounced now as well. Acceleration instead feels more linear...

High RPMS: 7000+ the car pulls way HARDER. Especially all the way to redline! This is what i bouht the headers for! I am interested to see the dyno of my headers next month. The butometer feels that the power curve has got a big bump in his region...especially after 8500rpms to redline... I wonder if the peak figure has shifted some rpms.... we shall see...

More impressions soon...mind you I had an ECU reset and using fresh oil... Things should start settling in a couple of weeks...

Pictures to come soon...

 

You'll need to pick up a VAFC because with the Spoon header you lose power around 6000-7000 rpm. There is a big dip there. You'll need to lean it out to gain back some of the power lost. What your butt feels at VTEC is a loss of power vs. stock. And after 7000 rpm is the engine recovering which will feel like a surge in power. The Spoon header does pick up power from 8k-9k.

Ideally, you should have a Spoon ECU as well to maximize the header, but if that's not practical, get the VAFC. Remember, your butt is best at sensing changes in relative acceleration, which makes it a suspect tool for power gain assessment :-)

UL

 

thanks for the advice!
Yes initially i was going to geta VAFC next to marry all my different branded parts to work to better potential...

however the lack of ignition timing tweaking is my main concern...I will do more mods first...next up a spoon/hondata intake manfold gasket and a Spoon TB at once...

Toda Cams and possibly spoon high comp pistons might be the final step...

By then i would have had all sorts of different brands in my car...so a spoon ecu might not be the best option...

Im just waiting for Hondata ECU or better still.. an Apexi Power-FC...

 

Sounds good Yong, glad you are happy with your Spoon header!

Now, take me for a ride to measure it on my butt dyno.

 

Have you done any Dyno's yet?

 

Will using a Mugen header with Mugen exhaust also experience similar losses, that I would need to get the VAFC? The VAFC is really something that I don't need or want, I don't race around, I just want more power, nicer looks. But I don't want to loose performance either, and I see the VAFC as an item for professionals.

 

With no other changes (no VAFC, no exhaust, etc.), the Mugen header picks up noticeable midrange. However, after 8000 rpm the power drops off a little faster than stock. A VAFC will help you by leaning the mixture up top, but you'll still be down a couple hp vs. a stock car with a VAFC.

UL

 

I want the exhaust and the mugen rear end, I just figured that if the exhaust is free flowing, the header should also be changed. But it seems that changing the header also causes adverse effects. Is it good to just change exhaust and leave the stock headers.