badodyssey

Hey guys, thought you might like to see this!

Megan header review


Product:
EP/Si Megan header and high flow ‘cat’

Test Mule:
2003 Civic Si

Current mods:
Jackson street blower kit, short ram intake, stock exhaust, NX nitrous kit (NA for this test)

Fit and finish:
very impressive actually. For the money you can’t go wrong! Perfect fit vs. factory, everything lined up fine, which after doing this for all these years is a pleasant surprise!

Christmas came early this year! I caught the UPS guy heading for the front door while I mowed the lawn, killed the motor and met him half way. I saw “megan racing” on the box and got all giddy real quick.

I opened the boxes and was pleasantly surprised at what I found! I pulled the header out first, admiring the finish and runners. Very nice. Matched the factory piece to a T, except with larger pipes and a better collector setup. Nice. The high flow ‘cat’ was next. WOW! That’s some heafty pipe size! And I can see through it!! Lol. Great fit and finish, nice polish on both. Quality seemed great considering the price and build location (china).

Installation:
I finished the lawn and went to work! The install was pretty straightforward. That is one thing missing in the boxes…directions! not that they were really needed. I can do some install guides if anyone is interested? There are a few tricks to make it easier, but otherwise pretty simple. And once everything lined up perfect…nuff said. God did that midpipe look ridiculous attached to that huge cat pipe! Next on the list, don’t worry!

About 4 hours later (had to stop for diner and kids play time!) I was set to try things out. I had my mechanical sim in place for the o2 and all. I started the car, expecting the worst in sound. Someone on another forum begged me not to buy the Megan…”it’s too raspy and loud…and it smells!” I held my breathe….

Initial impression:
The car came to life…and nothing. It sounded completely stock! What the? I revved the motor…still, if you didn’t know what the car sounded like, you would think that it was bone stock. I was very happy at this point…I even told my wife the car might be a bit loud til I redid the midpipe.

Butt dyno:
I drove around the ‘block’, a 6 mile loop of back roads and freeways, since I don’t have a dyno handy (hey, it’s Cleveland!) I had to use my butt dyno. And it’s pretty accurate! I can feel anything over 9 hp pretty easily. I can always tell when my wife puts regular gas in the odyssey…I lose 10hp and can feel it!
I ran from a dead stop, to high speed freeway blasts. The header/cat performed flawlessly! The sound was still not an issue! If you didn’t know what the car sounded like stock, you’d never know it had anything done. I can’t quite even pin the sound….a bit more, hmmm…deep? It sound very nice IMHO.

The dead stop/starts went well. I noticed a hair less power than on the upper end, but higher than the stock header setup. Don’t ask…it’s hard to explain. Still more power than the stock JR setup.

The mid/upper end? WOW! This is where the system shined! I noticed MUCH smoother power, no brief lags from the gases getting forced back in from the restrictive system. Even shifts from gear to gear were noticeably smoother, with more power on tap instantly. Not sure how to get you guys to visualize that, but I was amazed. From 4500 on the car had a different personality than the JR/stock setup. Very impressive!

Final conclusion:
Will this setup out perform a full bore race header? Probably not, at least on the top end. But I do think it would outperform on the lower end, which is where I like my power. And for the money…you can’t go wrong! Was there a 300+ dollar difference in power for the money? No. I’d rather put that extra cash saved into something else. I just can’t wait to get the midpipe in place. The system will really shine even more than it already does!

Any specific questions not answered, just ask!

Thanks

Vince

03CivicEX4Door

glad to hear that you got some gain's i'm hoping i get some with the setup im gonna go with, what brand high flow cat did you get

civicvtec1ps

iTrader: (34)

Megan.

03CivicEX4Door

They make a high flow cat ? i'm gonna go with a random technology.

civicvtec1ps

iTrader: (34)

Yea..
Test Mule:
2003 Civic Si

It's testpipe basically.

badodyssey

yes, it's essentially a resonated test pipe. just like JR and DC uses, but with some silencing. sounds great in that it doesn't sound loud at all!

03CivicEX4Door

can you please tell me the dimentions of the resignator on that megan test pipe.

badodyssey

hmmm...not sure why it would matter...you'll have to ask megan. I've been on my back enough this week!

civicvtec1ps

iTrader: (34)

I am sure testpipe made huge differences, especially with Jackson street supercharger.
I think you would be even more satisfied with race header setup though.
Took off all my engine mods (Dc race header, aem cai, type s b pipe) and stock motor is just

I mean race header setup has already been proven to work better than header/testpipe setup.

I am guessing you have CEL on? or Are you running kpro with jrsc.

Anyways, get new midpipe.
Stock midpipe is really restricted just like stock cat converter.
Get resonated midpipe, it will be LOUD without it.

Couple local si owners has megen testpipe with aftermarket exhaust and sound is just unbearable.

03CivicEX4Door

i'm gonna go with kamikaze header, 2 1/4 304 stainless steel piping, random technology cat, apexi ns1 mullfer and possiably a resignator.