Open Headers 101: Horsepower, Sound & Engine Impact

Open headers mean your car’s exhaust gasses are released directly through the exhaust headers. This means almost having no exhaust system as you don’t utilize an exhaust pipe, mufflers, or catalytic converters.

Because having a muffler, restrictive exhaust pipes, and even the catalytic converter’s combustion process takes up engine power, not having these can give your car more horsepower.

Open headers can break down the barrier you face in reaching your car’s top speed as about 30-40 more horsepower can be achieved. However, this depends, of course, on the displacement of your car’s engine.

What Are Open Headers?

Open headers are preferred for multiple reasons, especially by sports enthusiasts or racers of all sorts because of the additional performance they unlock.

An open header removes the previously restricted airflow of exhaust gases and makes the engine work more efficiently. This adds up to additional horsepower for a higher speed.

Moreover, the sporty noises an engine makes without the catalytic converters and mufflers are also preferred by many for the detail it adds to a racing experience.

However, all these make it dangerous to the environment and the peace of others in your community.

For this reason, having an open header is not legal in most countries and can only be sported in a regulated environment like racing tracks or other reserved spots.

Do Open Headers Add Horsepower?

To understand how and why open headers yield better horsepower and torque for a car, you must understand the backend of an exhaust system.

There are three primary ways an exhaust system slows down the car’s speed and acceleration capabilities. At first, the muffler takes away at least 10 percent of a car’s horsepower when it takes in the exhaust gases.

Secondly, your car’s exhaust pipes are naturally narrow and offer a restricted flow of exhaust gases, making the engine work harder.

At last, your catalytic converters take time for internal combustion to clean the carbon dioxide emissions into safer gases. This adds up to a reduced 50-100 horsepower depending on the engine displacement.

Do You Need Tune With Open Headers?

With open headers, your engine will be taking in more unmetered air, which will lead to an unbalanced air/fuel ratio for ignition. This can cause multiple problems for each combustion cycle and the 02 sensors.

For this reason, you will need to have your car’s ECU reprogrammed to align it with the new air intake and keep the required balance.

With reprogramming, your fuel injector will be configured to inject more fuel at each instance to compensate for the additional air. This will not only fix the problem but also give you more horsepower.

A basic tune like this does not have to be expensive and can be done by a certified mechanic for about $200. A more advanced tune can cost you about $500 If you need more in-depth modifications done to the program.

Moreover, because every car’s control unit is different, it is best to have it done by a mechanic or dealership that specializes in your car’s make.

You don’t need tuning if you only want to test open headers for a day or two and plan to have things plugged back in again.

Do Open Headers Make a Car Louder?

You should expect a significantly louder engine and wheels once you have your muffler removed. Other than the muffler, not having catalytic converters will also make your combustion automatically more powerful and aggressive in sound.

Your car may sound up to five times louder with open headers, which can get you in trouble with the law.

Make sure that this is only done when you won’t be using your car in public spaces or on the road. You may get a fine for interfering with the surrounding peace and polluting the environment.