Ronin RX-LS Swap Headers!

[nkuhajda]

To clarify - I have the full samberg/ronin mount setup but grabbed the sikky headers to finish it. Drivers side fit perfectly but the passenger side collector runs into the rear lower control arm mount by a solid 1/2"

[carlb]

I'd be in this for being an early tester. Sounds like fun. Let me know.

[AZieger]

Currently in the middle of my swap and fabricating my exhaust for my spoolin 1-7/8" non-merge collector headers.  Not impressed with the ground clearance on the drivers side (LHD).  They sit about 1" lower on that side compared to the pass. side.  They are the lowest part of the car no doubt.  Will yours be better???  There isn't much room between the bellhousing and the floorpan/tunnel.

[Exidous]

If I wasn't on the other side of the planet from my car for the next year I'd be all over this. I have the sikky in and while the build quality and gained a fair bit of ground clearance I lost a lot of low and mid range. You would't think it would be noticeable but it's there.

I'll keep my eye out a year from now.

[Sacrilegious-FD]

RHD Version?

[DailyDSM]

I'm local (Irvine, CA) and might be interested in being part of the first batch.  I currently have a running/driving, swapped, car with Samberg subframe and Hinson/Stainless Works 1 7/8" headers.  If you guys want to take a look of the fitment of these headers, let me know.  Based on my experiences with the SW headers, I have a few suggestions for areas of improvement, if you're interested.

I'm actually planning to pull my current engine (L33) this weekend and swap in an LS2, with limited down time, so I would be in a position to provide feedback relatively quickly.

Do you have an idea of when these would be ready. 

[65imp]

Frijolee has it all in CAD, and we have been making tweaks for optimal clearances.  Mandrels and benders are all squared away.  We should have a prototype by the end of the month.  Then we just have to fit them on everything under the sun. 
We are only havint 1 7/8 at first, primarily we want the best fit for the FD/FC LHD guys.  We are also doing our best to allow them to work for the RHD folks around the globe. 
If we can also make them work for RX8/FB swaps then we are Gold.
For ease of communication send an email to roninspeedworks@gmail.com in the subject title say Header prototype. 
We will keep you updated as we go. 

[NOROTOR]

Any chance you'd sell a set without the flange installed?

Thank you.
Jesse

[Exidous]

I have not looked into it too deeply but would a tri-y be easier to tuck up into the tunnel? I know it's a fair bit more difficult to make, I just don't know how long/big the secondary and primary would need to be.
From looking at the pfadt the secondary is relatively short but might make for the cake and eat it too with the power and ground clearance.

[frijolee]

Any chance you'd sell a set without the flange installed?

Thank you.
Jesse

Merge end or primary end?  I suspect the answer is a qualified maybe.  We're trying to keep custom variations to a minimum on these, but if it happened to time out right and we were in the midst of building a set, we could probably help you out.

I have not looked into it too deeply but would a tri-y be easier to tuck up into the tunnel? I know it's a fair bit more difficult to make, I just don't know how long/big the secondary and primary would need to be.
From looking at the pfadt the secondary is relatively short but might make for the cake and eat it too with the power and ground clearance.

If we can't get a fitment we like we'll look into this.  I can see what you mean about having two tubes stacked vertically rather then 4 tubes in a square though.  The prototypes will be 4 to 1 and (crossing fingers) we should have a significant update with pictures come Monday.  Should be a good weekend!

[Exidous]

I know it's a big idea when you guys are so far into the development of these. I don't really mean a replacement really, just an additional idea if you have the time. Would be really cool to see.

I have the sikky shorties and they allow all of the ground clearance one could want but the power band is super goofy. It almost feels like a big cam coming on at 35-4000. The Sikky are also super thin. Like 18ga or thinner. Easy to dent and allow a lot of under the hood nose. I'd take a weight penalty for 16 or 14ga.

Either way, I'm really interested to see what you guys come up with.

[frijolee]

Glad to see so many folks are stoked on these.  We are too.  I was really hoping to have pictures of the prototype headers to show today.  I spent about 16 hours over the weekend working with our fab shop and dialing in the mandrel bender.   All dies and and a massive stack of tubing are on hand.  All flanges and piece parts (collectors/bungs) are ready.

We have what the first design locked down and I'm really pleased with where we're landing. 

Downside (and the reason I don't have complete pictures to show) is that we had a setback with the mandrel bender's ability to control clocking.  I'm not going to get too deep into the tech of it but since tubes are 4 bends the tolerances can stack up quickly and we don't get the results we want.

We're working on it and have a plan for how we'll address, but I stil wanted to offer status since I promised an update.  Like I said. I'm still happy with where we're going but it's still not quite the update I wanted to be sharing.

Staying the course.  You guys know how much we care about getting things right. 

-Joel (for RSW)

[Stubbs]

If you've got fitment for a V8Roadsters subframe on a RX8, I'm all in on these.
I tried fitting some off the shelf headers on mine but nothing fit.

[frijolee]

If you've got fitment for a V8Roadsters subframe on a RX8, I'm all in on these.
I tried fitting some off the shelf headers on mine but nothing fit.

@Stubbs, please send some pics to roninspeedworks@gmail.com and we'll let you know if we think you have a shot.  Primary areas of interest will be as it passes the engine mount interface whatever that looks like as it bolts to the block... and the position of the engine fore/aft relative to the firewall.

-Joel (for RSW)

[gnx7]

Could you make a set with 2" primaries that increase to 2 1/8" with 3.5" collectors based upon your piping CAD design?