The Pictures All You RM Header Owners Have Been Dreading

[Matthew]

Ok, i dont have CuteFTP downloaded yet, so i have to do multiple upload posts, excuse me. As you can see from the pictures, the header is rusting at the all the welds, and spot rusting down the sides of the pipes. I havent tried to use 00000 steel wool or sandpaper yet, but i did try to use the metal polish that had been suggested in the past, and it didnt do anything but wipe away the dirt. Ive had this header for about 5 1/2 months. have fun polishing off the rust later on :(

if you cant tell, im really ticked off. ill be callilng ric on monday. any suggestions on what i should say to get compensated?

[Matthew]

2

[Matthew]

3

[Matthew]

4

[Matthew]

5

[Matthew]

6

[Matthew]

7

[Matthew]

frankly, im embarressed to show anyone my setup now.

[FrigginGLI]

Don't mind me saying but the welds do not look like they are up to par either. Poor quality all around.

[Matthew]

well i dont normally deal with welds so i wouldnt know if they were good or not russ, but i must say im upset that they are rusting.

[redwagon02]

I'd be pissed too. Just buy a turbo manifold, turbo, intercooler, etc, etc..

[Matthew]

lmfao sure let me order it now, what was i thinking :rolleyes: :D

[dominoy2k1]

LOL, but really yeah the weld look noobish. also are those rust spots?

[dominoy2k1]

(hand) should have read first post

[Matthew]

lol!

[thewrench]

Matthew, are those the stock bolts? Or did you buy some somewhere else?

James T

[Matthew]

i cant remember if those are the bolts that came with it or they were stock. but i didnt buy any.

[mazdamp3_18]

mattew ... what diameter piping are you using?

do you have 1 cat or none?

[Matthew]

stock piping, no cats.

[mazdamp3_18]

so you still have your resonator with your hks muffler?

im trying to get an idea if an aftermarket resonator is going to quiet it at all..

b/c my exhaust is damn loud...

the loudness dosent bother me it is the rasp that i get that bothers me...

[MP3skaterNC]

Is the header made out of mild steel or stainless?

[Matthew]

rustable steel

i still have my resonator

[MP3skaterNC]

just sand the rust down, then get it ceramic coated or jet coated.

[PhatTrax]

I have to agree with everyone else about the welds. they are not smooth and fluid and there are what appear to be some air pockets which later on will be bad for your headers as the welds will loose and your headers will fall apart. not to mention water will get in there and corrode it to hell. just my opinion from my little experience as a welder.

[FrigginGLI]

The question is, What does the manufacture of the header say about this problem?

[SpicyMchaggis]

those are almost as bad as my welds

[Matthew]

Originally posted by pimpprotege69
The question is, What does the manufacture of the header say about this problem?

i have to call them tommorrow.

[MSPHAWAII]

hey just to let you know ric at rm really has bad products i ordered a turbo kit from them like 9months ago and i did not recive the turbo,the manifold or the fmu rm really does not have there shit together i hope you can get him to help fix your problem i could not ...

[jsgolfer]

you guys put some doubt in my mind so i had a guy who knows some stuff about cars, especially welding. (he built stock car frames) he said the welds will hold up no problem. he agree that they aren't the prettiest thing ever but he had no doubt in their strength. the egr looks like shit but again he said it will hold. im happy now so im gonna go ahead and install it

[batmang]

who is the make of the header btw? ractive?

[Matthew]

:rolleyes:

racing mazda

[batmang]

hrmm.... where'd u get it, and how much was it? just curious.

[igdrasil]

crush bends??????
I see crush bends there

[1FASTMP5]

mine did the same thing........... take some super fine steel wool
to it! it will get rid of the rust on it. also you might want to look into getting heat wrap for it......i did and it worked out really good!
just fyi.:D

[melicha8]

Originally posted by igdrasil
crush bends??????
I see crush bends there

They look that way but the are all pretty much the same in diameter all the way through

[melicha8]

I was gonna have mine powder coated anyway I guess this just confirms it

[mazdamp3_18]

well i have driven 1 day with the headers and there is 1 problem i have...

i NEED a resonator..

my car friggn sounds like a rice mobile...

i am now embarassed to drive my car....


do any of you guys know of some aftermarket companies that sell good resonators?

[dialup]

I think theyre all the same (resonators) I had one in my custom exhaust. Cost like35=50 bux??? Any good tuner shop or exhaust shop will have them.

[PhatTrax]

Originally posted by jsgolfer
you guys put some doubt in my mind so i had a guy who knows some stuff about cars, especially welding. (he built stock car frames) he said the welds will hold up no problem. he agree that they aren't the prettiest thing ever but he had no doubt in their strength. the egr looks like shit but again he said it will hold. im happy now so im gonna go ahead and install it

it's not wether it'll hold or not, you can tack weld it and it'll hold, but in time corrosion can cause leaks and weaken the metal.

[Brian MP5T]

Originally posted by Matthew
if you cant tell, im really ticked off. ill be callilng ric on monday. any suggestions on what i should say to get compensated? [/B]

What do you think a ceramic coating would look like?? Perhaps you can get that as compensation.

[igdrasil]

ceramic coat will fade after a month or 2.
I can take pictures of before and after of my ceramic coat on the manifold.

[Matthew]

not a bad idea brian...maybe but i doubt he would.

[YP5 Toronto]

ceramic coat it....you'll get better flow out of it in doing so. Also the "under hood" temps will be dramatically lower.

[fkmp5]

i don't know much about welds either, but i thought it should look like a stack of coins slid on their sides??

[Matthew]

how much does it cost to ceramic coat header?

[YP5 Toronto]

www.swaintech.com

www.fireballcoatings.com

[Matthew]

it says 125-165. ric should pay for that crap.

[fastdrvr23]

Originally posted by mazdamp3_18
well i have driven 1 day with the headers and there is 1 problem i have...

i NEED a resonator..

my car friggn sounds like a rice mobile...

i am now embarassed to drive my car....


do any of you guys know of some aftermarket companies that sell good resonators?

I used to have a "purple horny" from Summit Racing on my truck for a while, it helped alot for raspiness. (I know the name is awful, but it's basically just a mild glasspack.)

A friend of mine with a Prelude here at work, recommended these guys: http://www.supremeexhaust.com/CategoryInfo.aspx?cid=66

[fkmp5]

send him a link to this thread so he sees the bad publicity he's getting.. and the good publicity he could get for making up for it with good customer service..

we'll find out if he cares about the customer and product or if it's just about getting your money then run.

[Matthew]

i dont think he really cares. if i really wanted to bash him i could put a link to a negative thread about racingmazda.com in my sig, and it would appear over 7k times on this forum with off topic and flamewars posts. im going to call him first and see what he says.

[LittleRedWagon5]

What brand of header is that, it looks like its made of low quality stainless, with standard mig or tig welds that are not stainless

[Matthew]

that is racing mazda for the 20th time :D

[Matthew]

i just called ric he said its mild steel and it will eventually rust. end of story.

[mazdaowner123]

so....what're you gonna do?

[fkmp5]

Originally posted by Matthew
that is racing mazda for the 20th time :D

(lol)

[aftershock63]

I have the same headers I'm just hoping to get a turbo before they rust away. I'm glad wiht the HP gains but I agree that it isn't that pretty

[thewrench]

Isn't this the header we supposedly were getting, just with mods. What part of "stainless steel" am I not understanding?

http://www.racingmazda.com/exhaust/mx6/

JT

[L8R]

true o.O okay ive had my header on for like 2 weeks. no problems yet. after reading all of this, i have to say... im disappointed. ill either wrap it up or get it ceramicly (such a word? lol) coated but i have to search for a place in hawaii which will probably cost $$$. gl matt with what u will do... im getting nervous now o.O peace - chris

[Matthew]

Originally posted by thewrench
Isn't this the header we supposedly were getting, just with mods. What part of "stainless steel" am I not understanding?

http://www.racingmazda.com/exhaust/mx6/

JT

yea good point, ill call him again tommorrow.

[Brian MP5T]

Originally posted by Matthew
yea good point, ill call him again tommorrow.

If it was sold to you as a Stainless 304 style, you have even more reason to be pissed. 304 is alot more dificult to work with an a little more expensive. I think he should either pay for the coating, no question, replace the header with the one you were paying for or give you your money back...

Even if the coating fades, it will still reduce your under hood temps, and solve the rust problem. Plus for a bonus Bling Bling. It comes in colors!!

Don't like the color fade, Go black.

Later...Brian

[mp5jeff]

Originally posted by thewrench
Isn't this the header we supposedly were getting, just with mods. What part of "stainless steel" am I not understanding?

http://www.racingmazda.com/exhaust/mx6/

JT



is that a link to the "protege header" or is it for the mx6, it says in the url mx6 but i can't open it at work so i have no clue...

[thewrench]

It's to the MX6 header. There really is no RM "Protege" header. The group buy (and Matthew's) header was sold as the MX6 header modded with the necessary bungs for use on a Protege.

JT

[melicha8]

The header is stainless steel. Believe me if it was mild steel it would look a lot worse than that after four months of heat cycling. It is the same header as the mx-6 header just slightly modified. Maybe you just got some bad alloy. That is an odd thing to see. There is also a chance it is super fine spatter from the welds. Is it concentrated around the welds?

[Matthew]

no its scattered everywhere. trust me when i tell you that i called ric and he TOLD me it was mild steel. now im gonna try to call him today because it says on the site stainless. hes a fucking liar as far as im concerned.

[Brian MP5T]

Originally posted by Matthew
no its scattered everywhere. trust me when i tell you that i called ric and he TOLD me it was mild steel. now im gonna try to call him today because it says on the site stainless. hes a fucking liar as far as im concerned.

Fuckin' rite!! I'd be pissed too. You shouldn't have any problems getting a replacement or the correct piece. If it was sold to you as Stainless, as you say, that's a lie.

Later...Brian

[mazdaowner123]

keep us posted please.

~brian

[Matthew]

i tried to call today but no answer. ill call again monday and let you know for sure.

[tonkabui]

damn matthew, sorry to hear about your woes. those rust spots look horrible.

anyway, i have some silverware that is supposedly stainless steel. however, if i leave it in outside in my back yard (forgot a spoon out there for about 3 weeks), it begins to get little rust spots like that, too. it comes right off, but still... so is this the same type of walmart stainless steel?

[Matthew]

im not sure, like i said i havent had a chance to use steel wool or sandpaper yet.

[mazdamp3_18]

well i got my 3 leaks fixed today..

it sounds a lot better...


i finally got my digital camera back and ill be posting some sound clips tonight...


and i did some testing with the header last night...

my friend has a 2001 neon with an iceman intake a udp and a rear muffler..


with my intake and old exhaust we were neck and neck at the drag strip and racing eachother on the street...

i now have the injen and the header an 2.5 inch exhaust ... we raced again last night a cuple times and i destroyed him...

pulled away from him fast in 2nd and 3rd gear....

i can tell i gained quite a bit with these mods...

i wouldnt be suprised if im in the high 120 whp range .. possibly in the 130's...

we dynoed our cars also when i had my old mods and he had 2whp more than me... and the weights are almost the exact same...

[Matthew]

to this day i still cant get a hold of him.