After installing the new EFI motor, it was time to think about the exhaust system. For this application a custom system was built starting with an LC Engineering header. Because this truck will be used as a daily driver there are a number of state laws that needed to be considered. The header chosen needed to be smog legal and the LC header is CARB approved for use on a pollution controlled vehicles. The system needs to have a catalytic converter and a reasonably quite muffler. Another consideration is where the exhaust exits the truck. Here in California, the Motor Vehicle Code requires that the exhaust exit to the rear, or if to the side it must be below 2' or above 11' (code section 27152). For simplicity I choose to build a system that just ended after the muffler, not exiting to the side.
The LC Engineering Performance Header Features:
16 Gauge Mandrel Bent Tubing
3/8" Thick Flame Cut Header Flange
Uses OEM Style Header Gasket
Metal Crush Rings
Plug Wire Heat Deflector
4 into 1 long runner design for mid range power
Long life Ceramic Coating
California SMOG Approved
Once the header was bolted I temporarily attached the the original muffler and tied it up with a bit of bailing wire for the trip over to the local muffler shop. Steve's Muffler Shop is Hemet California finished the job by welding on a new catalytic converter and Flowmaster muffler. Using tubing that is too small limits high RPM power, using tubing that is too large can adversely affect low RPM torque. I ended up choosing 2" tubing but with so little tubing on this application I doubt tubing size alone would have made much difference.
Due to the nature of rock crawling I needed the exhaust to be up as high as possible to prevent the rock from damaging the system. With a huge number of different mufflers and catalytic converters on the market my method of choosing these components was surprising simple. I just picked the smallest and thinnest ones I could find with 2" in and out. The LC header comes with a 2" tube that is designed to connect to the stock catalytic converter. This pipe was cut down by a few inches and the cat was welded directly to this tube. The Flowmaster muffler was then welded directly to the cat. A 7" long 2" pipe was welded to the back of the muffler. The head pipe, cat, muffler and tail pipe were now all one unit 41" and ready to bolt onto the LC header. Common rubber and steel mounts were welded into place to hold the system in place. I small bend in the tail pipe directs the exhaust some what down and to the rear. The entire system is up above the frame and has a minimum clearance of 26" along it's length.
The final step was to apply the provided smog sticker to the firewall. Here in California any aftermaket engine part must be approve by the state (pre 1965 vehicles are exempt). The LC Header has the required approval and the sticker lets smog testers know it's approved for use.
The exhaust system is working well and seems to be a good match for the high flow ported head. The combination of porting and exhaust combined to make the motor considerably more power full than stock 22re motors. I look forward to getting the truck on a dyno to find out exactly how much power it's developing. I have owned several different headers on other vehicle over the years but one thing about the LC header that surprised me was the finish.
When I first took the headers out of the box I looked at them and figured the silver color would darken and rust in no time. I am surprised that the headers still look like they did when they came out of the box, after three months of driving the truck every day. It turns out that LC Engineering uses a Silver Ceramic Coating process for the finish. The ceramic coating is a spray and bake process much like powder coating. The ceramic will withstand temperatures up to 1600 degrees, well beyond exhaust temperatures on a aspirated gas engine. LC feels this process makes the most durable header available.
Note About Header wraps
Many people wrap their headers with heat wrap without understanding what it does to the header. Bottom line is heat wrap works. It traps heat in the header creating higher velocity in the exhaust and makes a little more power. It also traps so much heat the metal in the header will breakdown quickly. Under the heat wrap, the metal of the header will be glowing red, even under normal driving conditions. This heating of the steel header to glowing temperatures and cooling repeatedly breaks down the metal and fatigues the header. Headers with heat wrap usually last about a year in street use. It does not matter what brand of headers, all will breakdown quickly. LC Engineering does not recommend using heat wrap on street applications.
LC Engineering also has full line of 2WD headers, Celica headers and larger 1 5/8" tube headers for racing and other high performance applications.
LC Engineering 2031 Holly Avenue, Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403 Phone: (520) 505-2501 Fax:(520) 505-2503
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