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Next mod I'm looking to do is headers. Which one should I go with and why? Sound differences and hp gains any different? I know ARH is looking like $400 cheaper without resonators or cats
If you were to ask me 2 months ago the same question I would undoubtedly said PPE, having ingested copious amounts of the PPE kool-aid.
After extensively researching both I think ARH is way, way underrated. ARH eat, breath, sleep headers and have a huge following in the American muscle car market. I decided on ARH and men they are one mean looking set of pipes, I saw a set of PPE at my Indy and was surprised at how puny they look compared to ARH. The long sweeping bends of ARH are amazing to look at, just exquisite.
ARH being a long system offers great scavenging and I love the fact ARH refused to compromise with their design even though it might hurt sales since you really have to change out your midpipes with theirs to make it work. Tough pill for some to swallow for those who have already poured money into a full aftermarket catback. This goes to show ARH was committed to designing the best possible performing header system for the RCF regardless.
ARH IMO I think has potential to generate more power. Sound wise, clips of ARH sound to me less raspy. Ming I know had a set of ARH midpipes and according to him were the best sounding midpipes, he has gone through 3 different midpipes.
No doubt PPE has been the gold standard for the lexus platform for awhile but ARH is definitely a force to reckon with.
Last edited by konichiwa3; Aug 2, 2019 at 01:06 AM.
No offense Josh I need more non bias reviews, considering you only sell PPE of course you gunna recomend those bro!! I agree PPE has it locked down for lexus but... I feel like the ARH are designed better for power. I wanna know which sounds better though!!
Well, I emailed ARH a few years back and asked about the CEL...they really had no answer for how to get it off.......BUT, that was at least 2 years ago. But I agree, they seem to make a bad *** header
Well, I emailed ARH a few years back and asked about the CEL...they really had no answer for how to get it off.......BUT, that was at least 2 years ago. But I agree, they seem to make a bad *** header
Don’t see why one couldn’t get an RR tune to clear the cel if it’s an issue. Most have been successful using extenders.
ARH IMO I think has potential to generate more power. Sound wise, clips of ARH sound to me less raspy. Ming I know had a set of ARH midpipes and according to him were the best sounding midpipes, he has gone through 3 different midpipes.
Well to be fair, that ARH mid pipe was attached to PPE long headers and my Ti meisterschaft axle back.
It gave the highest pitch sound out of all 3 mid pipes: meisterschaft, ARH, PPE-with cats and resonators.
I like my car sounding like F1, more exotic and not low rumble like American muscle.
PPE owner here - two years of tested ownership (with Borla exhaust)
I had my equal length headers installed at RR being only a 6 hour drive away. The ECU flash was done the prior year when the Borla was installed.
I can offer no opinion on the ARH ones but I should comment in general with regards to several thousand miles driven with no catalytic convertor.
1) Yes, the CEL code was blocked by the ECU flash, so no dash light problem.
2) My car (in NY State) still does NOT pass annual inspection. It fails for a visual inspection for lack of cat convertors, as it has none. The result is that I have to take it to a friend of a friends garage to get a sticker each year. Very annoying.
3) The exhaust volume, smell of gas/exhaust isn't all that bad. The car is loud, yes but you get used to it. Cant say people around town like it though. I have gotten lots of disapproving looks. I am now one of THOSE people.
4) The thing that I did NOT consider is the vibration. The cars exhaust now resonates, some time at start up, some time just cruising along, sometimes in park. The exhaust vibrates and rumbles and crackles and pops. This has unfortunately created several rattles that I do not like. They started not long after header install and have gotten worse. Not the noise you want to hear on a car with 22,000 miles, but I did it to myself. I put up with one rattle all last year as it was minor but this year it got so bad it was almost continual. I was forced to jack the car up with it running and have a good look for the cause, knowing it was surely header related. Turns out its causing the heat shield that sits behind the collector to vibrate. I looked for loose screws in it but I just don't have the tools to check them, they are buried behind the headers too far. So, I'll have to leave the car to cool for a few hours and check it again some other time. In the meantime, I bent the shield slightly with a screwdriver to push it in a direction that caused the rattle to stop for now. Probably only a temp fix though.
I bought the equal length headers as RR's website suggests a lower piston temperature can be achieved and that seemed like a better solution for long term header ownership. I thought about swapping back to the OEM headers last year and have thought about it some more this year but the 6-7 hour drive to RR (plus waiting for the swap) is an exhausting trip I'd rather not have to make.
My two cents and I'm sure that some of this information pertains to header ownership in general and not just the PPE version.
Just looking at the 2.. wouldnt you assume ARH is better design? Theres no curves in the pipes.. I'm really just torn about sound.. I'm sure both add power would be curious the difference
^^^^This has been discussed in the past. When ARH was a sponsor here, they attacked PPE, causing PPE to post and refute ARH's comments. The thread was taken down. But as I recall there was discussion about workmanship, TIG vs MIG welding, and the collector design. I don't remember much else except that PPEs responses to the attack seemed straight forward and well thought out. I guess the members thought PPE was the better choice, because soon after ARH ended their sponsorship at this site.
From viewing the images posted it appears that ARH is not making an effort to build an equal length header. Workmanship appears OK, but to my eyes not up to PPE's standard. But, that's just me. Maybe I'm biased, but I want the best on my vehicles.
I had PPE headers on my ISF, both unequal length and equal length. There wasn't much difference in the power produced, but there was a big difference in the sound. The UEL header had a more lumpy idle and a very intrusive drone at about 2K RPM that was quite loud in the cabin. The EL header has a more civilized sound and the drone in the cabin is almost eliminated.
I have since sold my ISF and have had my LC for a bit over a month now. My new PPE headers and dual mode exhaust will be installed this coming week.
Lou
Last edited by flowrider; Aug 3, 2019 at 08:24 PM.
ARH headers vs PPE?
