RoadsterSport MAX TORQUE Standard Length MX5 Miata Stainless Header 2016-2020
Quality header construction starts with mandrel bent 304 stainless construction, making this the ONLY MX5 Miata header choice proudly made in the USA with LIFETIME warranty! Beware the choices that are just straight pipe and sharp 90 degree bends welded up in Taiwan and China, they won't last and they won't give max performance in return for the trouble of installing them.
Saves over 4 lbs compared to the factory header.
Stock header weight: 13.15 lbs
Max Torque header weight: 9.05 lbs!
HEAR it now from the tailpipe on the dyno! This full throttle with camera right at the tailpipe so this massively exaggerates the volume but gives you good feel for the character and tone at full throttle. You are hearing ALL THREE of the following here: RoadsterSport Max Power Header, plus the RoadsterSport Midpipe and RoadsterSport SuperQ Muffler. The midpipe and muffler obviously not included with the header, sold separate on this site. Fits both RHD and LHD, manual and automatic.
Now details on our header and why you want it. For the FIRST TIME Mazda went with 4-2-1 factory header layout to make that fat midrange that makes the ND so quick. Many magazines get 0-60 in stock form at about 6 seconds flat, which is obviously not about the mere 155 hp that the factory rates this motor at the crank. We tested ND headers in both 4-1 layout as we have done in the past on NC generation, and 4-2-1 layout and quickly understood the factory thinking...this motor is about TORQUE, and this motor wants a 4-2-1 layout to maximize what this Skyactiv motor is designed to do.
Thus, first thing to know about the Skyactiv 2.0 motor is that a highflow 4-2-1 makes the midrange as beefy as you can get it.
Sadly, most folks only think HP and do not understand torque, but it is the really wide TORQUE curve of ND that makes it so quick compared to prior Miatas, and our humble opinion is that it is best to play to that strong point, give the ND skyactiv motor what it wants!
The results of going 4-2-1 are clear in the dyno results at bottom of this page, meaty torque start to finish (note results include Orange Virus Tune).
We strongly recommend the RoadsterSport SuperQ Header version muffler with this header because it was designed to handle the sound level of the header and our standard midpipe, most other mufflers will be too loud for most folks with this header change.
Our outlet is 2.5 inches. For best performance customers should match our header with our RoadsterSport midpipe and RoadsterSport SuperQ exhaust (special header version STRONGLY recommended) so they are running 2.5 inches of flow all the way...but our header will bolt in place of the factory header and connect perfectly to the factory midpipe (however doing that would mean an engine code unless you move second sensor after midpipe converter like our RoadsterSport midpipe provides plug and play).
Factory first O2 sensor is in the OEM header and stays in our header without use of extension cords. Factory second sensor in the midpipe should be moved after the factory midpipe converter to avoid an engine code (our RoadsterSport midpipe provides bung in that location for this reason). That second sensor reaches its new location without use of extension cords. Bottom line is full plug and play install...but we strongly suggest our Orange Virus or MotoEast Tune to get max torque results.
CARB NOTICE: Installing this header in the MX5 Miata means removing the first catalytic converter which means this header will NEVER be a California street legal header, never be CARB approved (and therefore legal in California for off road use only). Sorry, we will not ship this to residents of California.
BRIAN'S APPLICATION NOTES:
INSTRUCTIONS....see our installation discussion in the Instructions Section. Complete factory service manual install page with torque specs is below. Note that NO gaskets or hardware included. We assume most customers will do it right and install our RoadsterSport midpipe at the same time for best torque results and because it avoids engine codes with O2 locations before and after the midpipe converter that you can reach without use of extension cords. Use again the factory ring gasket on the stock header which matches the factory midpipe flange. Stock gasket at the motor to header flange is stack of stainless plates, not crush gaskets, and can be used over and over without issue.
We are aware of competitors with 4-1 shorty headers but all their customers seem to report about 150-160 range at the wheels, if they will report at all. Even when some of those 4-1 headers cost double, it seems few want to admit they spent double the money for no additional benefit. In sum: year after year no dyno graphs posted anywhere of more gains before/after for shorty header than this unit in independent customer dyno tests!
Chart below of our ND on third party dyno shows comparison with baseline stock run. Notice 168 horsepower and BIG TORQUE, 171 FtLb at the wheels. If unfamiliar with reading DYNO graphs what you need to look for is before and after of same car, on same dyno, because what you want to see is the TOTAL GAINS. As you can see in graph below, this ND generation Miata totally stock did 139 hp at the wheels and 136 ft/lbs torque as a baseline from the factory. This Miata was relatively new, likely base number would have come up some without any changes with more break-in time, our other ND Miata with more miles did baseline of 142hp at the wheels. The factory hp rating is at the crank but you spend some of that number getting through the transmission and down to the other end of the car where the rubber actually meets the road. With this RoadsterSport Header, our RoadsterSport Midpipe and SuperQ Muffler we obtained 25+ ft/lbs over most of the rpms range. Result is SUPER meaty midrange where you actually drive the car, making freeway passing just a flick of the pedal, pulling away from stoplights is noticeably stronger than stock. We have used the same for more than a decade. This is a third party dyno, we do not own it. We do not run the dyno, we do not run the car on the dyno. We deliver the car to the dyno and ask the operator to run consistent practices every time. All the units sold to date have been sold with the graph below in this product description, and we hit that number over and over after MANY HOURS of tune work in the car same day by Mat of Orange Virus Tuning. Some customers have not replicated our numbers using other software packages, other brands of dynos, cheaper and lower octane gas, etc. We suspect software being used by all Tuners for ND Miata is still in crude early development stage and it may take a year or more for others to routinely reproduce our numbers here (same thing happened with NC development and our first header for that car a decade ago).