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Do Headers Make Your Car Louder? (Quick Answers)

Car headers are one of the key features of a car engine. Properly functioning car headers can improve the performance of your engine.

But there are some signs and symptoms you can follow to evaluate the performance of your car header. Today, we are going to discuss and find out whether headers make your car louder or not.

Do headers make your car louder?

Exhaust headers can definitely make your car sound louder by improving the quality of the exhaust sound. Many car owners install exhaust headers in the exhaust system to make the car sound louder. Exhaust headers improve the sound quality through improving the combustion process.

The car headers do have the ability to make your car sound louder by performing their function effectively. Installing high quality exhaust headers will improve the performance of your engine. As a result, the car will sound louder due to better combustion process.

The long tube exhaust headers are better at making your car sound louder. Because they perform more effectively than the short tube exhaust headers.

You will notice significant changes in the quality of the exhaust sound after you have installed long tube exhaust headers. The exhaust headers can cover for the exhaust manifold in a better way.

Let’s look at different states and types of headers and find out if they make your car louder.

Changing to new headers:

Changing to new headers does not always guarantee to make your car louder. A louder car is a good sign about the performance of your car.

If the performance of your old car headers was below par, then installing new headers will certainly make your car sound louder.

Louder sound coming from the car exhaust signals at a better engine performance. The primary purpose of a car header is to control flow of gases inside the car.

A highly efficient car header will be better at controlling the gases and will allow the engine to start the combustion process.

So you should not worry when changing to new headers makes your car sound louder. The goal of changing the car headers should be to increase the sound of the exhaust.

There is no point in changing the old headers if the new ones do not improve the performance of your engine.

Aftermarket headers:

Aftermarket headers do not always make your car sound louder. But it does improve the quality of the sound coming out of your exhaust. Aftermarket car headers can be a useful element to improve the performance of your engine.

However, the main purpose of using an aftermarket headers should not be to make your car louder.

Then again, the clearer sound quality coming from your exhaust because of an aftermarket header might make you think that it has make your car louder. But that is certainly not the case as aftermarket headers are not designed to do it.

Clearer sound will come across as being louder to the normal ears. But if you do some sound testing, you will realize that the level of sound produced by your car exhaust has not changed after using the aftermarket headers.

What is a Header? What do headers do on a car?

A car header does not come pre installed in most of the cars. In fact, car headers are installed by most owners after they have bought the car.

All of this might make the car headers sound like an irrelevant part of the car. But that is certainly not the case when you consider the functions of a car header.

A car header basically works as a better substitute of the exhaust manifold on the car. Your car will come with a pre installed exhaust manifold.

The reason behind this is that the manufacturing cost of the exhaust manifold is less than the exhaust header. So you end up getting the exhaust manifold as part of the package.

But you can certainly install an exhaust header afterwards because of the empty space left on the exhaust system for the headers. The primary job of the car headers is to work as the collector and releaser of gases of the engine.

First of all, the headers collect all the exhaust gases from the engine cylinders and dump them outside by combining the flows of gases.

Along with improving the performance of the engine, the car headers also improves the quality of the sound produced by the exhaust system.

Why do headers make car louder?

Car headers make car louder through their general function. The purpose of using car headers in the exhaust system is to enhance the performance of the engine.

Car headers do this job by collecting and releasing the exhaust gases from the engine cylinders.

Because of their quick ability to control the flow of exhaust gases, the combustion process of the engine gets better. Better combustion processes produce louder sounds in the exhaust.

This is a common way of improving the engine performance and the quality of the sound. So car headers basically make car louder by doing its job effectively.

How much louder will headers make a car?

The car headers do not necessarily possess the ability to make the car louder. But what they can do is improve the quality of the sound produced by the car exhaust.

The car headers will enhance the quality of the car exhaust by moving the flow of exhaust gases out of the engine cylinders.

An effective release of exhaust gases quickens the combustion process of the car significantly. Improved combustion process increases the quality and scale of the exhaust sound.

This makes the car headers responsible for giving the notion of making the car louder. The sound coming from the car exhaust does sound a bit louder after installing a car header.

What is louder: short or long tube headers?

Let’s look at two different sizes of headers and find out which one makes the car louder.

Shorty headers:

Short tube headers do not have the capability to increase the sound of car exhaust significantly.

Shorty headers do not perform as effectively as the long tube headers. That is why the sound produced by the car exhaust after using the short tube headers will not be much louder than before.

Short tube headers are not recommended by experts if you are looking to improve the performance of your engine.

Long tube headers:

Long tube headers are better at making the car louder than short tube ones. Long tube headers are known for improving the performance of car engine and the exhaust system with its tendency to perform better than shorty headers.

You will notice that your car sounds much louder than before when you install a long tube header in the car. That is why long tube headers are recommended by experts due to their enhanced features and performance.

How to improve your car exhaust sound?

Improving the sound of your car exhaust might seem like a daunting task if you have no prior experience regarding the matter. However, there are some steps and methods you can follow to accomplish this task. Let’s discuss in detail about them.

Change the header:

Changing or installing a car header can improve the quality of the exhaust sound. Most of the cars come with a pre installed exhaust manifold and not a header.

But a car header is better at moving the flow of exhaust gases and improving the combustion process. The sound of the car exhaust improves due to an improved combustion process.

Change the muffler:

One of the major ways to improve the sound of your car exhaust is by changing the muffler.

There are special kinds of mufflers available in the market that improve the sound quality of the exhaust. For example, the straight mufflers have been known for improve a car exhaust’s sound due to its function.

Install exhaust tips:

Using exhaust tips in the exhaust system can improve the sound quality of the exhaust significantly. You will have to use flared ended exhaust tips to enhance the quality of the exhaust sound.

Install turbo chargers:

The purpose of turbo chargers is to improve the performance of your engine. But they can also improve the quality of the sound produced by the car exhaust by enhancing the combustion process.

Repair the exhaust tube:

The exhaust tube of your car has to be repaired from time to time. Because a faulty exhaust tube can affect the performance of the engine and the quality of the sound. If repairing the exhaust tube does not do the job, then you will have to replace it.

Final Thoughts

The car can sound louder after an exhaust header has been attached to the exhaust system. The exhaust headers quicken the combustion process which helps the car exhaust to emit louder sound. Most cars do not come with a pre installed header and adding the header later improves the sound quality.