RoadsterSport MAX Power 1.8 Inch NC Stainless Steel Header

Unsurprisingly, very happy with the product, just look at this compared to stock unit, you can see it is going to flow better. Could feel difference even prior to tune. Installed with hemholtz catted midpipe and race single. Ear bleeding loud? Yeah kinda, not wife approved. Honestly, not even husband (me) approved. Have super q on the way. Ultimately happy with the mods though. Keeping the race single for my midlife crisis in about 2 years or so.

About the install… I think even regardless of your mechanical skill level, this is a bit of a frustrating job. Not that most can not do it, but I think just about everyone will use some real choice language while gettin ‘er done. It is just a tight space to work. Definitely give yourself time, I had a time crunch and it just made the experience so much worse. A few things to make it a bit more stream lined: Tilt alternator forward, for sure. Get both the short and long o2 sensor extensions, this way you won’t have to cut up in the harness (you really gotta cut up high, trust, $50 bucks to avoid this headache is worth it). I know they say you don’t need it, and you probably don’t, but you’ll most likely want it, and I couldn’t encourage you more to get the short in addition to the long. Make sure you have a good mix of wobbles, extensions, and ratchet wrenches to ensure you have access to everything you’ll need to tighten down. Lastly, I didn’t realize this header does not fit with the stock heat shield, so get the TDR heat shield cover sold here as well. It’s not terribly difficult to install after the fact, but it would have been a little easier to have installed it at the same time as the header itself. Hope this helps!

-- Jeff H. ( 2012 MX-5 ) February 2024

I purchased this header as well as the GWR catted non-helmholtz midpipe together for Black Friday.

I am utterly incompetent with tools, so I had my diesel mechanic buddy do the install for me. I've seen a lot of people say to remove or tilt the alternator in order to remove the old header and install the new. Buddy thought he'd take a swing at it without doing that, and discovered that an unbolted header neatly locks the alternator in place and hides the bolts from reach. Good job. It took several hours of fiddling and jiggling and cursing to get the old header free, and then an equal amount of time in reverse to get the new header in place. This isn't really the venue for details, but suffice it to say that if I had attempted it myself, I'd have the stock header still hanging loosely in the engine bay with the head spitting fire about at random. If you're not quite experienced and/or talented, you'll want to find someone who knows what they're doing. If you live in a rust-prone area (I don't), then you'll want the job done by someone who you don't mind never speaking to you again. Or, like, an exhaust shop.

The midpipe was much easier, although bolting that to the stock muffler required reusing some hardware that didn't want to be reused. I also purchased both O2 sensor extensions. The short one was just barely long enough; the long one was comedically too long, like, drag-on-the-pavement long. Good Lord. But that's what zip ties are for. Also I must say, I repeatedly heard, "Wow, this kit is REALLY high quality" spoken from beneath my car during install. Aside from the fact that Miatas are small (and the goofy O2 extension, which I assume is that way to support other configurations), the build quality and fitment were beyond reproach.

First impressions were honestly underwhelming. With the stock muffler retained, the sound difference initially was very subtle indeed. There might have been a slight difference in power, but it would take instrumented testing to say for sure. However, I have heard many times that exhaust takes a while to settle in, and indeed, within the first couple hundred miles, the car sounds significantly more angry than stock, at least inside.

About a week after installing the exhaust, I got an Ecutek tune from Fab9 to go with the new exhaust. I don't know what a tune would have done with the stock exhaust, but with this setup, there has been a noticeable increase in power. It's still not a Mustang hunter, obviously, but there's something going on. But more importantly, this exhaust is MUCH lighter than stock, and this will support any future power mods I choose to make, potentially including a supercharger.

TL;DR - Install is hard, get someone who knows what they're doing. If you're just looking for sound, just buy a muffler instead. If you're looking to support future power mods and want parts that are made well and work well, this header is excellent.

-- Curtis B., Yakima, WA ( 2011 NC2 Miata ) December 2023

One of the first things I changed on my newly acquired NC1 was the exhaust system. This header, coupled with the Hemholtz Mid-pipe, and SuperQ muffler is a winning combination.
Sounds great without being obnoxious or disturbing (neighbor relations are undamaged), while stepping up power. Highly recommend this combo!

-- Dave K., Reading, PA ( MX5 2007 PRHT ) May 2023

This thing is gorgeous! Amazing welds, solid build! This was my last step of the complete exhaust. I now have this, the mid-pipe, and the Super-Q exhaust. I must say prior to updating my tune with Mike @ Xero things were pretty good. Nice sound, no drone. But once you have some milage on this and the corrected tune for the flow this offers, this totally wakes up the car. It's a beast now. Running like a champ. I was skeptical about the tone changing over time, but I'll be the first to say, this setup has mellowed out nicely. What a great-sounding setup. Pulls like a train. Yeah, hop on this.......

-- G G., TN ( 2012 NC Miata ) July 2022

Really great piece. I have the Roadstersport Midpipe and Race muffler, so I was going for a very loud result...and I got it. Sounds amazing and really does up the torque above 4500, which is how I drive normally on the street as well as the track. As the other reviewer said, I absolutely HAD to shift my alternator forward and temporarily disconnect the coolant line above the header for installation. Not a big deal, the instructions tell you how. BUT in my case, even though I had the goodwin midpipe, I still needed BOTH of the O2 sensor extensions. No matter what I did, the first O2 sensor would not reach the header. So I ended up having to purchase both extensions, and just put both sensors in the midpipe.

Goodwin is amazing with response time for questions -- any issues, and they email you right back. Thats a lot more than I can say for our other Miata shops online.

-- Brian G., Austin ( 2015 Club ) May 2020

This header sounds great. I put this on after breaking in my 2.5L engine and I couldn't be happier. Doing this task on my own for the first time, however, was a pain. I did have an issue with the connection to the midpipe. The connection flange was turned approx. 5 degrees clockwise making the midpipe and header not connect properly, and I had to spend a good hour or two just on tweaking and manipulating the midpipe to twist just enough for the connection to be made.

I currently have an ISR performance muffler delete with the stock midpipe and this header. The sound outside of the car is not as loud as you perceive it from inside the car as a side note. This is where I believe the Helmholtz midpipe will come into play, and will probably be my next buy.

My own personal installation note:

This header WILL NOT go in without either removing the alternator, or tilting it forward by removing the top bolt and the bottom, rear bolt. I opted for the latter option, but needed to maneuver the AC lines and the Coolant hose out of the way. Removal and installation time for myself on my own (First time ever doing this) was about 4-5 hours with about 2 hours being me tweaking the midpipe.

Overall great header, might have just been a one-off on my flange.

-- Jacob B., Walnut, CA ( 2006 MX-5 ) September 2017

Did a 2.5 upgrade installed header along the way perfect fit well made header.

-- Shannon C., Shalimar Fl ( 07 MX 5 ) July 2017