From: Scott
Very interesting. I'm also weighing the pros and cons of cutting
down my stock header, which already has heat shields, vs. having
a new header and muffler fabricated.

Whether valid or not, the Racing Beat guys say:



Headed by Jim Mederer, Racing Beat's co-founder and chief engineer,
a complete review all aspects of RX-8 will be undertaken.

The following is an update from the desk of Jim Mederer as
 he shares his thoughts on the progress of his testing:

"Racing Beat is about to come out with a number of products
for the new RX-8. Others have already brought products to the
 market with what we have found to be some rather exaggerated
claims. Rather than echo these claims we prefer to report exactly
and honestly the results we see. In the long run, the customer
 will appreciate dealing with reality, not a wish. In the past
 it was common to see improvements in the exhaust and intake
systems of rotary engines in the 12-20 HP bracket, depending
on the product. Headers in particular were a great source of
power- this is no longer true. Although we are still working
on a final header design, we have yet to observe more than a
 slight horsepower gain. Space is a limiting factor to becoming
creative with a header design, and besides, the port configuration
 is fairly restrictive on the Renesis engine. We have found that
 Mazda’s exhaust manifold design is actually pretty good. Mazda
has already wrung almost nearly everything they can from the engine.
The are small improvements possible, but the days of the early
 rotaries when 10-20 horsepower gains could be realized fairly
easily, those days appear to be over."




The stock header can get down to about 8-9 lbs, depending on
 how much is removed. Here's a first-phase cutdown that weighs 10 lb.
The air injection mechanism can also be removed. Welding in a joint,
followed with exit piping and/or a muffler is still needed, with its
own inherent costs, complexity and weight.

Scott Gettings


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