I want to stay CARB legal for my personal reasons and the environmentalist friends I have. Which should I go for in my 06(.5) Scion xB?

DC Headers $225 + install (what is a fair cost for install?)

or

Cat Back Exhaust $??? + install (this is easy to install right?)

or

Is there any carb legal method to increase power other than these listed than are fairly cheap? I want to stay under $300-400.

 

neither of above items are carb legal.

 

I love your avatar.

I was lead to believe that headers and exhaust were carb legal.

 

I'm not in CA, but I believe specific parts need CARB approval. For example, my AEM intake has a sticker on it declaring it CARB legal.

It's really absurd.

I suggest leaving California for any place run by sane people.

 

qft

hahahahaha thats so true

 

but heres the thing, can you even see the header in the xb without going under it? the exhaust header on the xa/xb is between the engine and the fire wall, so it might not even be visible, and also, your cat is further down the exhaust pipe, so it won't cause a CEL like it would on the tC/xB2.

 

go with the DC header and then a simple DC exhaust. i believe they both are CARB approved for the box.

 

Get a lightweight pulley.

 

Thanks, I will probably do that. Any idea how the DX exhaust sounds? I want to make sure it sounds good and deep, no rice rockets.

Also, how much do these cost to get installed?

I don't know much about a pulley, how much hp does it generally add? How much does it cost to purchase and install?

 

the DC exhaust came as part of the RS2.0 package. I dont think i've heard one in person before, but in general it should probably be a deep tone and not too loud. the installs depend on what local shop you go to and their labor rates. look for about 1 hour for the header and 30 mins for the exhaust as a reasonable estimate.

the pulley doesn't add HP. it basically allows the engine to spin up faster, so you get through the revs quicker and thus FEELS like you're getting HP but you really don't. this usually will take 1 hour to install.

do more research on these parts. seems like you need to read a bit more material to make a more informed decision