Untitled Document

Project 200SX
Breathing Easier

By Michael Young
NissanPerformanceMagazine.com
November 2001

Our quest to allow Project 200SX to Breath Easier starts out with a trip to
Hotshot Performance. We had the privilege of spending a few hours behind the scenes with Hotshot's owner and founder John Spangler.

Hotshot Performance, since the early days, has been supporting the Nissan aftermarket with high quality products. While other companies were ignoring the needs of the Nissan enthusiast, Hotshot was at the forefront of designing and manufacturing headers for both the SR20DE and GA16DE. In fact, most of the cheaply produced Nissan headers on the market today are direct copies of the early generation Hotshot designs.

These poor imitations are produced with inferior materials and workmanship. This becomes very apparent in side by side comparisons. You could say "Hotshot was the Pacesetter" (Pun Intended).

Once you understand the manner in which Hotshot handles their research and development, it's easy to understand the fault with the P.O.S. copies. HS is continually looking for ways to improve upon their product through redesign and testing. When you take into account the fact that the SR20DE header is now in it's fifth generation, and the GA16DE header is in it's fourth generation of design, this becomes even more apparent.It truly says something about a company that is continually looking for ways to improve their own product.
All applications are individually designed and prototyped for each specific vehicle. Other companies use a generic design for all applications.
The Hotshot header has been a proven winner for many Nissan applications and verified through independent testing. This was also the outcome of the most recent header shoot-out conducted in the pages of Sport Compact Car. Several headers were tested for the SR20DE. In the end, Hotshot was given the highest approval rating in both quality and performance gains.

Testing on the GA16DE has shown the header to give about 7-8 more peak wheel hp and 10-11 hp at around 5250 rpm.

Hotshot Performance headers feature mandrel bent heavy walled tubing, 3/8 inch thick CNC machined flanges, stainless steel flex joint, and all required emissions fittings. They are also ceramic coated to maintain their brilliant appearance.
Hotshot supplies all parts needed for installation, including genuine Nissan exhaust manifold gaskets, EGR tube, and a heavy duty copper gasket, used between the primary and secondary flanges. This is by far the best header on the market today for Nissan applications. All Hotshot products are made in the USA at their Irwindale, California facility.