A little helper function:
(defun gcr/set-org-system-header-arg (property value)
"Easily set system header arguments in org mode.
PROPERTY is the system-wide value that you would like to modify.
VALUE is the new value you wish to store.
Attribution: URL http://orgmode.org/manual/System_002dwide-header-arguments.html#System_002dwide-header-arguments
"
(setq org-babel-default-header-args
(cons (cons property value)
(assq-delete-all property org-babel-default-header-args))))