Headers will give you a little more power, it's one of the first things you do in long and enjoyable road to horse power heaven :D

 

As for stock "Rams Horn" ex man they are supposed to be the best stock ex. I see where they can be ported to do even better! I am interested to see how this plays out.

 

Was over to see my neighbor tonite and he was humped under the hood changin his header gaskets......again...... on his Monte Carlo. Either he is doin somethin wrong or headers are truly the PITA that some people make them out to be. Am sure others will follow with much more knowledge, but for me the extra few HP's just aint worth it......yet. :crazy:

 

My general experience is that header gaskets leak. Given that that rams horns work well (they get iimpressive numbers on my car), I agree that the few extra horses are not worth the probs.

Another note, protect the starter with proper shielding. I had severe restart problems on my small block years ago.

 

Sorry, I have to disagree. I have had my headers on the car for over 6 years with no gasket problem. I got a set of good Fel-Pro header gaskets when I did my engine rebuild and have not had any problem. I do occationally (once a year) snug up the header bolts but that is it. These are the same gaskets that we would use in building circle track motors and we never had any problem, even with less than new headers.

I would say the pros are:
HP (what more do you need)
great sound

Cons:
less clearance in changing oil filter
removal of smog equipment on later models if you have to deal with smog *****

 

What headers do you run, PatG?
I am going to run Hedman 68301s, and going to have them jet-hot coated. Smog legal, and hopefully, they will stand up well to the test of time.
I would not mind having to bolt them down once a year.
-Steve

 

Not many cons but they are :
installation (differs with brands)
Heat inside the cabin
heatsoaked starter


To me it's a no brainer, headers rule. :yesnod:

 

Rick

Just a few thoughts from "across the pond", that may raise a few eyebrows!

I changed from headers back to the standard cast manifold on my '78. Over here we are able to run true dual exhausts, with no cat. I have a stanless system right through.

Following the change I noted the cabin was WAY cooler! And a whole lot quieter, the "right" noise now coming from the rear of the car, not through the firewall. For a "daily driver" that may be a whole lot nicer?

I did have some problems with leaking gaskets, not major, but a bit of a pain. Its not a concern withthe cast manifolds.

Adittionally, there is more room to work under the car on things like oil filter changes. I have had bad heat sink problems witht eh starter. I have since changed the starter, but the new pipes are a lot further away, so have to help that. My understanding is that the higher HP is gained at highish revs anyway, so again, maybe not so important for a daily driver?

We don't use our car for too much "high speed" stuff, so for me the cast manifolds were a huge improvement.... Just my humble opinion!

Stephen

 

I'm not sure if there are any "cons" regarding headers. I'm on my second set of Hookers all the way 'round in 30 years and still doing fine.

 

I really like my Headers and it Really enhances the sound and Seat of the pants feel..........I would recommend for sure and They sure do look good

 

PRO- HP & Performance. The more HP you have, the more headers help.

:cool:

 

Pros:

1. louder inside car
2. louder outside car
3. more power
4. increased torque (especially in low & mid rpm ranges)
5. increased fuel economy

Cons:
1. sometimes - installtion can be a pain (of course you only go through this once)
2. gaskets can leak (especially if running low quality gaskets provided with the headers - run copper or aluminum and they will not leak)
3. might require occasional retightening. (use high quality locking bolts and this will not be a problem)
4.louder inside car (its a matter of taste) :)
5. louder outside car (see 4 above) :)
6. possible increase in cabin temps (my jet hot coated headers do not seem to have appriciably (sp?) increased the temps in the cabin.
7. decreased ground clearance (I actually havent experienced this - as my car frequently hit the rear y-pipe against the ground - since I was able to do the duals, I have yet to hit anything - although I did bang the collectors off a speed bump I was going to fast over.)
8. Oil filter clearance (this is a baddie IMO - no 1 quart oil filters with headers)
9. Starter heak sink - Maybe -( hasnt been a problem on my car with the Hedmans which clear around the starter nicely, this may be dependant upon mfr of the headers. I drove the car for several hours straight several times over this last long weekend and never had any restart problems - I even stopped the car and fired it up within 2 minutes as a test.)

thats my list, when weighed against the gains, the losses - most of which are not items you have to live with (i.e. install is a one time only affair) seemed minor to me - I have gone to true duals - headers - dynomax super turbos -the car will now spin its tires much much easier compared to my old single exhaust - I'm 250 miles on a tank of gas that I used to only get 220 miles out of - the car sounds like a corvette and not a Buick.

All smiles here :) :) :) :) :) :)

 

I have same 2 1/2" true duel with Flowmaster 40 and just put in D. Thorley headers this weekend due to a cracked rams horn. Cost me $230 for labor to put in. I noticed a definite increase in low end torque that wasn't there a week before on a basic stock engine. Not huge, but enough to make it seem worth the effort. No noticeable added heat though I insulated cockpit when interior was done. Sound is same since 40s are at tail-end. Just my .02

(69 conv 350/300 4spd red/blk/blk)

 

This doesn't really apply to your car but when I went from the stock 75 2-1-2 system to headers into a 3 inch cat and back out I didn't notice any HP increase with my stock L48 and the car did run hotter even with my ceramic coated headers.

 

One more PRO is the weight savings over the stock boat anchors :)

 

I like my headers, I put the Dynomax side pipes on an the car is quiet. It does not sound stock at all it has a little rumble, I drove it accross the state and it was great. I wish it was a bit louder.

Bob

 

Have the best of both worlds -- well, as close as you are going to get -- http://www.sandersonheaders.com/page...um/qp1000a.htm



and for those that must run the A.I.R. system -- like I do .....




And these look good for the ZZ4 owners that don't have to worry about A.I.R. pipes --

I purchased a set of exhaust manifolds / headers that came stock on the 1982 Corvette. They are tubular, shorty style, install without gaskets - but can use them, have the A.I.R. pipe built in and have a 2 1/2 inch exit instead of the stock 2 inch exit. I am going to get mine JET coated (as they are based in the next town over), and install them later this year.

 

I felt like low-end torque DECREASED for me compared to my stock manifolds. But high end power was GREATLY enhanced. Putting on the heads more than restored the lost low-end power. :)

I noticed the car is a little hard to restart when hot. But never had a problem restarting.

I would do headers again.
-terry