What brand headers
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 1,008
Likes: 5
From: Greensburg PA
What brand headers
I know there are plenty of header threads, but i never get a definite answer. I just picked up a 91' polo green 6sp and I'm looking for a pair of headers and front y-pipe. I already have a random technology cat, and corsa catback. I'm looking for the most cost efficient set of QUALITY headers, that requires the least modification to work.
Stainless works, EM, obx, what do you guys reccomend for a painless install and something that holds up over time?
Pics of my car, just got it thursday
Stainless works, EM, obx, what do you guys reccomend for a painless install and something that holds up over time?
Pics of my car, just got it thursday
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 1,008
Likes: 5
From: Greensburg PA
I had forgotten about melrose, how was installation?
One thing i forgot to mention is it has to have all the emissions b/s(air, egr, whatever else) . I'd rather not remove all that stuff.
One thing i forgot to mention is it has to have all the emissions b/s(air, egr, whatever else) . I'd rather not remove all that stuff.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 18,346
Likes: 1
From: D / FW
Those look just like my powder coated TPIS long tubes !
Main things are direct fit and the thickness of the flange and of course the bungs for your Oxy sensors !
I do recomend the powder coating [ after all it's a Vette ] and make sure to put a wrap between your header and your starter for a street driven car .
If you don't starter may drag when hot and decrease starter life !
It's not necessary to wrap the whole headers as there is enough air flow to keep anything from getting too hot.
Main things are direct fit and the thickness of the flange and of course the bungs for your Oxy sensors !
I do recomend the powder coating [ after all it's a Vette ] and make sure to put a wrap between your header and your starter for a street driven car .
If you don't starter may drag when hot and decrease starter life !
It's not necessary to wrap the whole headers as there is enough air flow to keep anything from getting too hot.
Pro
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 544
Likes: 0
From: Atco Raceway in between Pa & Nj 13.073 @ 106 MPH
Those look just like my powder coated TPIS long tubes !
Main things are direct fit and the thickness of the flange and of course the bungs for your Oxy sensors !
I do recomend the powder coating [ after all it's a Vette ] and make sure to put a wrap between your header and your starter for a street driven car .
If you don't starter may drag when hot and decrease starter life !
It's not necessary to wrap the whole headers as there is enough air flow to keep anything from getting too hot.
Main things are direct fit and the thickness of the flange and of course the bungs for your Oxy sensors !
I do recomend the powder coating [ after all it's a Vette ] and make sure to put a wrap between your header and your starter for a street driven car .
If you don't starter may drag when hot and decrease starter life !
It's not necessary to wrap the whole headers as there is enough air flow to keep anything from getting too hot.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Corvette & Porsche 911: How Two Icons Conquered the Last 25 Years
Joe Kucinski
2027 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 First Look: Everything You NEED to Know!
Michael S. Palmer
5 Best & 5 Worst Corvette Daily Drivers
Joe Kucinski
The Headlights of Every Corvette Generation Explained
Joe Kucinski
5 Best & 5 Most Overrated Corvette Track Packages of All Time!
Joe Kucinski
Every 2027 Corvette Engine Explained
Joe Kucinski
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Verdad Gallardo
10 Ugly Corvettes That We Still Kinda Love
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 34,988
Likes: 515
From: Riverside County Southern California
Co-winner 2020 C4 of the Year - Modified
2018 Corvette of Year Finalist
2017 C4 of Year
2016 C7 of Year Finalist
St. Jude Donor '09 thru '20
a "definitive answer" is because you have not read the whole thread(s), sometimes they
are 200+ posts. Is not rocket science all procedures have been covered from brand, tube
diameter thru the muffler tips.
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,647
Likes: 4
From: Argillite KY
For the money, I agree that the OBX are one of the best buys out there right now. The welds are well done, the flange is heavy-duty (3/8") and the inside of the pipes are ground and cleaned up real nice. For about $500.00 they're hard to beat.
You also get enough hook-up pipes to get to your center muffler. For the center muffler I replaced the factory straight through with a Magnaflow X-pipe straight through muffler. Same length and all.
You also get enough hook-up pipes to get to your center muffler. For the center muffler I replaced the factory straight through with a Magnaflow X-pipe straight through muffler. Same length and all.
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 4,328
Likes: 15
From: Jacksonville FL
The reason you cant get a definitive answer is because the question is like asking what octane fuel, what oil, what antifreeze, what temp thermostat, and on and on. Its usually a preference question so your going to get as many opinions as persons that answered.
Almost all brand of headers have worked thru all the bugs long ago so the only questions you have to answer for yourself is do you want stainless or steel, coated or not, what size primary tubes, what gauge material and flange thickness. All these things generally are decided once you figure out how much you want to spend and see what is available in your budget range. My advice-Buy the best you can afford.
Right now I would buy the OBX's for myself. They are getting good reviews and seem to be the best deal out there right now.
Almost all brand of headers have worked thru all the bugs long ago so the only questions you have to answer for yourself is do you want stainless or steel, coated or not, what size primary tubes, what gauge material and flange thickness. All these things generally are decided once you figure out how much you want to spend and see what is available in your budget range. My advice-Buy the best you can afford.
Right now I would buy the OBX's for myself. They are getting good reviews and seem to be the best deal out there right now.
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,647
Likes: 4
From: Argillite KY
I have to say the American header argument would hold up better if things were priced a little differently. Tubing is not that expensive and I can't see paying a "Corvette Tax" every time I order something from a vendor. There have been threads recently where vendors have really put the screws to us.
If I can buy a set of long tube headers for a 1970 Charger for $400 coated why does the equivalent Corvette header....with less tubing and the same size flange sell for twice that? There is only so much I will pay for the privilege of buying American. It appears to me that someone is making some pretty good profit off us.
If nothing else, maybe buying OBX headers will force folks to charge a fair price for their products. I understand that people charge what the market will bear but some Vette parts are just ridiculous. Headers from the major manufacturers for a Vette or a Dodge pickup are the same price. The Vette header makers have gotten together or looked at each others pricing to arrive at their price and I'll personally refuse to play that game. If the American made products were a hundred dollars or so higher then I'd start a line to buy them but to gladly walk into a rip off is just BS in my opinion.
If I can buy a set of long tube headers for a 1970 Charger for $400 coated why does the equivalent Corvette header....with less tubing and the same size flange sell for twice that? There is only so much I will pay for the privilege of buying American. It appears to me that someone is making some pretty good profit off us.
If nothing else, maybe buying OBX headers will force folks to charge a fair price for their products. I understand that people charge what the market will bear but some Vette parts are just ridiculous. Headers from the major manufacturers for a Vette or a Dodge pickup are the same price. The Vette header makers have gotten together or looked at each others pricing to arrive at their price and I'll personally refuse to play that game. If the American made products were a hundred dollars or so higher then I'd start a line to buy them but to gladly walk into a rip off is just BS in my opinion.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 2,871
Likes: 0
From: sterling va usa
Those look just like my powder coated TPIS long tubes !
Main things are direct fit and the thickness of the flange and of course the bungs for your Oxy sensors !
I do recomend the powder coating [ after all it's a Vette ] and make sure to put a wrap between your header and your starter for a street driven car .
If you don't starter may drag when hot and decrease starter life !
It's not necessary to wrap the whole headers as there is enough air flow to keep anything from getting too hot.
Main things are direct fit and the thickness of the flange and of course the bungs for your Oxy sensors !
I do recomend the powder coating [ after all it's a Vette ] and make sure to put a wrap between your header and your starter for a street driven car .
If you don't starter may drag when hot and decrease starter life !
It's not necessary to wrap the whole headers as there is enough air flow to keep anything from getting too hot.
I have TPIS and Power effects adj. exhaust.
Pro
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 544
Likes: 0
From: Atco Raceway in between Pa & Nj 13.073 @ 106 MPH
I have to say the American header argument would hold up better if things were priced a little differently. Tubing is not that expensive and I can't see paying a "Corvette Tax" every time I order something from a vendor. There have been threads recently where vendors have really put the screws to us.
If I can buy a set of long tube headers for a 1970 Charger for $400 coated why does the equivalent Corvette header....with less tubing and the same size flange sell for twice that? There is only so much I will pay for the privilege of buying American. It appears to me that someone is making some pretty good profit off us.
If nothing else, maybe buying OBX headers will force folks to charge a fair price for their products. I understand that people charge what the market will bear but some Vette parts are just ridiculous. Headers from the major manufacturers for a Vette or a Dodge pickup are the same price. The Vette header makers have gotten together or looked at each others pricing to arrive at their price and I'll personally refuse to play that game. If the American made products were a hundred dollars or so higher then I'd start a line to buy them but to gladly walk into a rip off is just BS in my opinion.
If I can buy a set of long tube headers for a 1970 Charger for $400 coated why does the equivalent Corvette header....with less tubing and the same size flange sell for twice that? There is only so much I will pay for the privilege of buying American. It appears to me that someone is making some pretty good profit off us.
If nothing else, maybe buying OBX headers will force folks to charge a fair price for their products. I understand that people charge what the market will bear but some Vette parts are just ridiculous. Headers from the major manufacturers for a Vette or a Dodge pickup are the same price. The Vette header makers have gotten together or looked at each others pricing to arrive at their price and I'll personally refuse to play that game. If the American made products were a hundred dollars or so higher then I'd start a line to buy them but to gladly walk into a rip off is just BS in my opinion.
304 SS is 304 SS same with 3/8 flanges and quality welds, Like he said don't mind paying a fair price but I am not going to the drug store first to buy Vasoline to pay the Corvette Tax.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 2,547
Likes: 46
From: NJ
Heres a vid of the exhaust. its the melrose headers, melrose Xpipem Randomtech CATs, and NO mufflers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCzElkJE-tc
Pro
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 544
Likes: 0
From: Atco Raceway in between Pa & Nj 13.073 @ 106 MPH
Think maybe it's time you changed your avatar their chief. "Proud to be American"........."but I'll only buy from china because I don't like American pricing" ...... 
Re-read my second post. I ask again, how can Americans compete with slave wages? Your little obx headers are dirt cheap because the poor shmucks in the sweatshop that makes them are working 12 hour shifts 7 days a week and get paid less in a month than most Americans do in an hour.
Of coarse those headers are going to be cheap. It's not like obx has to worry about things like decent wages and/or benefits for their employees. If any of the workers complain, they'll just get shoot them..
Re-read my second post. I ask again, how can Americans compete with slave wages? Your little obx headers are dirt cheap because the poor shmucks in the sweatshop that makes them are working 12 hour shifts 7 days a week and get paid less in a month than most Americans do in an hour.
Of coarse those headers are going to be cheap. It's not like obx has to worry about things like decent wages and/or benefits for their employees. If any of the workers complain, they'll just get shoot them..
I guess your teachers in grade school were not Union.
You go and pay the Corvette Tax
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 1,008
Likes: 5
From: Greensburg PA
Right now my top choices are stainless works and melrose. I'd LOVE ARH, but I'm not willing to spend 1500 for a set of headers for a car thats staying nearly stock. 1 5/8 primaries are fine for me.
Are melrose headers coated? I was always under the impression that melrose was stainless? If so, sounds like I'm going stainless works.
I appreciate your opinions, but please keep the "American vs Chinese parts" nonsense out of here. I'm the kind of guy that'll purchase an item from anywhere, as long as the company puts out quality pieces and stands behind their work.
Are melrose headers coated? I was always under the impression that melrose was stainless? If so, sounds like I'm going stainless works.
I appreciate your opinions, but please keep the "American vs Chinese parts" nonsense out of here. I'm the kind of guy that'll purchase an item from anywhere, as long as the company puts out quality pieces and stands behind their work.