I'm thinking of getting some headers for my LT4, I think I might want the SW's or EM's. I think I want a 1 5/8" set, so to not lose bottom end power. They need to have extensions including cats and able to bolt up to a popular catback.

Are there some other brands that might make equal length headers, which include the O2 bungs etc. Which brands come with the Jet Hot coating?

What kind of modifications have to be made to get them installed. Like moving wire looms, oil dipstick bracket, plug installation/removal, shielding the plug boots and what kind of header bolts were used and how difficult it was to install them. I really do not want to be grinding bolts, bending brackets, shielding wires and melting the A/C box just to install these rascals.

 

ttt for ya

 

I've been running 1 3/4 EM's for 2 years, no problems to report. EM's are coated inside and out by HPC, http://www.hpcoatings.com/ and come with o2 bungs. They also have extensions and cats available, don't think they have 1 5/8th tubes though.
I had to adjust (bend) the wire loom under the AC compressor, driver side motor mount bolt must be reversed, pull the dipstick tube for install no problem with bracket reinstall.
Plug excess is no more difficult, I'm running the stock Packard wires and they show no signs of heat stress, and I've been hot lapping at the drag strip and done a few parades.
The Stage 8 system is really nice, but the backside bolt on # 8 was a pain in the butt, and some of the clips can be hard to install. I connected to the stock exhaust, no cats. I did also install heated o2 sensors, don't think that was really nessary, I think my first tune was crap.
Check out My Photo's

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I'm installing a set of stainless works headers with random tehcnology cats and a 3" B&B exhaust. The headers are very well made and coating them inside and out was only 225 for me so I've spent around 1300 on a set. I purchased 12 pt. ARP 1" header bolts and I'm learning that I need 3 ARP header studs for accessory brackets and dipstick. I'm also using the felpro performance gaskets. Bolting some of them is a PITA. Forget about the torque wrench on half of them.

Connecting these to a cat-back is not a simple bolt up. They give you additional lengths of pipe so you can use which one works best for you but in my case, I will need a reducer from 2.5" to 3" to connect to the cat-back. I have a few picturesof the headers in right now...

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/design...lbum?.dir=230e

 

I don't know why you insist on 1 5/8" primaries, I think only Hedman makes those and then only for early C4s. No one will say it straight out, but Hedmans are the cheapies of headers available..

I have TPIS, they are coated, I had no problems with fitment, I have no problems with spark plug wires burning, I can get to the plugs to change them, I have no problems with gasket sealing, etc. What's not to like? They cost too much? You pay for quality.

 

ttt

 

When going with the 3/4 EM's, did you lose much bottom end torque? Did they change the sound of the factory exhaust? Can you e-mail me some pics, the link isn't doing anything.

 

I don't know whether I lost any low end torque however, I know that my EMs improved my midrange and upper topend. I have an A4 with 3.45s and the car pulls hard.
The factory exhaust sounds different but I had to remove the resonator in order to install my cats. It is still quiet at idle and I have not experienced any resonance. WOT it sound healthy.

What do you want pics of? I will be under the car sometime this week installing my Goodyear F1s.

Mike

 

...great fitment as stated above . Expensive but worth it !

 

Because there are enough people floating around here who will argue until the grave that 1 5/8" headers are better than 1 3/4"

A great misconception is that you will "loose" low end torque with 1 3/4" and this is simply not the case, or if you do it is below 2000 RPM's. In short the car is still PLENTY driveable. A more valid arguement is that for the low to mid RPM range 1 3/4" header might not give you AS MUCH GAIN as 1 5/8" headers. Unfortunately though there comes a point where the higher revving engine begins to benefit from the larger headers.

You'll notice that MOST, but not all, of the people who swear by 1 5/8" headers are running TPI systems and don't need the RPM ability of the larger headers. If your engine turns enough revs however you'll see enough of a benefit in the mid-upper range with 1 3/4"'s to offeset what you give up over 1 5/8" in the lower range.

I use Hooker 1 3/4" headers. My experience has been that the type of coating seems to be far more important than who actually made the headers. Hooker's factory coating sucks terribly, but whoever did my coating was awesome. Unfortunately I don't know who did that coating because it was done for me by the vendor. I like Hooker because they provide plenty of spark plug and wire clearance and they are the only header to offer a bolt on collector flange, which for my usage is a benefit, it might not be for others.

 

Good advice so far. You'd be crazy to go with 1 5/8" headers.

 

I still think I like the EM's the most so far, but I would like to see them on an LT4, and talk about exactly what had to be done to the car to get them on and the car running right. I guess the engeine mount has to be reversed and the wire loom under the AC compressor bent out of the way, new bolts etc.

Are the EM's like the TPIS so that they would bolt right up and utilize all you factory hardware for the rest of the cars components. That is a huge advantage for a dude like me.

As far as price goes the EM's are basically the same price as TPIS, and I think they come with a better ceramic coating.

 

If given the choice I would certainly go with EM over TPIS. Although I've never personally had an TPIS products I've seen tons of bad press on a lot of their stuff.

 

I have the 3" on my '93 convertable. Mine's an A4, so the cats are located behind the tranny. It's a tight fit, and I had to replace one of the x-braces because it was bent and hit the exhaust. Call EM and they will make sure that you have all the info that you need.

 

Not to hi-jack the thread, but which of these LT headers (TPIS, EM, Hooker, SW, etc.....) are the easiest to install? Meaning... I don't have to remove the starter, remove/unbolt motor mounts, etc?

For me. I need ease of installation, because I may have to swap back to stock for emissions.

 

I'm pretty sure that any of them that require you to swap the motor mount bolt would not be a problem because even reversed you could still re-install the manifolds. I honestly can't remember about the starter, but honestly I think I'd rather take a kick in the teeth than to swap parts just for emissions testing. You'd have to have two complete cat backs, etc. Not worth the hassle in my book. Maybe it is to you though, good luck.

 

I did not have to remove the starter to install my EM header..

 

what about the motor mounts?

 

The only things I've had to remove to install any headers on an LTx is the spark plugs and coolant gauge sender in the head. The SW GP thread in C4 parts F/S can answer your other questions re/ brackets, dipstick, etc. Good luck w/ whatever you choose. These cars really are not too bad to do headers on. I can send you some pics of the SW install if you'd like.

 

With TPIS there is a brace under the motor mount that I had to remove on the passenger side only to get the headers up to the motor. The brace then bolts back in. Easily reachable from below even on jackstands.