What is the best "Bang for your buck' headers out there?

I am changing all the gaskets on my 84 and figured this would be a good time work on my 300HP goal...

I have already removed my AIR pump so that is not an issue...
Is there even a differance between headers as far as perfomance goes?

 

I would buy the headers made by TPIS.

 

I have order a set of MELROSE headers for my 87'. I had made several e-mails and phone calls back and forth with GREAT response. I went with a set for off road use only. They have NO air fittings, NO EGR and NO CATS . They came in and boy are they NICE. I had the Headers JET-HOT coated the rest of the system is Stainless. The system is 3" all they way back and at were the mufflers tie in it is 2 1/2", with all stainless fittings for the rest. I can't wait to get it bolted up just waitting for the engine to get back along with a new PCM. I can't get over the quality of workmanship and the fit and finish not to mention the price!! Most of the gang around where grinning to see what it looks like and they (like me ) can't wait to see(HEAR) how it sounds. I can try to get some pics out. I spent alot of time researching and this is what I thought was the best bang for the buck.
WRO

 

Relatively little difference between the header brands as far as power or performance, mainly fit & finish.

TPiS headers fit easiest, but I should warn you that the #7 plug wire boot is going to rub on the header with those straight-plug 84 heads. I dont know if Hooker will have the exact same problem.

 

Don't know where I've heard it but stay away from Headmans.

 

 

Probably from some of the same people that say 1984 Corvettes and Crossfires are fire traps, death traps, rattle traps, and any other type of "trap" you want to ascribe to them. Hedman hedders are less expensive than most. Consequently, there may be some corners that get cut. Hedman "Elite" Hedders have thicker flanges and tubes than their standard line, and much of the competition. The Hedman 1 5/8" tube size is better suited to the rpm band most used in daily driving, than some of the more "popular" brands. A lot of people cannot shake the "bigger is better" syndrome or feel that the Hedmans don't cost enough...not enough "snob appeal". For the true skinny on the Hedmans, wait for replies from those that have experienced them, installed, used, and lived with them, rather than sign on with the rumor mongers.

RACE ON!!!

 

i have hedmans, i got them from summit a few years back, they were cheap, fit well, were easy to install, no header leaks.
whats the problem?

 

Had mine for 3 years now, no problems. Other have had them longer and no prob...well except for the extra cash they saved, and where to spend it. If you need Hooker headers because of the name, go head and spend the extra cash.....

 

My Hedman Elites look like the day they were put on and are 3 years old now. Great header and for $340 delivered to my home they can't be beat for the price. The same comparable header from Hooker is closer to $500-$600. Uhhhhmmmmmm not very smart to me for my money but hey if you want to spend that kind of money be my guest. These header threads rank right up there with what oil is best and my all time favorite of nothing is to good for my baby so I spent the most I could because it makes me feel better although I probably took it in the shorts? The vette is a car just like any other and it certainly does not need to be babied. Take care of it, maintain it, and most importantly DRIVE IT!

 

The Hedman Elites do not come with the crappy Hedman reputation.

 

TTT, I'm interested in some fresh opinions/experiences too.

 

I have used the cheaper Hedman headers and they were a nightmare. The bolt holes did not align properly on my 91. I bought some un-coated hooker 2151's for ~$350 from Jegs for my 91 and they have worked just fine.

A buddy of mine has Monte Carlo SS with an LT4 from a GS vette and T56 from an F-body. He bought some big tube headman headers for it, the headers came with an adapter plate to alter the bolt pattern to make the headers work with the LT4 heads. The adapters were 1/4 inch thick, and solid steel. The only problem was that the exhaust ports in the plates were very small, and you were supposed to port them to match your application. It took us literally 40 hours with a die grinder to port match those adapter plates. After that, we had the same issues with the bolt holes not aligning properly. We ended up egg shaping some of the holes to get the adapter to bolt to the head. The icing on the cake was that by using the adapters you have 4 headers gaskets that can leak instead of the normal 2. If one of the adapter to head gaskets leak, you have to pull the corresponding header out of the car to get to the bolts. It was total crap.

That's 2 products from Hedman that were completely unacceptable in my book. They could make headers that installed themselves when you opened the box and I still wouldn't buy them.

If you search around in the archives, literally 50% of the people who have the hedman product are unhappy with them. Of the remaining 50% that are satisfied with them, atleast half paid someone to do the installation. That only leaves about 25% of hedman's customers that actually installed the headers themselves and are happy with the results. I banked on the idea that I could fall into that 25% window. I didn't make the cut, but maybe you will.

Let us know what you decide to do.

 

I bought the Hedman Elites for my 85. With all the old manifolds etc. out of the way it took me about one minute to slip the header up and in place from the bottom. No clearance issues anywhere, I've heard the Hookers have an engine mount bolt clearance problem. No leaks, no problems of any kind. I'm pulling the engine this fall for a freshen up and I'm going to try and re-install it with the headers attached just to see if it can be done.

 

MAYBE 50% of the POSTS concerning Hedman's are negative, but 80% of the negative posters have no personal experience with them. Until I posted, 100% (2 out of 2) of the comments on Hedman's were negative, but neither poster would know a Hedman Hedder if it bit them on the behind. Too many people read and pick up on an idea and then treat it as if they made a discovery. Posts like those of 89Corvette6spdFX3 and 88BlackZ-51, above, are why so many people think their oil pressure switch kills the engine when the oil pressure drops. SOME people can't resist posting, what "they have been told", repeating it as fact. As I write this post, there are comments from five Hedman users. Your's is the only negative comment. I respect your experiences. But nobody, nor nothing, is universally loved. Bush would kill for the 80% approval rating that Hedman's have received, here, so far.

RACE ON!!!

 

It took Hedman 3 times to get the proper part #, and after all that bull**** the fit and finish were garbage so I returned them, and was very pleased with the 1 3/4 Hookers.

How does that sound CFI-EFI? I would never ever think of buying Hedman LT's again.

Saving a few dollars with the Hedmans isnt worth it. Pay the extra and get "quality".

Hedman simple arent good quality, and who wants 1 5/8 anyways.

 

All we're doing is guesstimating at percentages. There really is no technical value to be had based on what percentages you and I perceive as happy customers. I started it though, so I apologize. From here on out though, let's try to stick to things that we can actually quantify and not take guesses at.

I agree whole heartedly that the vast majority of the advice given over the Internet comes from people regurgitating what they read elsewhere on the Internet. Whether the negative reputation Hedman has on this board is due to poor product, or people regurgitating what they've seen posted, I don't know. What I do know is that my personal experience with Hedman has been horrible, where your experience was better. To be fair though, I don't recall if the headers I bought from Hedman were the Elite series or not. They were less than $200, so they may have been inferior to the Elite series.

I agree that no one or nothing is universally loved (except maybe for *****, I don't know anyone that doesn't like a good set of knockers) but Hedman has 2 strikes with me, so that's what I posted. I would be interested to know of the positive comments posted by actual users, how many did the installation themselves? All the problems I had with the headers were installation related, but after the install, there were no issues; sans the exhaust gasket leak on the Monte. My bet is (here I go guessing again) that the majority of the positive comments are coming from those who paid someone else to install the headers. The installer would of dealt with all the issues concerning fit and finish, egg shaping bolt holes to make things work, using a pry bar to tweak things into position to start the bolts, etc... The end user may not know anything about these issues, if they do exist.

To all the positive commenter's:

Did you install your Hedman headers? If so, did you encounter any issues?

 

You can put my name on the list.

As far as fitment issues, I had one or two on headers that cost
much more than Hedman's do. There was a recent about more
significant problems for pipes that cost 50% more than mine.
Seems to go with the territory, I anticipated this and dealt with
things as they came up. Are JDM headers for imports trouble-free?
Nope.

Finally, why blast the messenger? CFI-EFI simply laid out the
ratios and urged that heresay be ignored in favour of first-hand
experience. Unfortunately, your experience was unsatisfactory
and it's fair comment to say so, but as he noted, the pros were
leading the cons when CFI-EFI posted.

.

 

You bought directly from Hedman? It took them three tries to get the right product to you? I'll bet there is more to THAT story, than presented. Based on "the fit and finish were garbage", I have to wonder if you ever got the correct headers.


That is certainly an all damning statement for someone with a single experience with ONE sample of the product.


Anyone with a moderate engine combination in a daily driver that can "figure it out".




Agreed. However, the example of the five existing posts (at the time) was an accurate, valid, 80% number. I believe, too that you have to agree there is a significant number of "parrots" that have no personal experience. As I stated in the post you quoted, "Your's is the only negative comment. I respect your experiences."

A hundred years ago, I worked in a shop that sold and installed speed equipment and high performance parts and engines. Back in the day, direct fit headers... didn't. Some were better than others, but few, if any, didn't require some sort of adjustment, such as those you desctibe.


I would agree that is likely, regardless of brand, although it stands to reason that some brands will have a better track record than others. No argument.

That would make for a good, separate thread, or even a poll. Don't limit it to happy Hedman owners, but make it for ALL header owners, whether the installation went smoothly or not.

RACE ON!!!

 

If you want to discuss heman headers and be in any way productive, you need to distinguish between regular Hedman and Hedman Elite, they are two completely different headers.

Otherwise you might as well be saying that 'vettes are worthless because you weren't happy with your 1985 Chevette.