Ready to put them on after looking at 65 ZO6's article from Corvette Fever...now the question is which ones. I know a lot of folks are going with Hookers/Hedmann, but I like what I see from TPIS and Lingenfelter...but, I read TPIS's installation instructions...two things bothered me....one, they had to expand the cat connection to fit and also advise you have to grind down the knuckle/universal joint of your steering column to get them to fit right...that's on their own web site! Then, you look at Lingenfelter andhe doesn't make it clear on his web site catalog if his are ceramic coated or not and how they fit.......anyone have these and can tell of experience?

 

I have the LPE 1"3/4. FORGET changing the #8 plug on top. Other than that, no complaints(aside from the coating doesn't really hold up that well after time). No leaks, decent fit and never any bottoming out. Supposedly the TPIS's you CAN change all the plugs on a cool motor in 15 minutes.

Good luck.

 

well, im trying to decide between these two myself. TPIS's are jethot coated and there isnt the long waiting list like Lingenfelter.

 

LPE's ARE Coated.

 

I need to speed up it took me 20 minutes to change my plugs but sure didn't have to do all the things in this post my headers went on without doing anything to the car I just put them on you can remove the starter without removing the headers. I have afr heads with the L98 angle if you have different angle then plugs may not clear as good. :cheers:

 

I have the Lingenfelter 1-5/8" headers.

Coating:
They're not in the full-on rusty stage but the chrome finish is very worn in places. I'm not sure how old these things are since they were on my car when I bought it 2 years ago. There aren't any rust holes but appearance-wise they're aren't the best. They look better than the average painted headers but they're no where near as nice as ceramic-coated pieces.

Routing and fit:
The collectors are very close to the body on both sides. In fact they have slightly scarred the fiberglass due to heat and the occasional rub. The primary tube flanges are so thick that standard header bolts are too short; only 2 threads engaged in the cylinder head. I found some Moroso smallhead 12-pt intake bolts which are longer than header bolts but are the same thread. The good thing about the thick flanges is that they seal really well. No leaks whatsoever. Ditto for the collectors. But for as much as these things cost I would expect a better fit. Maybe this has been improved since my headers were made.

Installation:
They aren't too hard to get into place, even with the engine in the car. The passenger side header is difficult if you have a stock starter in an early C4. I'm not sure what years have what starters but my '86 has the big one. I highly recommend a mini-starter with these headers. With the stocker you have to wrangle the 50 lb starter and the header in place at the same time. I got my stock starter and the header in place with a wider-than-stock Milodon oil pan but it was hard and I'm not driving a showcar here.

Sparkplugs:
I have straight plug heads. I don't know if angled plugs would be easier to change or not. Three plugs can be changed with a regular 5/8" deep socket and a 3" extension. The other 5 require a 5/8" sparkplug socket and a 3/4" combo wrench (sparkplug sockets have hex ends on them).

I have heard some very nice things about the Hooker headers on this forum. They supposedly fit very well and they're cheaper too. I'd buy the Hookers and get a nice ceramic coating for them. They'll fit better and look better for years to come. I'm not sure if they are emissions legal though.

Good luck!

 

I have the TPIS headers, nice pieces, but as he said go to a ministarter if possible and I had to modify the #7 primary to get the plug boot far enough away to keep it from turning to powder. I have the B&B 7", 6 Qt. Pan thats wide at the bottom, no problems. Get ready to insulate all the wiring and tubing (fuel lines, trans) from the heat. The Y pipe is bigger than stock, you'll need to modify your AIR line mounting to the cat. All in all not too bad to stab with the engine in and rear exhaust piping dropped down. Change your cat to a high flow model while your at it. O2 sensor will be at the drivers side collector on those headers. I customized a set of Jacobs ceramic boot plugs to MSD custom wire setup for Corvette, included MSD hi-temp sleeves and heat shrink. You may have to insulate your AIR hose connections near the headers. Don't mean to discourage you but theres some heat issues to take care of, at least I thought so.

HTH :mad

 

How did you do this?
Are you using the ceramic 90 degrees or straight plug covers?

I just did this as well, I used the MSD super conductor wires and drilled out the old jacob wires from my jacob straight ceramic boots, reinstalled, glued and shrink tubed the ceramic boots back on. This is for my stock exhuast. I have problems with the boots actually touching the exhuast, so I HAD to use the ceramic boots here.
With headers, I had stock MSD super conductors on there with no problems but my headers were wrapped. Now I am have TPIS headers awaiting install, and I will not be using any header wrap. I am expecting to have some wire melting issues.