Guest

Any strong preferences? Is the difference merely a matter of aesthetics?

Also, aside from price, is there an appreciable difference between Hooker and TPIS??

Thanks in advance for the education.

scorp508

Coated keeps the engine compartment heat waaay down. :)

Flame Red

Coated keeps their looks better for longer and less heat too.

vader86

you really should get coated headers, keeps the heat down, which stops certain components from heat soak (starter, etc). And it looks good. TPIS headers are jethot coated, i have no idea whether hooker's are, but there really isnt a whole lot of difference in performance that i know of.

ZylaRace

Aside from the looks, the engine compartment heat is a clue.

The real deal is it helps keep the heat inside the tube (header). In the header the gas is still burning (expanding). This is what pushes the gas down and out the pipe. The idea is to use the expanding gas of one cylinder to scavange(pull) the gas out of another (header tube). This is a fancy way of saying low or now back pressure.
Oh yeah, the ceramic part,.. as the gas cools, it slows down. i.e. Slow gas = less scavanging (less header effect).
Bottom line, you want to keep as much heat inside the header as possible.

65Z01

Ceramic coating inside & out helps to keep the heat in the exhaust gasses; this means higher exhuast gas velocity and so more HP.

As mentioned it also reduces engine compartment temps, looks better and inhibits corrosion.

Guest

Thanks very, very much for the information. I learned something today. Makes me wonder why anyone would consider the non-coated. My mechanic led me to believe it was a matter of looks - I looked at his (that had been on his car for a matter of 2 months) and they looked like heck.

Next decision is whether to go with TPIS or Hooker. I'd rather go with Hooker because they run about $350 less... but I don't want to do that at the expense of appreciable performance.

Again, thanks - your patience with my neophyte questions is appreciated. :)

65Z01

It looks like the TPIS have built in standoffs so all brackets should just bolt right up. Though I'm not sure about this.

I believe the Hookers have a flat mounting flange so you either need extra standoffs or need to reform the brackets for mounting accessories.

Take a look at your motor and notice which accessories bolt to which exhaust flange bolts. Then check out both sets of headers to see if either eliminates mounting problems. Then the decision is one of $$ saved vs mounting problems.

Guest

I was thinking with the TPIS there were going to be some minor modifications, as I've got a '96 LT1. I've got a call into the person I'd buy them from right now to ask him about that.


[Modified by Mairi, 3:51 PM 5/16/2002]

khornet

Jet Hot sells a bunch of different coated headers (Hookers, etc...) direct. I got my shorty LPE/Hookers cheaper than anywhere else. Go to their website and find the number for Jet-Hot direct. I found them great to deal with. Make sure you mention you heard about them on this forum.

thrills

I have custom header coated by Jet Hot. They still throw a lot of heat but the look good. For some reason they only coated the top not the whole tube :confused:

-=Jeff=-

I bought NON-coated Hooker Headers for 2 reasons.. I Wanted the decide where the O2 fitting was going. I also wanted to test fit the header uncase they needed some persuasion to get all the correct brackets and such on. I ended up using them that way for a short while.

I then sent them to HPC for coating.. it was $220 to coat inside and out.. 3 year 100% guaranty then after 3 years it is 50% of the original cost that I pais to have then redone. I know Jet-Hot does not have the same warranty.

I also got HPC because a friend had them on his Camaro for 5 years and still looked new

ezmoney92

I got my headers direct from Jet Hot. Saved me close to $200. :seeya

Blu9T2

Be sure to ask if the headers are coated inside and out since some just coat on the outside. You definitely want them coated on both sides.

Red94Vette

You can't weld up coated headers. That's one reason I'm getting uncoated, incase a crack shows up.