I am considering purchasing a set of shorty headers (ceramic coated) for my LT4. Before we get into a debate over long tubes vs shorty's, I have read the archieves and am aware of the advatages that I can get from a set of long tubes. However, some of the reasons that I am considering the shorty's are because:
- They will produce less heat than the stock manifold
- I like the looks
- I have to pass emissions
- Slight gain in HP

My question is, will the ceramic coated shorty's actually produce less heat than the stock manifold or not?

Thanks,
Chris - 1996 LT4

 

Yes, they will produce much less heat.

Jet-Hot sell hooker short tubes with their ceramic coating at a pretty good price. These are the headers that I am going to run.

Also, a friend of mine with a GS is running the hooker ceramic coated headers and they still look new after three years of use. They also sound really good.

 

Anyone else have any experience with the heat from shorty's vs the heat from the stock manifold?

What about experience with Jet-hot coatings?

 

I would buy the headers uncoated and have them shipped directly to Jet Hot.

The coating that comes on some headers flat out sucks. It is better than no coating at all, but still not great. I just bought a used set of TPIS coated headers and the coating was not good enough for me. To Jet Hot they went before I installed them.

I had the headers on my Z28 coated by Jet Hot in 1997. When I sold the car earlier this year, the coating still looked great. I put about 60,000 miles on it after having them coated too.

Jet Hot is the best.

 

I was thinking that they were actually hotter but I may be wrong. Either way, living/driving here in this blast furnace they get TOASTY! They haven't melted my hood yet.

Definately buy the coated headers from Jet Hot Direct. That's where I got mine. They've got the best price around by far.

Installation is a real PITA. The header bolts against the firewall will teach you new lessons in patience and creativity. I would also suggest that you buy a good set of exhaust gaskets and a new set of Chevy manifold to cat studs& nuts instead of using the gaskets & bolts that come with the headers. I went with the Stage8 locking bolts to hold them against the heads but I think the jury is still out on their effectiveness. So far so good though.

Where in Phx are you?

I just finished my new exhaust system install, it sounds GREAT!!!! I hope to dyno the improvement in the next month or so.

 

I can't remember if it was Car Craft or Hot rod mag but they did a test of coated and uncoated headers. There was a 300F diff between them

 

I installed JBA's shortys on my 92. They come ceramic coated , all the hardware and a 3 yr. guarentee. They are on the pricey side tho. But you most generally get exactly what you pay for and I wasn't going to cheapen my car with a set of headers that had problems from the get go. What ever you do don't install headers unless they are coated inside and out. Life is to short to go through all that hassle and not have them right when your're done. :yesnod:

 

I've got the ceramic coated Hookers on mine. Only complaints are an exhaust leak that will rear its ugly head so often and they are starting to show just a bit of corrosion around the steel bolts that were used.

 

It is good that you cite looks as one of the reasons you wish to use shorty headers, because the factory LT1/4 cast manifolds flow as well as virtually all the shorty headers - they even OUTFLOW some of the poorly designed shorty headers! Let us consider some of the contenders:
1) Hooker, probably the best of what is currently offered, but the last two that I held in my hands did have one glaring flaw - they did not have the proper raised "D" port flange shape, instead they used the "old" style small block rectangular port shape - with the top of the cylinder head exaust port just slightly blocked from the mismatch, which is also the point of highest flow. I hope they have corrected this in the mean time. Only other issue with the Hookers I saw was that they placed the collector flange in a slightly "off" location for the '94 to '96 catalytic design - some of the shops I talked to said they were just cutting off some of the '94-'96 catalytic bracketry to make them fit - this is something that I REALLY hope they have corrected.
2) SLP, there is no easy way to say these were the worst of what I have seen. What really stuck out on the ones I have seen is that their collector design crimps the primary tubes down to almost 1/2 diameter as they go into the collector.
3) JBA, certainly the most unique of the shorty headers, I've never met anyone with an easy installation experience (remember, I said they were unique). No raised "D" port shape on these either. Instead they have a tall oval flange port shape, which introduces this huge dead flow spot directly outside of the floor of the cylinder head exaust port. It also appears that the JBA's would make spark plug changes MORE difficult. When I've seen Vettes with the JBA's and ask about spark plug changes most of them tell me they hope to NEVER have to change spark plugs.

What am I running? Shorty headers that were made by the same guy who made a lot of the ZR1 headers (his name escapes me - its been a few years). They are beautifully made, proper "D" ports and all, unfortunately I understand that they are no longer made - I was told he was/is a NASCAR chassis fabricator who did this as a sideline and then his NASCAR business really took off. As nice as mine are, I really think of them being there for looks, because I don't think the factory cast manifolds are bad flowing in comparisson to the shorty headers - now long tubes are a different matter.

On the heat thing, I can't say for sure, but I'm not going to tell you that a thin tube header, even with ceramic coating, would radiate less heat than a thick cast iron manifold. Ceramic coating would definately be preferred over a non-coated header.

Why not put your header money into something else; like 4.10 gears that WILL really make you happy - 4.10's and LT4's go well together.

Thomas

 

Jet-Hot sells new Hooker C4 shorty headers with their coating for $439.

 

I have shorty headers.....DO NOT WASTE YOUR $$$$ :smash:
Going to the long tubes :D

 

This is a question for anyone that is using the Hooker Shorty Headers on their '96 LT4. Do you know the Hooker part number to the headers and how did they fit?

I sent an email to Hooker and they replied that they do not carry a shorty header that fits the '96 LT4. I thought that there were several folks out there with LT4's that had the Hooker shory's. The Hooker 2061's are supposably for 92-95 LT1's, is the LT4 really different?

Thanks,
Chris - 1996 LT4

 

The Hooker 2061's will work on the LT4. I have a friend running them on his 96 Grand Sport. He has a write up on the install in the tech section of grandsportregistry.com

 

ZBRA. I need to get mine done. Do you remember what it cost and how long it took?

 

$220/72 hour turn around time.


[Modified by STL94LT1, 6:16 AM 8/10/2002]

 

Thanks again STL94LT1
My list of things to do is getting fatter and my wallet thinner.