I am not really educated on different brands of headers or the best so please help me out guys! What would be the best Headers for my 94 LT1?

 

Take a look at American Racing Headers. Cost more but fit perfectly which is/can be an issue with other vendors.

 

Depends on what you want. I use the Hooker shorty headers. Frankly the LT1 heads don't flow well enough to need LTs and why not stay smog legal and use the stock cats?

Now the LS heads are an entirely different animal. Their exhaust flow is so great you need LTs.

 

Tpis 1 3/4" fit better, are lighter, and accessibility to bolts / plugs is easier than my arh 1 7/8" headers

The tpis also cleared the swingouts of my canton road race oil pan whereas the arh design needs spacers to do so.

Of course im comparing apples/oranges since one is 1 7/8" and the other is 1 3/4"

 

I had TPIS on my old '94 convert and had no issues

 

Agree with ARH for the win.

 

Emailed ARH with a couple of questions and got NO response. Horrible customer service and I won't buy from them even though I live 5 miles away.

 

I forgot to add:

If a 1 3/4" stand alone header (ie. You dont need t. he rest of the system) is what you are looking for:
Tpis is the better fitting header. But this isnt to say the arh is bad fitting.

Now: if you want xpipes, cats (or no cats), and a 3" stainless exhaust system to match the headers..arh sells that to match the headers and this is where arh shines.

I also heard somewhere that the tpis arent true equal length (though i am not sure if the arh are either or even if that is correct).

One thing that irks me about my arh is how much heavier they are vs. Tpis. i would bet the pair is about 7 lbs heavier.

of course i am comparing 1 7/8" arh stepped headers to 1 3/4" tpis headers so thats part of the issue.

Arh boasts having an extra thick mounting flange, but what benefit that provides i have no clue!

When you are competing with lightweight lsx engines, (they have a 60 lb advantage from the get go) every lb counts.

Tpis are better fitting stand alone 1 3/4" headers
But Arh is a better as a complete package (Matching stainless exh system, x pipe, etc)

Oh yeah...and arh is customizable...i need extra o2 bungs for my wide band o2 sensors and they did this for me.

both of them are good.

 

I have ARH 1 3/4" headers on my 96 GrandSport LT4 the headers themselves fit well. But you may need O2 sensor extension cables (I needed one passenger side rear O2) they sent it out for free when I called them. And don't expect an email reply always better to call!
They neglected to send me the header bolts so I bought stainless ARP (to be fair ARH did offer to reimburse me which was nice). The oil dipstick tube needed a spacer, and one of the alternator brackets did not fit (I was told by ARH to just leave it off which probably would have been OK to do, but if GM put it there it is for good reason so I made it fit by cutting the tube and rewelding it and then painting it black so it looks factory)
I bought the system with full cats and X pipe to mount up to my stock mufflers. It fit well but the Cats need heat shielding so the fiberglass floor doesn't burn. I installed Thermotec shielding. ARH told me that I would not need any shielding!
So there customer service is just OK but the product itself is well built, if you do a search I had a little write up of what I needed to do to install my headers with some pictures.
I did notice a good seat of the pants gain in power with my LT4 after the install, and I am pretty good at judging increases in horsepower as I used to drag race my Z28 camaro back in the day. i never got a tune and never had a
Service Engine Soon light come on and it has been over a year.
Good luck

 

Arh worked with pcmforless to develop a tune for their headers/exhaust

 

Maybe for the LT1 but I contacted them on an LT4 and I was not completely sure they ever tuned an LT4 with ARH 1 3/4 headers. Yet they told me about mileage increases, better throttle response and more horsepower. I was told by pcmforless they were the same as Kooks headers for a tune (because most of the guys at ARH used to work at Kooks). I never knew Kooks made headers for LT4 Vettes!!! The statements turned me off.
Personally I feel that the ECM on MAF cars during WOT can adjust for the airflow increase of the long tube headers.

 

I installed TPIS years ago on my LT4. I ended up grinding a whole day to clean up the weld beads inside the tubes and never did get the bolt sleeves perpendicular to the heads. Perhaps they do better now but I wished I had looked them over really well before I started grinding. On my C5Z I used Melrose and they were a perfect fit, well made and yield really good horsepower. I found the link for you. Funny thing, the racer profiled on the website is the same friend that installed my C5Z headers - Dr. Jerry Onks (his shop is only 15 miles from my house). There may be other headers that are just as well made but I will always go with Melrose first.

http://www.melrosecorvette.com/corve...aders-exhaust/

 

From the TPIS website:

"All of our Corvette headers feature 1-3/4" primary tubes and 3" collectors. Y-Pipe sold separately. These headers have a baked-on metallic-ceramic coating that will keep them looking and performing great for years to come. Fits 84-91 Corvette and retains all emissions hook-ups."

FWIW, in the diesel world, ceramic coating piston tops, combustion chambers, and exhaust manifolds has been done to reject heat and transfer that heat to the turbo-charger making it more efficient. It also keeps some heat out of the engine compartment. I would guess that it would work the same way with headers, the ceramic coating on the headers may keep some heat out of the engine compartment. Keeping heat in the header may increase the scavenging effect and help the O2 sensors. I am not saying it definitely does. Someone with more knowledge on this would have to say. Before I would purchase TPIS header, I would want to talk to them about how durable the ceramic coating is, does it resist scratches and dings from road debris, etc.

 

Bringing this back for reference.

I am actually looking for an exhaust system for my 94 C4. I am swapping a 396 stroked LT1 in that I used to drag race in my F Body. (No emissions)

Minimum primaries diameter very important for me, therefore I will not consider 1 5/8 primary headers (SW, OBX,etc).

So far I have found these alternatives (increasing price):

Hooker 2151 (1 3/4 primaries, ceramic coating)
Exotic Muscle (1 3/4 primaries, ceramic coating, collector extensions)
Melrose (1 3/4 primaries, ceramic coating, x pipe, aluminized 3"exhaust tubes)
ARH (1 3/4 and 13/4 stepped to 1 7/8 , merge collectors, stainless steel)

Is there another brand or something else to consider?