hey guys, im not new to the game, and i know you get what you pay for,
but has anyone used either one of these ?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Maximizer-Sand-Blast-Header-Manifold-Exhaust-Fits-1985-thru-1991-Corvette-C4-L98-/111604497659?fits=Model%3ACorvette&hash=item19fc257cfb&vxp=mtr
http://www.ebay.com/itm/OBX-Exhaus-Header-Manifold-85-91-Corvette-C4-L98-1-5-8-Primaries-Stainless-Steel-/171874550990?hash=item28048584ce&vxp=mtr
they are both stainless and come with Y pipe. I really want the ones from TPIS but cant swing $1100 or so with cost of y pipe, motor is mild with
a miniram, 6 speed,

 

Problem I see with them is that they are smaller than TPIS so not sure how much you are looking to gain and what your future growth is going to be. I started out with an air filter from K&N and well, it just grew and grew. Figure out what you plan and multiply it by 5 and that should take care of you for a few years. TPIS is ceramic coated and is 1 3/4 leading into 3 inch collectors. Not sure what the thickness of the material is.

Bottom line is that it isn't cheaper if you pay less today and have to pay tomorrow to get the right stuff.

 

on a mild motor would i even notice difference between 1 5/8 or 1 3/4

 

Nope. That is the beauty of the cheap stuff. Walls might be thinner, collector size large enough to get away with it today. When you find your motor toasted and you decide to go for more, that could be what hamstrings you tomorrow but for today, life is good.

With my annual plug change, I can do it topside with TPIS headers. I got a set of hookers and we had a hell of a time installing it in my 91 F-body. IIRC, I found it easier to do plugs 6 and 8 by removing the starter. The LPE-ACCEL Tri-Y headers were easier.

People buy cheap today and end up paying more tomorrow to do it right.

 

1-5/8 can support can easily support over 400hp

 

Assuming the materials and design are good. Fine. Where about tomorrow when you need more power loo

 

thanks for the replys guys, but we got off subject. my question was specifically has anyone used these particular ones? that would have answered the how they fit, and spark plug access. ? I know im better off with the TPIS ones, but hard to justify on a 4th car that sees maybe 1500 miles a year, spark plugs last a long time that way. even if they are hard to change.

 

I installed the OBX headers last year on my 1987 vette. First on the stock L98 and in spring this year I installed them on a 383 with AFR heads. I removed (cut & welded) all of the AIR and EGR stuff from the headers. I had to dimple them one place at steering rack in drivers side and widen almost all holes at the head mounting flange to be able to install them. Other than that they fit nicely and the welds are OK but not perfect. Untill now they have held up good and have done about 3000 miles. I can get you some pictures if you want?

 

pics would be awesome, thanks, any noticeable performance increase?
I really think on a mild motor that getting rid of the precats, and going with maybe 3 inch y pipe, with my already installed borla cat back
would get me so close to headers without all the negatives of full length headers. am i wrong? again not a race car, but would like to end up around 375-400 hp with my installed miniram. I need to do cam then a better tune. already have ported 113 heads on.

 

Never tried those sandblaster brand never seen them either
Could be a more popular brand reboxed??

Provided they fit they look well constructed

Contact the seller and ask about the "what ifs on fitment" and return policy ahead of time. Im a brand name guy myself but they do look decent....and I agree paying 1000 for a set of headers is rape just because it fits "Corvette". I paid a little over 500 for coated equal length big tube headers for my A body. The vette tax is part of what keeps me from buying another. That and I hate working on them

 

I would think that tossing a set of headers alone won't make you faster without the supporting mods. I was faster because I did the Accel/LPE intakes and headers in my F-body. After which, I had EGR issues and it wasn't all there. 1 tow to LPE later, John and his assistant loaded up equipment into the car, went for a test drive, logged data, burned chip, went for another test drive, etc and then there was significant difference.

What negatives are you trying to avoid besides cost? The better question is how they built the headers. Could I weld a few pipes together, call it headers and make it work? I doubt it. Some work has to go into the thing. The less work, the less I could charge for it. The Borla cat back is good but what is the choke point? That is going to be the limiting factor. Yes, I hear the "this is not a race car" statement every day. If this were a race car we are talking about, you'd have a whole different setup and way more cost.

The way I see it is this. What exactly are you looking to do for the future? If you are looking for a justification to cheap out today but are willing to hamstring yourself tomorrow, either one of them are ok options. Think of buying clothes for a growing child. Buy a bigger shirt and he/she might wear them for 2 years before they are too small. Buy a smaller shirt and the child outgrows them in 6 months to a year.

 

Well, ASSUMING the materials and construction are equal, what you have doesn't sound like "bolt on" to me. Sounds more like "universal" fit. Fits nothing in this universe until you bash it around some.

 

One always hopes to be able to buy the same product for way less. Most do, I don't. Mom used to work in a factory that made pumps for say washing machines, etc. Same factory, same line, different name. Reboxed as you say. Sounds good to me. I get the same product with a different name until you look carefully. The brand name has brass internals and the cheap crap sold to you under private label has plastic internals. Same factory, same everything but different internals and YOUR label.

According to Ronaldo, they don't fit. Well constructed but don't fit isn't meaningful. That is assuming they are well constructed. Steel is 304. Fair enough. What is the QC like? What is the material thickness like? Who welded it? Some factory here or some Chinese made crap that looks shiny and nice in the pictures?

Understand that a Corvette is different from a 1990 5.0L Mustang. There are way more modified Mustangs than C4 Vettes. So scale of economy isn't with you. If I have to make 500 header sets and keep them for a while, it is going to cost you more. OTOH, if I can make 5000 sets and move them in a year, it costs less. That is not the end of the story but it is an important part.

 

Well, out of the box. No, they didnt fit. Took about one hour work (I have a full workshop and had a another SBC on an engine stand to test on). I wouldnt be surprised if the design has been copied directly from a name brand.

As I remember it, flange thickness was very good and it was straight enough. The thickness of the pipes was OK. I measured it all at the time but thats 1.5 years ago. I actually managed to drop the headers from about 1.9 meters while mounting them on the vette on my lift with no problems

As said, the welds was decent for a china product, I've seen much worse. (I'm a mechanical engineer).

I cant speak of the QC, wouldnt be surprised if there isnt one. My biggest fear with these headers is that the quality might change a bit between batches.

For me, these headers was an OK deal, but only because I could work on them myself. If you have to pay to have them installed, I would spend a little more as you in the end, probably will spend the same totally when adding the installation and modification cost... Performance, that really first came when I installed the 383 (AFR 195, FIRST etc)

I get some pictures up, when I get back to my computer.

 

I also bought the complete OBX exhaust, which will probably require more work than the headers. It does not really fit on the car and will require a bit of modification...

 

trying to avoid all the negatives of headers, poor ground clearance,
blowing gaskets, extra underhood heat, poor spark plug access, burning of spark plug wires, cost is not the biggest issue, all those negatives for 20 hp?, the only header ive read that fits well was TPIS and this is not the forum to bash them, but all they did was lie to me repeatedly with my chip and miniram from them, and would love to avoid spending more money with them. unfortunately they make good products. Since the chip burning thing to stay with the miniram and or tuned port is so intensive i just want to maximize what i got, dont think ill be doing any more work beyond headers or y pipe or both. car is real strong already.

and thank you Ronaldo for all the pics of your headers, bottom line would you use them again?

 

Pretty tall order. The thing is that when things change, you can maximize what add on. Intake alone without headers and you are leaving power on the table. Headers alone might net you 20HP but it allows you to maximize the rest of the system.

I have not worked with them on chip or mini ram. I went with HSR and a dyno tune. Chip off the shelf isn't really a good way to go.

Yes, I said that a long time ago. One thing led to another and I am making 410 RWHP. If the wife didn't lay down the law, I'd have a blown 383 but that has to wait till this motor goes since it is at 10.8 to 1 and can't run a blower on street gas

 

thanks, it is a custom chip, lets not forget that the motor does come
with shorty headers. as bad as they are they are still better than exhaust manifolds so not having full length is not as bad as running manifolds, honestly it is a street car, show me one low car like a vette that doesnt have bashed up full length headers and that means it aint street driven, I have a 502 in my elcamino with extrude honed cast iron
manifolds to 3 inch dual exhaust, runs 11.50s all day, pisses everyone
off when they see manifolds. dont care how much im leaving on the table cause car is too scary to go much faster, certainly dont handle like the vette lol

 

What is "custom" to you? Is it mail order tune where they send you the chip or did they strap it down on a dyno? I am leery of the mail order tunes myself unless they do datalogging and adjust it till there is no more adjustment.

I do drive mine on the street only but while there are scratches, I would hardly say they are dented or bashed up. Maybe 10000 miles a year? I foolishly built the motor with 10.8 compression so I have to wait for the motor to blow up and rebuild so I can do a blower. IF I did, I am going to think my TPIS with the larger pipes will accommodate to to a point.

 

custom chip, I datalogged for them, no one, and I mean no one local
will work on a c4 tune by me, I begged here and on third gen for someone to help me, id be a paying customer, no favors, no one would, basically they all said if they had to learn, so would I. datalogging by mail was very tedious, had to buy a second chip because of the down time of mail away, anyway like I said before ill be happy if I can get this car in the high 12's, may already be there. was looking into the ostrich if your familiar with it, you can do a tune thru a laptop. no more burning chips. sounds interesting.