picked up a set of ebay special maximizer stainless headers with stainless Y Pipe and clamps. , very impressed. great fit, very good spark plug access as well as not to close for the boots to burn,only draw back was #8 plug has to be installed from under car, but plug wire has plenty of room. bigger tubes than most no mods at all except for having to remove heat shield for brake lines on drivers side frame rail. $349 they make a few different sets, most are only 1 5/8 as well as the OBX ones also but these are 1.7, Ive held off for a long time buying headers, Ive had several posts on the subject, never could justify $1600 and up for stainless or even the $850 for TPIS, (really wanted stainless) for 20 HP. waiting to connect Y pipe to system so havent driven it yet. Ill do a true dual with an X pipe when $$ is available. already have stainless borla cat back on car already. Y pipe is 3" so not sure how much more ill pick up with the x pipe and true dual system though.

Specifications:
Primary Tube : 1.70" OD
Collector : 2.80" OD
Outlet : 2.30" ID
Y-Piping : 2.50" OD
Y-Pipe Outlet : 3.00" OD
Flange Thickness : 3/8"

 

Cool, you'll like the headers on your car they do make a difference.

 

Do you think these headers would work with straight plug heads? What year is your Vette.What trans do you have, auto or stick/Thanks Steve

 

1 5/8" headers are measured ID. 1.7 OD headers will be the same. The wall thickness has to be at least the difference between 1.625 ID and 1.7 OD. It's possible they are a bit smaller than 1 5/8...but are likely that general size. Sounds like you THOUGHT you found something bigger. Doesn't sound like you did. That said....

I've seen those on eBay and wonder if they are made by OBX or a similar (spin-off?) company in China.

Hope they work well for you. Unless you have a big stroker, you should be happy....especially if they are a decent quality of stainless! Because that price for stainless is a steal.

Could be a good option for another recent poster wishing for a lower-priced L98 header.

 

1 5/8" headers are 1 5/8" od or 1.625". 1 3/4" headers are 1.750" od. I'm not sure what 1.70" tubing is.

 

What kind of SS?

 

they are 304 stainless, tubes appear 1 3/4 as mentioned, definitely bigger than 1 5/8. the same company sells 1 5/8 for $30 cheaper so I know these are bigger than the 1 5/8 ones. earlier poster asked year etc... 89 6spd. their is great access to plugs but don't know how good for straight plug heads, im doing a set of darts or afrs myself and briefly thought about saving money and buying their strait plug heads but because access is so good now, ill spend the extra $300 or so for the angled plug heads. Again reason I made this post is im sure other people were like myself and were looking for a cheaper option than $1600 and up for stainless. my friend has the TPIS ones and these have way better access to starter and oil filter. and as far as alt and ac brackets, stock ones worked fine. just needed to make a 1" spacer like the factory headers have. did not have to modify brackets at all. I would have paid the extra money for the TPIS ones even though they are twice as much but don't come in stainless. these headers have great welds and come with the stainless Y pipe which would have been another $200 for a steel one from TPIS. $1,000 vs $349 again great welds and access to plugs etc (not knocking them and I realize you get what you pay for, probably made my someone making 39 cents an hour, but boy they can weld lol)

 

I stand corrected. I see tubing is measured OD while piping is measured OD (if less than 12").

1.7 doesn't equate to an even metric either. Maybe it's a typo and they are really 1.75?

 

Do you have the E:Bay listing number?Is that $349 with y pipe and clamps?Thanks,Steve

 

do what you have to do 1600 for a set of headers is a ripoff plain and simple youre just buying a name and paying corvette tax.
Youll pick up something going to true duals over the single pipe dont think X will make a big difference either way do what makes it convenient to work on underneath and your pocket book.

 

These?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Maximizer-Sa...xU6QIt&vxp=mtr

 

Thanks TA

 

Depends on your definition of "cheaper option". Many of the "cheaper option" things I have seen in life usually mean "Pay less today but pay more tomorrow". Would you say the Chinese crap is a "cheaper option"? Yes if I am selling the car tomorrow and No if I am keeping it for a while.

As they say about hookers, you aren't paying for sex. You are paying for her to go away tomorrow before the crap starts. What you paid more for is the convenience of install and getting to things later on.

IIRC, they are ceramic coated so I'm not sure how much gain there is in SS over ceramic coated.

My take is that the Chinese made stuff has lower labor but it costs more to get it here. Also the Chinese regulations are a little more "flexible". A lot of the labor lost is not just from cost but automation. Still, when something is so cheap, I generally get suspicious. I probably don't want the most expensive one but I certainly cannot afford it if it is too cheap. If 5 landscapers charge you $1000 for a certain job, I'd be wondering why this guy charges you $300 for the same job.

 

Maybe, maybe not. Depending on what materials, engineering and testing goes into the product. I agree part of it is the name which I don't begrudge them. When you do a lot of work like a guy who spent a lot of time and money to get certifications, I do expect them to charge more. I expect to pay more for a world famous architect than Mr No Name Architect when I want a beautiful structure designed.

Not sure about that. I did some runs with the exhaust disconnected before the "Y" with the equivalent weight in the trunk and some with it hooked up to a 3 in single. On WOT, it wasn't significantly different. IIRC, low to mid-range, you will benefit from having a "H" or "X" over a pipe leading from the heads to the rear of the car. I think it was the scavenging effect that you lose with true duals.

 

I've seen no complaints about OBX longevity. Some minor fitment issues but other than that very little complaints vs the cost. Some companies just want a higher profit margin.

 

TA those are not the ones I bought, they clearly state 1 5/8. same company though. the ones I bought said 1.70 primary tubes. I bought the last set of the 1.70 ones but I'm sure they will have more. that was the original reason for my post was these were the first cheap headers that were larger than the 1 5/8. every one kept saying don't buy cheap headers because of fitting issues and that the tubes were too small and would hurt future performance mods. these are 1 3/4 or 1 7/8. depending on what 1.70 is and fit awesome.

 

Well I hope they get more stock in.Thanks

 

Considering the fact that the C4 is a shrinking market (not making any more and the number is falling every day), I'd be curious why they are willing to take such a low number on a high end product. When selling something, I see what the market will bear and go slightly lower but this is way too much lower that it won't trip a warning, at least for me. A new company trying to break into an average market of $1000, I'd go $800 with a couple of specials or even $700. Would YOU take a bid from a home builder for a third of what others are charging without asking "Why are you being so good to me?"? I didn't when I got the TFS heads. Saved me quite a few hundred. Best bang for the buck till the low quality trashed a LPE short block. After a rebuild and new heads, R&R, etc, it didn't seem to become a profit after then.

 

I guess I could throw on a cheapo painted set of Hooker headers.That I would have to bang the crap out of them to get them to fit. And then have them turn to rust the first month after install.

 

That is one option. As I have said before, as a rule, good stuff doesn't have to be cheap and cheap stuff isn't usually good. I had that issue with the F-body but it was better than the crunched up crap from the idiot running over something. PITA to install but WGAS? The new motor was on the way with something better so I had to put up with it for a few months and the headers I wanted were out of stock.