Long tube headers
01-17-2019, 12:00 PM
#21
Team Owner
Another thing is how difficult it is to get to stuff like the plugs, starter, etc.
01-17-2019, 12:28 PM
#22
I've been mulling around about headers myself. mine is an LT1. I have narrowed my search down to Hooker super comp or Melrose. keep in mind there's roughly $200 difference between ceramic coated and not. Melrose are only $505 uncoated. coated is a HUGE temp drop under hood. if yo buy painted headers you will need to strip off that paint and coat with heat paint. what's on there is just to ship to keep from rusting. PIA to me. I ruled out OBX as the primary tubes are ony 1 5/8 and LT1 likes 1 3/4. gain on L98 not on LT1 with 1 5/8 and also some of the cheap ones are only 2 1/2" collector. again okay for L98 not LT1 . I bought cheap shorties on car now. they rub the AC plastic box on fire wall and melted plastic. I had to remove and modify a recess in the box with metal. food for thought on cheap headers.
http://www.melrosecorvette.com/86-91...vette-headers/
https://www.holley.com/products/exha.../parts/2151HKR
my buddy did the Hooker super comp ceramic coated and fit was perfect. lowered engine bay temp by a huge amount
http://www.melrosecorvette.com/86-91...vette-headers/
https://www.holley.com/products/exha.../parts/2151HKR
my buddy did the Hooker super comp ceramic coated and fit was perfect. lowered engine bay temp by a huge amount
01-17-2019, 12:52 PM
#23
Unless the eBay seller messages me back with pictures I don’t think I should get them because I wouldn’t trust the torment or quality if they don’t even try to show them. I found this link to some OBX headers. The seller is giving me a shipping estimate right now. If these are still available when I am ready to buy them in a few months I think I will get them, if not I will go with the hedmans unless the other eBay seller messages me back with more details.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/OBX-Exhaust...id=22017010170
https://www.ebay.com/itm/OBX-Exhaust...id=22017010170
01-17-2019, 07:55 PM
#24
I’m starting to think the phab headers might actually be good. I was reading on the ls1 Camaro forum and there are quite a few people who use either the pipes or the headers and I really didn’t see anyone complaining and they always looked like really shiny stainless steel. I might order them and if they look bad when I get them at the welds or they don’t match the gaskets I buy them I could just return them. That way I would be able to see the welds and quality to see how they are, it seems no one has ever tried them on a corvette so maybe they will be good then. The OBX headers seem to usually get good reviews and it seems like the phab ones look almost exactly like them and they are both eBay brands.
01-17-2019, 09:07 PM
#26
Team Owner
Actually, it is more like "you can pay me later WITH INTEREST". I pay cash for something, it is $1000. I pay later and it is more like $1200.
01-18-2019, 12:20 AM
#27
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...han-300-a.html
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...s-later-2.html
i don’t know why they shouldn’t last a while. They are stainless steel and everything I have read, and I’ve been reading a lot, sounds like they fit good and have good quality. The seller of the obx ones messaged me back and said it should be around $50 to ship. I’m planning on getting them around late April or early May so if those obx are still available I will get them and if not I will get the phab ones. I planned on getting the hedmans before but I think these should hold up better since they are stainless instead and I think they look better plus the bung is already in them.
01-18-2019, 06:36 PM
#28
I have commented on a few threads before, I have a pair of OBX's that I've installed on my 85. I removed the air injection tubes, wrapped them, and coated them. The car has lived outside most its life until recently and they have held up fine for a few thousand miles. They take some elbow grease to install and have work but the quality on my pair was good enough. The quality control overall could be questionable though.
Last edited by 85 CRVET; 01-18-2019 at 06:37 PM.
01-21-2019, 01:14 PM
#29
I ran the ceramic coated TPIS headers for years on my modified 85. They were awesome. So awesome I bought a second pair incase TPIS stopped making them or went out of business. I sold them to another member who will be very pleased with them like I was. With headers, it’s a performance piece you don’t want to go cheap on....
The feeling of a “ good deal” will not last nearly as long as the feeling of buyer’s remorse!
The feeling of a “ good deal” will not last nearly as long as the feeling of buyer’s remorse!
Last edited by 856SPEED; 01-21-2019 at 01:16 PM.
02-05-2019, 04:56 PM
#30
Racer
i know this is a some what older post but i am also looking at headers for my new project. i decided for to just save my money and buy the nice shiny ceramic coated hooker header, mainly because they are the only "tuned" header i think they make, not even the hedman are a tuned header but i may be wrong. i do know not all headers are created equal and you def. get what you pay for, for me the idea of putting a set of headers on a car would be the performance gain and that comes from a tuned header, not just a set of pipes welded together. besides those shiny hookers will look very sweet under the hood for many many many years to come. that's my 2 cents on headers, for what it's worth. PS. i also decided to go with the mid length for a little more lower rpm power band, but that is just what my intents for the car are, i don't plan on drag racing it and i want all my power in a range of 1500 to 5500 area
Last edited by bud40oz; 02-05-2019 at 05:03 PM. Reason: INFO
02-06-2019, 12:09 PM
#31
Drifting
A well known CEO told me once "Slow down, we only have time to do this once... Make sure it's right the first time" - E. Musk
Last edited by KyleF; 02-06-2019 at 12:10 PM.
02-06-2019, 12:57 PM
#32
This is so true. I never "pay later" for "fun items". If you are going to do it, do it right. Invest the time to save the money to pay for it once. Additionally, by a quality product that doesn't save money on purchase price, but cost you money on requiring other modification or additional time to make it work. I have seen this apply so many times to the choice of headers on different platforms.
A well known CEO told me once "Slow down, we only have time to do this once... Make sure it's right the first time" - E. Musk
A well known CEO told me once "Slow down, we only have time to do this once... Make sure it's right the first time" - E. Musk
https://www.ebay.com/itm/85-91-Chevy...-/182887466283
if they come here and look horrible from the welds or anything them I will just send them back to return but if not then I’ll take them to get installed and hopefully they fit well, because they fit fine from what I have read. I like the looks of stainless a bit better than ceramic too so I will try to keep the stainless polished when they start turning goldish brown so they look good and they shouldn’t ever rust.
02-06-2019, 01:22 PM
#33
Drifting
yeah, I understand and I usually agree but I have just heard good things about these headers usually so I am going to try these headers.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/85-91-Chevy...-/182887466283
if they come here and look horrible from the welds or anything them I will just send them back to return but if not then I’ll take them to get installed and hopefully they fit well, because they fit fine from what I have read. I like the looks of stainless a bit better than ceramic too so I will try to keep the stainless polished when they start turning goldish brown so they look good and they shouldn’t ever rust.
They were stainless, they were constructed well. The flanges was not flat enough and I had to have them milled. the fit was crap and I had to dent the headers some, bends some brackets, and grind some clearances on other parts on the car. Then, the stainless was poor quality and it discolored quickly. Couldn't reach all the areas to even attempt to keep them clean. The ones that I could reach, it barely helped. No rust though....
All said, the money I saved cost me more time and money elsewhere. I won't do it again and some of the problems were not known until I was well into the installation process, past a reasonable "point of no return". I was too invested to not make them work. Not to mention the pain Ebay returns can be sometimes and actually getting your money back.
A little difference here is this was in 2005ish time frame. The internet was different then. they headers on the forums had some mixed reviews. This adventure may be different than mine, and I hope if you go this way it is. I am just giving you a fair warning, I do really hope it goes well for you if you purchase them.
02-06-2019, 08:36 PM
#35
I did ebay headers once, for a different platform. I will never do it again.
They were stainless, they were constructed well. The flanges was not flat enough and I had to have them milled. the fit was crap and I had to dent the headers some, bends some brackets, and grind some clearances on other parts on the car. Then, the stainless was poor quality and it discolored quickly. Couldn't reach all the areas to even attempt to keep them clean. The ones that I could reach, it barely helped. No rust though....
All said, the money I saved cost me more time and money elsewhere. I won't do it again and some of the problems were not known until I was well into the installation process, past a reasonable "point of no return". I was too invested to not make them work. Not to mention the pain Ebay returns can be sometimes and actually getting your money back.
A little difference here is this was in 2005ish time frame. The internet was different then. they headers on the forums had some mixed reviews. This adventure may be different than mine, and I hope if you go this way it is. I am just giving you a fair warning, I do really hope it goes well for you if you purchase them.
They were stainless, they were constructed well. The flanges was not flat enough and I had to have them milled. the fit was crap and I had to dent the headers some, bends some brackets, and grind some clearances on other parts on the car. Then, the stainless was poor quality and it discolored quickly. Couldn't reach all the areas to even attempt to keep them clean. The ones that I could reach, it barely helped. No rust though....
All said, the money I saved cost me more time and money elsewhere. I won't do it again and some of the problems were not known until I was well into the installation process, past a reasonable "point of no return". I was too invested to not make them work. Not to mention the pain Ebay returns can be sometimes and actually getting your money back.
A little difference here is this was in 2005ish time frame. The internet was different then. they headers on the forums had some mixed reviews. This adventure may be different than mine, and I hope if you go this way it is. I am just giving you a fair warning, I do really hope it goes well for you if you purchase them.
. Something else that is true is that other headers like hooker. that have been mentioned here a few times, will be more consistent than eBay headers. On eBay the headers can be good sometimes and the the next batch not be manufactured right so that is something that I know is better with name brand headers, I’m just hoping I get one of the good sets of headers that fit and are constructed good.
02-08-2019, 09:25 PM
#36
My 2cents here, just installed Hedman long tubes on my 87. Sound awesome, but they where a little but if a pain to install. Changing plugs are impossible unless you have a pass through socket and wrench. The 7/16 headers bolts that came with it are a must have, but limited clearance to tighten them. Driver side dropped from the topwith no issues. Passenger side was a bit more complicated, but was able to get it done with just dropping the starter and coming from the bottom. Probably about an hour to install.
MrN
MrN
02-09-2019, 08:48 AM
#37
My 2cents here, just installed Hedman long tubes on my 87. Sound awesome, but they where a little but if a pain to install. Changing plugs are impossible unless you have a pass through socket and wrench. The 7/16 headers bolts that came with it are a must have, but limited clearance to tighten them. Driver side dropped from the topwith no issues. Passenger side was a bit more complicated, but was able to get it done with just dropping the starter and coming from the bottom. Probably about an hour to install.
MrN
MrN
02-09-2019, 09:00 AM
#38
Burning Brakes
02-09-2019, 05:31 PM
#39
https://www.corvetteforum.com/g/picture/9669617 obx on a 84
02-09-2019, 05:53 PM
#40
Burning Brakes
no problems on fitment ! no leacks ! 2 years !