Please forgive me if this has been asked before, I am thinking about buying headers for my 04 vert. I will not be drag racing my car and they will be going on a totally stock LS1. I do not run the car at high rpm so low end torque is definitely more appealing to me. Which headers are the best for this application. Also, is there a big difference with the in car heat generated between stainless or jet hot coated. I have looked at the Dynatech, Kooks, LG, and Melrose.

Tino

 

If I was NOT going to do any more engine mods except the Blackwing. I would have left my car with just the Stingers and Blackwing and I would NEVER have installed the headers.

If however, I was going to count on most of the extra power coming from "just" headers, I would probably have purchased LG's Longtube headers. The dynatechs fit nice though, without any hanging below the bottom of the car. As far as heat, where I live heat is a "good thing"!

 

[QUOTE=loudsam]If I was NOT going to do any more engine mods except the Blackwing. I would have left my car with just the Stingers and Blackwing and I would NEVER have installed the headers.

Loudsam,
Please explain so I can better understand, what made you feel this way?

Tino

 

[QUOTE=Tino]I'm a kind of an "all or nothing" guy. The package I had done on my car was/is all I can justifiably afford. In other words, if I wanted more power, than I wanted ALOT more power, not just nickles and dimes. To each his own though. The reason behind more power is to make your car quicker, usually quicker than the next guys car. Plus the thrill, of course. The thrill wears off fast, and all another guy has to do is spend a little more money than you to be quicker. It's really a no-win situation, except for the immediate gratification. So, I guess what I mean to say is, headers alone wouldn't have offered enough gratification to make it worthwhile to me, had I not intended to do more!

Doug

 

I think I going to go with the supermax setup.. it is about the middle in price and comes with everything for install..

I already have intake and exhaust.. I want to get to 400rwhp N/A before I go FI...

plus there is a little Black SRT4 that keeps calling my name....

 

You'll like the Dynatechs alot. They're a very high quality header system, and they perform well, and install nice!

 

If your ulitimate goal is FI, then you may want to rethink your strategy and size the headers for this setup. Before making the leap, make sure your end goal is in mind so you don't have to swap expensive parts later.

 

I am very happy with my FLP long tubes - They are coated so they keep the underhood temps low and they do not turn blue - they stay nice and polished looking. Also the FLP's included high flow CATs and a crossover pipe - all coated as well.

 

I did the Kooks. I wish I had them Jet coated.

 

Installed the Dynatechs last Saturday. Really well built system that I got through the corvettegarage GP.

High Quality and great performance. Really woke up the Corsa Indy's.

 

TPIS ceramic coated here. plus a host of other mods.

Listen to lots of different headers. some will sound much different then others. There are many many different headers out there and all are very good. Some are more for drag racing then road racing, but the power difference is not much and only after a dyno tune as well.

The Borla or LGs should get you where you want to go or at least in the right direction. Both are loud too.

 

Do the research and you will find out one name that stands the tallest......

Koooooooooooooooooks !!!

 

As you said, this has been discussed to death and then back..look over in the C5tech section and you'll find a few very heated threads on this subject. Headers are a good mod IMO for future mods, or even if you plan on no future mods, they do give you a nice boost in HP. The way I see it...The Dynatechs, LG or Kooks you cannot go wrong with any of these.
I went with the Dynatechs myself, for price (we had a nice GP here on the forum a few weeks ago) I don't track my car that much either so if the claims that LG's make the most power/torque are true, it's not going to be worth the extra 500 bucks more to me or 5-10 more HP.

To answer your question about JetHot coating...I just sent my Dynatechs off to Jethot last week to get the Silver coating...the price was 279.00..(not including shipping) I did this 1. for the look(stainless steel will turn all kinds of colors over time due to exposure to the heat,,but will not rust though) 2. I have always thought the LS1 in our Vettes runs too hot for my liking and I figured this would help with temps in the compartment. Their numbers are impressive with regards to temp reduction...in some cases they claim it cut the temp in the engine compartment by over 50%..not sure if any forum members have done test to back this up.

Let me know if you want anymore info on Jethot...when I called for the quote on the phone, they sent me a kit witha video that has some good info.

Good luck

 

QTP's here

 

Thanks for all the great replies.

Tino

 

Personally, if money is no object, you should buy the LGs. They are consistently the best performers and the longer primaries will offer more torque than the kooks. Myself, I went the most economical route and bought the dynatechs. The person who installed my dynatechs (forum member "connecticut") has had experience with all three major brands and felt the dynatechs were the easiest to install. The only problem with the LGs is having to run simulators for the back O2 sensors, which will up the cost for you. I think LG may be in the process of redesigning though.

The dynatech system comes complete with everything you need and is packaged well. However, I only gained 10rwhp and 17rwhp with a tune from these headers. I was dissapointed even though the car sounds better. Just to warn you, all the manufacturer's claims are . You are not going to pack in 35-40rwhp with the headers alone. 20rwhp is a pretty average gain you can expect. However, the freer exhaust flow from the LT headers will be necessary if you plan to upgrade cam/headers in the future to get the maximum gains.

 

i did the TPIS coated.

 

LG's now have rear O2 bungs & extensions.

 

I like the LG headers.

 

Does anybody have any experience with the GHL headers?? I am thinking of going with an all GHL exhaust.

Thanks