Stainless Headers...BAD idea????
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 4,305
Likes: 1
From: Red city in deep blue Oregon
St. Jude Donor '17
Stainless Headers...BAD idea????
Hi!
I'm in the researching process for headers for our '04.
A local muffler guy who'd been in business in our town for decades told me NOT to get stainless headers. This was when I had our previous 'Vette in his shop for some unrelated work and we were just chatting about exhausts in general.
Didn't occur to me to ask him "why not?", because I wasn't interested in headers for that car.
At any rate.....WHY would he have tried to steer me away from stainless? I'd go back and ask him, but he retired this summer.
I'm in the researching process for headers for our '04.
A local muffler guy who'd been in business in our town for decades told me NOT to get stainless headers. This was when I had our previous 'Vette in his shop for some unrelated work and we were just chatting about exhausts in general.
Didn't occur to me to ask him "why not?", because I wasn't interested in headers for that car.
At any rate.....WHY would he have tried to steer me away from stainless? I'd go back and ask him, but he retired this summer.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 3,315
Likes: 28
From: Wa
he must have burned his lips on a stainless crack pipe at one time.JK stainless is the only way to go,i'm not sure if you could even find non stainless headers for vettes now a days.He is probably thinking about them staying hotter longer,but if you get heat coated ones that would solve that problem,mine are not coated and even with a S/C'er my under hood temps are not that bad.
Theres a guy in Vancouver that has some nice headers for sale and has them in stock I beleive,hes also the best tuner up here in the PNW.
Theres a guy in Vancouver that has some nice headers for sale and has them in stock I beleive,hes also the best tuner up here in the PNW.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 3,066
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St. Jude Donor '06
Most of the best headers available are 100% stainless. Best way to go IMHO. Check out LG, American Racing, Kooks, Dynatech...
There are still some manufactures that make mild steel headers and coat them for heat and corrosion resistance. These are a less expensive than stainless.
Nick
There are still some manufactures that make mild steel headers and coat them for heat and corrosion resistance. These are a less expensive than stainless.
Nick
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 4,305
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From: Red city in deep blue Oregon
St. Jude Donor '17
Anyone have a suggestion on best header "bang for the buck"?
IIRC, the Kooks are a bit less $$$
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 3,315
Likes: 28
From: Wa
The guy that has them is Tom Wong,hes in Vancouver and his buisness is called Wong's performance,i think it has American racing headers,I don't have his # handy but you can ask in the PNW section and I'm sure everyone in there will talk highly of him and someone will have his #,great guy to deal with as far as getting work done on your Vette.
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No reason not to go with stainless. Going to be hard to find a quality set that is not made from that stuff.
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2009
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I just bought a pair of 1 7/8" ARH Stainless Headers
one thing I did not expect is How Damn Heavy they were going to be !
I am building a lightweight track car and should of had a custom set made out of Aluminum and then had them Hotcoated
I am shopping 3" titanium pipe to build my own mid pipes & X pipe, Hopefully, I will save some weight
Make sure you get at least 3 prices when you are shopping Hotcoatings the prices vary dramatically
Von
one thing I did not expect is How Damn Heavy they were going to be !
I am building a lightweight track car and should of had a custom set made out of Aluminum and then had them Hotcoated
I am shopping 3" titanium pipe to build my own mid pipes & X pipe, Hopefully, I will save some weight
Make sure you get at least 3 prices when you are shopping Hotcoatings the prices vary dramatically
Von
Last edited by VonDutch; Dec 14, 2009 at 12:18 AM. Reason: mistake
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 4,305
Likes: 1
From: Red city in deep blue Oregon
St. Jude Donor '17
The guy that has them is Tom Wong,hes in Vancouver and his buisness is called Wong's performance,i think it has American racing headers,I don't have his # handy but you can ask in the PNW section and I'm sure everyone in there will talk highly of him and someone will have his #,great guy to deal with as far as getting work done on your Vette.
I was wondering if that was who you were referring to. Seems to have a SUPER rep!..
I believe he's temporarily off the ranch.
Thanks to all who posted. I believe I've got my answer!
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 3,315
Likes: 28
From: Wa
He's back from his vacation as of Saturday I think,book him now for a install,he's usually a couple months out.
Racer
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 361
Likes: 1
From: Montara Ca
SS is the only way to go. Coated Mild steel will rust from the inside out (pin holes in the coating) IMHO it is not worth coating SS headers, the heat transfer of SS is pretty crapy so most of the heat stays inside anyways. I've have a set of LG streets with about 100k on them. I live on the coast where we get tons of fog all summer and plenty of rain in the winter and they only have a bit of blueing at the flanges which I think looks kind of cool, otherwise they still look great. Do a search, headers are probably one of the most talked about mods on the CF.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 798
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From: Notorious Miami sunny south florida
I hear that S/S headers have a tendency to crack at the welds the metal is to brittle that why the later vette 's were titanium most c5 Exhaust crack at the collectors and have to be rewelded s/s good for corrosion bad under vibration
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2004
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St. Jude Donor '06
Nick
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,387
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From: Jacksonville FL
He might have just been trying to save you some money. Stainless is the best, but it isn't necessary. I had a set of Hooker mild steel coated headers on my last vette for over 10 yrs. I sold it to a friend a couple years ago and they are still doing fine.
I agree with not coating the stainless unless you like the look.
I agree with not coating the stainless unless you like the look.
Drifting
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 1,616
Likes: 1
From: Minnesota
I chose Melrose headers based on a recommendation from the Corvette performance shop I chose. They were mild steel & coated. He did mentioned the same concerns about the stainless headers as above. I was also not looking to spend $1500 on a set of headers since I wanted to do the x-pipe, cats and tune at the same time.
For what it's worth (it's from the Melrose site after all) here is what they have to say about this subject. Again, take it with a grain of salt since obviously the stainless headers that are on the market are holding up quite nicely.
Our headers are constructed of aluminized low carbon steel, or in general terms, mild steel. The more carbon a metal contains, the more susceptible it becomes to fatigue and cracking. In summary, stainless has a very high expansion rate as opposed to carbon steel, which gives way to premature fatigue on the metal and the welds due to the constant growing and shrinking of the metal. Stainless also radiates a lot of heat in comparison to ceramic coated mild steel. Heat sensitive components like spark plugs and wires, electrical parts, water pumps, and many other critical engine components can fail due to premature wear and fatigue from prolonged heat exposure.
For what it's worth (it's from the Melrose site after all) here is what they have to say about this subject. Again, take it with a grain of salt since obviously the stainless headers that are on the market are holding up quite nicely.
Our headers are constructed of aluminized low carbon steel, or in general terms, mild steel. The more carbon a metal contains, the more susceptible it becomes to fatigue and cracking. In summary, stainless has a very high expansion rate as opposed to carbon steel, which gives way to premature fatigue on the metal and the welds due to the constant growing and shrinking of the metal. Stainless also radiates a lot of heat in comparison to ceramic coated mild steel. Heat sensitive components like spark plugs and wires, electrical parts, water pumps, and many other critical engine components can fail due to premature wear and fatigue from prolonged heat exposure.
Last edited by j84buick; Dec 16, 2009 at 09:30 AM.
