Sprayy

Looking to pick these up for my C5 z06. Anyone have any experience with them? Any guesses on what gains I'd be looking at over the stock z06 exhaust?

tlove32

Short-tube headers will get you about 10hp over stock manifolds. The route66 catback won't get you any hp, and are only slightly louder than stock. The stock Ti's flow very well

Sprayy

The X-pipe won't give any gains as well? Is that 10 hp after a tune? Is a tune absolutely required for the health of the engine?

I have a tune now with an intake.

Thanks guys.

hotwheels57

While you may not see maximum horsepower/torque gains with B&B short tube equal length headers (as with long tube headers), you will be able to install them yourself with less effort than long tube headers. They will bolt up to your oem exhaust if you chose to do that. They will improve looks in the engine compartment. They provide better ground clearance over obstacles than long tube headers. They may improve the exhaust note depending on the rest of your system. They probably don't need an expensive tune, but that depends on the rest of your components. They are CARB approved.

The biggest advantage in my opinion is the weight savings off the front end...which equates to a better power to weight ratio and handling.

Sprayy

Thanks Hot wheels, I do like that they're easy to install.

So would there be a gain by just installing or with a tune? What about the x-pipe?

My motor has a ton of miles on it (120K) So I'm trying to just slightly bump up the power for the track.

hotwheels57

B&B says their equal length shorty headers should provide an increase of approximately 10hp. That's about the same as most reputable after market air intake systems. Whether that's worth it is a personal decision. I doubt that the addition of the x-pipe will give you any big gains other than more noise. More noise is what most owners equate to power, anyway.

A tune would get you maximum gains with all of your modifications but the tune cost may out weigh those gains. Talk to a reputable tuner (hopefully honest) for his input. Spending several hundred dollars with no appreciable improvements isn't a good investment in my opinion. Maybe your current tune allows for periodic upgrades at a discount?

I'm in a part of AZ that doesn't require annual emissions testing (yet), but I'd chose their shorty headers for the reasons I gave above.

With 120k miles on it, don't expect huge power gains. A fresher motor might see more benefit. It depends on how the motor has been treated all its life. A compression check would help in that regard. Follow that up with regular maintenance like fresh plugs, plug wires, maybe a SEAFOAM treatment.