What’s up guys. Been looking into a new exhaust for my 2002 CORVETTE. I have a really nice set of oem ZO6 titanium axle back system. That I haven’t installed yet. Been reading and it looks like a better place to spend money would be to keep the titanium system. And invest in a set of long tube headers. Which brand do you guys recommend or not recommend. Been lookin online and the prices are pretty reasonable. I figured with long tubes the titanium axle back and a tune I would get the sound and a nice horsepower boost. Any info is greatly appreciated.

 

The best quality, fit, and finish will be Kooks. However, they are also the most expensive. If you want a catless system (which I personally don't care for) Speed engineering is a great option. You can a quality set of headers and a catless mid-pipe for under $500.00. If you do go that route, don't use the provided clamps. you will want to either buy better clamps, or have the whole thing welded together. A third option would be TPS Motorsports. They are more expensive than Speed Engineering, but cheaper than Kooks. TPS offers a large number of options at a decent price so that you can pick and choose exactly what you want, and what you don't.

There are some things to consider when installing LT headers. The first big question is high flow cats or no cats. No cats will be louder, and will net you a couple more HP. However, no cats may be illegal in your area. They can also make the car smell bad. Also if you care at all about the environment, deleting your cats increases emissions by about 90%.

The next thing to consider is heat. LT headers extract a LOT of heat. As such, there are several things to look at. You can ceramic coat or wrap the headers. this will help to mitigate the heat. I would also recommend getting some heat shielding for your spark plug and starter wires. Now that you've protected the wires, the third thing you can do is get an insulated tunnel plate. If you don't ceramic coat or wrap the headers, the extra heat will radiate into the cabin. The tunnel plate will help to prevent this. It can also make the car slightly more rigid, and thus improve handling as well.

I hope this answers your questions. There are some other quality brands out there that other will suggest. Let us know if you have any more questions.

 

Kooks and ARH are the same price. Cant go wrong with either.

 

I have the ARH with TI cat back. It sounds great

 

I went with the Texas Speed LTs, their catless off-road xpipe and Borla axle back. The car runs no hotter than it did stock. I didn’t do any wrap or coating on the headers.

 

In the middle of an AHR (American Racing Headers) install. Did 1 7/8' with the high flow cats and x-pipe to 2 1/2 for stock exhaust. I went with them because they had a couple of options for diameter, you can install them from below without removing too much stuff (the starter maybe) and they sound great in videos. The wait time was long when I bought them but they actually came surprisingly early. I hear good things about the Kooks too, those are your two top of the line options as far as I'm aware.

Really just wanted to get the dang CA precats off my 01Z and get the horses those nanny staters took from me back!

Also wrapping headers is a PITA (as I have learned the hard way) and you are probably better off with the powder coat. Don't forget to order new plugs, plug wires and plug grease either.

 

The guy who put my 2000 500HP C5 together told me this on headers:

"You can pay the money for Kooks up front. Or you can buy something cheaper and pay me to deal with all of the issues."

Kooks got my money.

 

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Unless you’re planning other power adders, skip the LT headers, install the TI axle backs for the weight savings, maybe get a mail order tune, and be done. You might get another 20-25 hp with the LTs & a tune, but it’s real pricey for the slight power bump. Then you have to consider how to manage the potential heat issues which means more $$. Just not worth it IMHO. I did all those things to mine, except had a dyno tune. Wouldn’t do it again.

 

Funny how some people don’t notice a heat increase in the passenger area and others say it’s significant.

I agree pretty much with Warlord on your options, from what I have “researched”, and my mechanic also suggested TPS because he likes how they fit without modification. They’re about a grand with the X-pipe.

Take a look at the DEI tunnel plate heat shield kit, and maybe look for a used C6 tunnel plate in the forum for sale section. The C6 plate is 1/8” aluminum plate, so combined with the insulation that is supposed to help keep the console and footwell a lot cooler. If you decide on ceramic coat and/or wrap it won’t hurt, although some header manufacturers will void their warranty if headers were wrapped. BTW, if you decide to ceramic coat later on, it’s a little more work but not the end of the world either.

Finally, the header sound is really cool, and 30 hp is nothing to sneeze at. Later on you can always install a cam and having headers will be a benefit.

 

ARH nice fit, good power, sound great.
Good luck

 

Headers can be expensive (x pipe, tune) can be a PITA (broken bolts, messing with the starter etc..),and the number gain seems low, but, those numbers are across the ENTIRE rpm range. And that is really quite excellent.

 

Stainless works, and LG are also very good. I have seen a few posts about the LGs having a bit of install issues, but I've also seen they are one of the best performing LTs out there. They feature a 'merge' collector, which supposedly helps add power. My .02......

 

I went with the LG Motorsports Super Pro 1 3/4 headers--no cats. I did spring for the tunnel plate but it has no insulation. Have noticed no added heat in the car. Install was pretty straight forward but I did have to trim the cat spacers some to fit properly with the Borla cat back system I have. Been very happy with sound and power. Car dyno'd at 520ish crank with the other mods I did and is still very streetable. Car is 99 Hardtop LS1 6 spd.

 

I concur with everything MWWarlord said. If you are able to do this work yourself, I would think about Speed Engineering headers. If not, go with a top brand. I have been around quite a few C5s with and without cats, IMO in catless C5's the exhaust smell is quite noticeable - so be sides any legal issues, keep the smell factor in mind.

Here is a vid I did on the subject as well which may provide additional useful header info.

 

The coolant temp may not be any hotter, but I assure you, your underhood temps definitely are!

 

Have either of you tried ceramic coat vs raw metal and noticed a difference in under hood temp?


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I have not. But every owner that I've talked to has said the engine bay is a bit cooler. I'm sure you won't notice a night and day difference, but I would expect to see a 30°-50° drop. Next time my Kooks come off, they're going to get coated.....