Does anyone have an opinion on BBK headers? Good quality? Fitment issues? They make shorty headers that are supposed to fit the C5.

 

I ran them for about 7 years when I lived in Marina Del Rey CA. They looked great under the hood, quality was very good, fitment was very good, kept things a bit cooler due to ceramic coating, and helped some to improve exhaust note. Power gains 0-6rwhp at best over stock. So not a power add.

I sold my set to a forum member for $250 when I swapped in Kooks 1 7/8 LTs. So if you find a cheap used set its worth a couple hundred bucks and a few hours in your garage to improve under hood bling.

 

I would do long tube headers, but that's going to create a headache for clutch service. It's also a lot more money, as I'd need new mid-pipes. I've read that shorty headers are better for low/mid range torque than long tube headers.

 

I've had the BBK shorties on for quite a few years now. I originally installed them when I lived in the Phoenix area for emission purposes. I've had not one issue with them yet. I did get them ceramic coated also and it helped a ton for keeping them cooler. I still have them on.

 

Did you do a tune with your shorties?

 

Yes, I did. But I was going to anyway just to get the car to shift (auto) and run a smidge better then what the factory put in it. With the shorties I don't know if it's imperative you get a tune or not.

 

Headers are the least of your worries if you are doing clutch service. Fairly certain long tubes will be better pretty much everywhere compared to shorties. Anything I’ve ever seen suggests that shorties are a waste of time/money on these cars.

 

Shorties make slightly more power than stock manifolds but they look exponentially better and in some states the only option if DMV inspection is an issue. Long tubes also look exponentially better than stock, will make more power down low, mid range and peak over shorties. But may be am issue with DMV.

Both shorties and long tubes increase gains based on other power adders such as heads and cam upgrades vs. just adding them to an otherwise stock engine.

Below is a good header comparison video done by Richard Holdner.

 

As you know, I had LT's and high flow cats on my 99, now with my 03, I might get some BBK Shorties to keep my stock cats to gain some HP, and not have to go with a crazy tune. We'll see though!

 

I’ve had them. They are worthless for power gains.

IMHO, Speed Engineering headers would be a better investment.

 

As I and others have mentioned as well as confirmed in Richards video it's a minor 0 to 6 rwhp/rwtq gain over stock manifolds. But they look 1000 times better than stock manifolds, weigh less than 1/4 the weight, keep the engine bay cooler if ceramic coated and may have some positive impact on exhaust note. If you can score a used set for $250 or less and install yourself there is some benefit to be had. I only went shorties because I lived in CA at the time and I bought mine used for $300 and installed myself. I then sold them 7 years later for $250. So for $50 and 3 hours it was a no brainer. There isn't a mod minded guy on this forum that wouldnt spend $50 for those benefits. So my advice is buy them used on the cheap. Hell, most folks spend over $1000 for a cat-back that you can't see and nets 0 performance gain.

NJ is pretty strict with inspections but not nearly as strict as CA. So shorties can have their place.

Honestly, I wouldn't even bother with an intake or headers (shorties or LTs) if I wasn't planning on getting it tuned to factor in the changes. Plus there is some positive perfomance to be gained with a tune on a stock car. So it just comes down to goals, budget, timing and how often you want to pay for a tune. Also no need to have a crazy tune that's detrimental to longevity. Conservative tunes still reap good benefits without the risk. My $0.02

 

Sounds like the BBKs are a decent header system based on the comments, but LTs would be the way to go if you want power gains.