Hey all,

Might be a long shot - but for those of you running Speed Engineering headers, by any chance could you post a side angle photo looking underneath the rocker showing how low the header collectors hang? I just recently bagged my C5 and unfortunately my XS Power headers are the lowest point of the car just because they're a little on the bulky side, so when I air out fully the car essentially rests on the collectors, which I am trying to avoid. They hang lower than the floor pan by a good 1/2"-3/4" roughly. I have heard that Speed Engineering headers tuck up much better with close to the same ground clearance as stock exhaust, but would love to see if this is truly the case.

I have seen several pics of Speed Engineering headers installed, but none from a side angle showing their ground clearance. If anyone who has these could post up a photo showing this, it would be greatly appreciated! Mainly just want to see if they would in fact be an improvement before buying a set and going through the hassle of swapping them out just for minimal to no difference.

Thanks in advance!

 

Interesting…

@Mr. Black

Mr. Black might have some pics…

 

I'll try and get a pic in the morning!

 

this was from me checking my oil leak so i apologize for the bad pic lol, but the collectors don’t hang down any further than the body, at most a half inch lower

 

excuse the cup lol it rolled under my car

 

These are the 2" speed headers, but this will give you an idea.

 

^^ What am I seeing there? That oil pan, that mid pipe into a large oval?

 

C6 oil pan. 3" into a single spintech 5" oval muffler

 

Thank you Sir.

 

That's very interesting. You should start your own thread on that set-up.

 

I said nearly the same thing a couple months ago lol

You wish is his command!

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...c5z-build.html

 

OP I will try to get you an actual rocker shot in the morning. We have to play musical cars to accomplish this and I'd rather let it happen naturally lol.

 

Thank you, brother. I obviously missed that thread.

 

Here is one I took this morning. Tried to get it as dead level as I could with the car.

 

Looks pretty good 👍

 

This is about as flush to the floor as I can come up with. Pardon all the mess lol. I leave my quick jacks under my car and they harbor all the dirt!

Also, it goes without saying, the height at which your suspension is set is going to be a huge variable to how low the headers are in relation to the ground. Not to mention tire and wheel combos.

 

Thanks man! These photos definitely help me visualize it a bit better. It looks like they actually tuck up pretty nicely all things considered.


Thanks, this is awesome! Believe it or not, the XS Power headers I am running now are actually your old ones lol, I bought them from you several years ago, back in like 2017 I believe. They've been awesome, no complaints really. I just had the car on lowering bolts before, but even in that state they were still the lowest point of the car and would contact/drag over even the smallest of speed bumps, which is just something I adapted to.

These pics help a ton, and being that yours are the 2" version I'd assume they're probably a little bulkier than the 1 7/8" version that SE sells. Comparing yours to how mine currently sit, they look as if they might tuck up a tiny bit more than mine. Which gives me hope that I'll be able to gain a bit of clearance with a set of 1 7/8" headers.


This is awesome, thanks! I'm guessing you are using the 1 7/8" headers? Yours look like they are just barely lower than the subframe, maybe between 1/4 - 1/2" lower. Whereas mine hang about an inch beneath the subframe. All these photos give me hope!

And yes your point about suspension, wheel & tire setup all plays a huge role as well for anyone coming across this thread in the future. In this photo below this is mine aired out to the lowest preset I configured, and the car just barely rests on the collectors. (This is just when parked too - I don't drive it this low). There is still room to go a little lower if I wanted, I'm just limited by the headers at the moment, so I'm just exploring some options. The easiest solution of course is just "don't air out as low", but the whole point of air suspension is adjustability and being able to go as low as possible at the push of a button.

Even just keeping this as my lowest preset but gaining a tiny bit of clearance between the headers and the ground would be a huge win for peace of mind. I am personally just exploring the more extreme end of the spectrum while trying to gain even the tiniest bit of extra clearance, but even for non-bagged cars, this may help for other situations where ground clearance is a concern, similar to how I'd still drag them over speed bumps just on lowering bolts, or for guys looking to go with a coilover + wheel & tire setup that would have the car sitting low to the ground.

 

[QUOTE=kevbot;1608616864]
Thanks, this is awesome! Believe it or not, the XS Power headers I am running now are actually your old ones lol, I bought them from you several years ago, back in like 2017 I believe. They've been awesome, no complaints really. I just had the car on lowering bolts before, but even in that state they were still the lowest point of the car and would contact/drag over even the smallest of speed bumps, which is just something I adapted to.


Haha no kidding? That was a while ago for sure

 

It would be cool just to have a front end booster for speed bumps/steep driveway entrances.. I believe the newer models have a similar function (theirs are probably AI laser sighted…) but I would settle for a toggle switch.

 

Some companies do sell Air Cups (also seen them called Coilover Cups or Stance Cups). Unlike bags which replace the spring altogether, Air Cups function with a full coilover assembly and get installed in between the top of the spring and the top hat of the assembly. They are intended to only be used deflated, so the entire time you're driving you are just on your coils. But at the push of a button, the cups inflate and raise the front of the car (and the rear if you use all four) by an inch or two, for speed bumps or steep driveways and such, then deflate to continue driving.

I don't have any experience with them personally, but I have seen some cars with them. They look like an interesting middleground to retain the performance from coilovers while also having some push button adjustability when needed. They'd also require a similar setup that bags require (tank, compressor, etc).