C5 HEADERS

- looking to get headers on my 2002 C5. What are y’all’s recommendations?

- should I take it to a shop to install them?

 

I am very happy with the American Racing Headers on my '03.

 

The good ones are not inexpensive. I like the American Racing kit, I like their x-pipe the best, but my last set did have a flange imperfection that required a warranty claim.
As far as the install, that all depends on your mechanical fortitude, they will test your patience.

 

Mechanical fortitude, abilities, and tool collection. Car needs to be pretty well up off the ground. I have yet to ever see a true side by side dyno or other comparison that shows any one brand performing better than another. I prefer USA made when I can, but price and availability both have to play a part.

 

I'm not short of money, am on my ninth Corvette but only had headers on one which happened to be a C3 years ago. Associated problems with plug wires, gaskets, heat and loud exhaust kept me from doing it again. I'm now on my second C5 which performs well without aftermarket "improvements". I just drive it with no regrets. As a grocery getter that never goes to the track the return on investment isn't there for me. Just sayin........ Starts with exhaust, later a turbo, clutch upgrade, brakes, suspension, torque tube, transmission and ends up a money pit. Enjoy your C5!

 

LG Headers on my car since 2006 or 2007. Had the system installed and tuned. Haven’t had a problem since.

I’ll also say American racing or Kooks are really great header systems also. IMO

 

Speed Engineering is the way I'll probably go. Not paying $2K for a pair of Kooks or ARH.

 

Those making the debate may find this video helpful. I have Kooks 1 7/8s with Kooks off-road x-pipe on my coupe. They are top quality and installation is as easy as it gets for a longtube header install on a C5. With absolutely zero fitment and plug clearance issues. And they added an amazing tone to my exhaust.

When going with a cheaper system you run the risk of fitment issues. If you are doing your own work this can get time consuming and annoying as F. If you're paying a shop I suggest getting a flat rate prior to install in the case the fitment issues extend the job beyond a reasonable install time and requires hammering of pipes to make them fit. In essence you save on the lesser quality parts just to overpay on installation.

Kooks on my car since 2007 and about 100k miles. Still look good and never hurt a plug wire or required a gasket replacement.

 

I agree with what many have already said. I had mine installed because I just didn’t have the space do do it… plus I wanted it Dyno’d afterwards.

Here’s an old thread on mine… I’ll have to find and re-upload the video of the Dyno pulls.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1577688831

 

Why do you want headers?

If you want to add power work way to supercharger,

guaranteed 30% minimum power increase

And, you can keep the OEM exhaust making the car appear & sound unmodified,
avoiding engine internals mods and exhaust difficulties

Headers is more for, say, optimization. After you have the supercharger you might want another large boosting chunk of power say 30 to 100hp for low cost, then you do the headers to let it breath up and add a couple psi wham its a whole new car again. headers right now aint gonna really do that for you its like getting what you want too easy and then not really understanding or appreciating the work it takes to get there, the car wont appreciate it fully yet without supporting mods, the least invasive and most reliable and reversible of which is forced induction

 

I went with TPS Motorsports headers (not Texas Speed, aka TSP). I've heard some forum members speak poorly of this company, but personally I had a very positive experience.all the way around , so I'm not sure why others may have had issues. Fitment was perfect, no issues with clearance anywhere. 1/2 the cost of ARH or Kooks. Been running them for 3 or so years now, no issues. Love the sound and added power. I also did a tune at the same time. Good luck with whatever you decide on, I'm sure you'll enjoy the end result.

 

$50,000…I don’t know man. Sounds out of reach.

 

First off, I dailied a car in all four seasons with headers from 2012 to 2024 with zero issues as mentioned by Daryl (and his other brothers Daryl... no? Am I too old to make a successful Newhart reference?)

Zero issues.

I also want to dispel the volume comment. You might hear more 'header talk' and noise from the engine in general, but any set of headers combined with a sensible cat-back is extremely livable. @Markolc1981 was the first to prove this to me with his LG long tubes in front of a factory untouched Z06 titanium exhaust. It can certainly be loud under full throttle, but driving around town I can fully hear the passenger as well as birds chirping outside the car with the windows down. I feel this says a lot for general noise. Remember that cars can easily have sound deadening laid down if you prefer. Literally four 15mm nuts remove either seat and the driver side also has some 10mm connections up front...boom....direct access to cabin floor and walls. Trunk is easily done as well.

Brands. Yes, I share my experience TPS (not Texas Speed) and their industry-unique ****-poor customer service combined with a product which when finally compelled by my credit card company to take back and after several continued games on their part to weasel out of it as well as naming the return file "****head" (let your imagination chew on that one) I had also realized that the incorrect order they shipped me also had no quality control from point of origin overseas (China, as related by the owner to another forum vendor here in person in the past who had to write a letter to my credit card company delineating a list of business practices not offered or maintained by the California based company) as the AIR tube had collected welding slag all but blocking the tube. That all aside, their kit in off the shelf state tucks up nicely and you can toss blocking plates on the AIR tubes if you choose.

Why pay that price at two to three times the amount when Speed Engineering openly/publicly professes their point of production in China and charges a fair price? I have not once heard a bad word about SE headers or owner experiences with them. I think the only thing is that most choose to add v-band clamps to the collectors and mid-pipes in place of the clamps supplied in order to facilitate easy install/removal for cars which will require clutch service at some point in their lives.

When money is no obstacle and not better invested elsewhere, the LG, ARH and the Kooks brands remain the top of the hill with thicker (also heavier) piping.

I have also shared in the past how ARH actively involved themselves against me. I made the mistake of posting a thread where I found the LOWEST pricing available for a full set and shared the site. They went to that reseller and compelled them not to honor the price, as explained to me by that reseller. I went to a second reseller who saw the situation and decided to honor the price they posted, but this reseller was not allowed to submit his order for my parts. I *DID find a third reseller who actually maintains the lowest prices for ARH but by now between the California group and ARH I was no longer willing to give anyone that much of a mark-up for pipes designed/developed and produced long ago which in no way cost what is being asked. That is when I went happily with Speed Engineering and had no regrets.

(Edit: the third reseller maintains a presence on the forum here. The key is that resellers cannot publicly post any pricing for ARH which is lower than their set rates. This is how and why the company had stepped in against the first two resellers which were both large known Corvette parts vendors. However, pricing offered directly to a buyer such as by phone, email, etc which does not constitute a public listing can be honored. Just run your search engine for the brand being sold in C5 Parts page here.)

Better still - hunt the forum parts pages here or Marketplace and you can find all the big name brands come up for sale used for a LOT LESS. They're just metal pipes. Age and use marks will occur on any brand new set, so why shy away from a "pre-seasoned" set?

 

I once called SE and asked about the material gauge and they claimed it was the same as the other more expensive “name brands”. It’s been a while since that conversation, so I do not recall the exact spec.

 

I have not had alternatives in my possession to compare against. I do recall the TPS being minorly thicker than the SE on the digital caliper. I do not recall the measurements. Perhaps they exist in my original thread about that old fiasco.

 

Same!

 

My vote is for American Racing Headers, and their X-pipe if that is in the cards. My X-pipe has the high flow cats, but I know some don't want cats. I and one of my sons installed the whole setup in less than a day with the car on jackstands. Fit was superb. Been running great for exactly two years now with zero trouble. With Corsa Sport axle back, the car sounds great. I often get compliments in parking lots.

 

I went with the Dynatech Headers and had them ceramic coated to help minimize under hood temps. I have had them on my 2000 FRC since 2005 and not had an issue with them now 20yrs later. The look and sound great. They were good for about 37 hp on my car with the catback and CAI. The driver side drops in but the Passenger side I had to loosen the motor mount and raise the motor an inch or so to get it in.

 

Same, I have a set of 1" 7/8ths, X-pipe, running into stock Z06 exhaust and they sound great, great welds. The stock exhaust is too quiet but when you throw the headers behind it it's perfect. You hear it when you get on it, when you start it up but it's not going to drive you mad with drone.

Rather than just offering you brand advice, I will caution that you should change your starter to one of the offset/clockable mini performance ones while you are doing the headers (you have to pull the starter anyway at least with ARH). The stock starter solenoid is pretty much touching the passenger header and it got heat soaked and started acting up immediately. I also had to get AIR system plates machined from a rubbing (begged the local machine shop) because the fittings on the headers did not match my '01's air system (which I wound up pulling anyway... and so should you because your tuner can disable it). ARH didn't want to even want to talk to me about blocking the AIR system, lol. I kinda understand given the government (especially at the time) but not exactly grade A customer service....Oh but there was a time they sent me exhaust sensor extender leads for free because the ones they shipped with did not fit... but they turned out to not match either (I ended up making things fit by being creative).

Ps. if you wrap them, wear gloves/glasses and a mask, unless you like itching/inflammation and remember any time you are near the headers you get the joy of dealing with the stuff..

 

that's what I have and like them a lot. I don't think they make them anymore.