Great job man!!!!Glad it all worked out for you sounds like the hicups are just the same with any other set up. I know the TSP headers require cutting of the tunnel plate and most require 02 extenders. So where are all the haters at and the constant you get what you pay for guys? Another "cheap crap product" that works. I told you the saying you get what you pay is no longer valid like it used to be.

 

Anyways all said and done my grand total was $1,355

So how much did you actually save over the "name brands"???

I paid $1269 for my Dynatechs with the high flow cats and had no issues during the install.Every nut and bolt was included.

Doesn't seem that great of a deal to me,but I am glad you like them.

Thanks for setting the record straight and letting potential customers what issues they might encounter

 

Maybe I wasn't too clear but what I was trying to say is almost half of the 6 hours it took to install them we were looking for replacements for parts not provided with the kit or going to the store to get them. Long story short we went to the store 2 times because the bolts were not long enough. Knowing now that the kit needs: 8 nuts/bolts 16 washers, o2 extensions, and (4) 2 1/2" exhaust clamps the install would have been much easier/faster. My guess was 4 hours on install or less easily. I understand the system does not use cats but for me I didn't care. Here is my guess at the cost of everything for other members wanting to purchasing these.

OBX headers $700 shipping + ca tax included(if you do not live in ca no $50 tax so $650!)
Install at a good shop $400 at the most (provided you have the missing parts described above)
Missing parts total $75 at most

So the grand total w/o a tune is $1175 in CA and $1125 outside CA!

Higher end headers are around $1600 shipped plus tax (estimate)
Install for 3 hours $300

So the grand total w/o a tune is $1900

I personally would rather save the $725. The only diff so far is OBX uses resonators not cats and it is not a complete kit. Also customer service is not the best, but I figured that. Keep that in mind if you are thinking about buying them. Friday is the dyno tune so thats when we will have some good #'s to compare. 326 rwhp dyno tuned previous to headers so we will see!

 

That makes no sense. If he bought Lg's and had them installed what would the price be then? Close to 2K right? If he installed these himself and also bought Lg's and installed them himself he still would of saved 600 bucks plus.

 

If he had chosen to do the install himself with the help of a friend, he actually saved $575 bucks on what you spent !

All the haters here just don't give anyone a break. They're haters even more so now because there's a system out there for 1/2 of what they paid for theirs and this system actually FITS !



Congrats again and great job man !

 

Thanks man! and for all you wrenchers out there the header system + extra parts you could expect to pay $725-$775 depending on where you ship them to.

 

Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm not being combative or trying to say you got a bad deal or anything. Like I said, you didn't pay too much overall for everything, and you're happy with the results so

I'm just trying to explain my point of view, and the reasoning going on in my head in figuring out what system I'm willing to pay for, whichever that winds up being.

I understood perfectly fine that it took 6 hours, and you think it would only be 4 is you had all the parts. But that's still 4 hours with 1-3 guys working on it at the same time.

You can get LG Streets from Advanced Dyno with their sale price right now for a lot, and I mean a LOT less than $1600. In fact it's so much less, I've stopped looking at all the used headers for $800 in for sale because by the time I bought an X and cats, they'd cost me the same as the full LG Streets! I need to read up more on the c5 install vs the c6 install, but I'm betting even if it does take 4 hours, it's only going to take one guy to do it. I happen to be fortunate enough to know a good mechanic that only charges around $55 - $65 an hour, so that's only another $200 - $250, but I probably would do it in my garage anyway.


The point was that if these headers are taking $600 to install with up to 3 guys at a time working on it, you're not going to want to try to 2 man it in your garage on stands / ramps. I probably wouldn't attempt Kooks on my own either, but tons of people say that the ARH, LG's & such others are an "easy" install which gives me hope on saving $600 in paying a shop for a horror install on some other brand, or even just $200 for a quick and simple one.

Just because someone else decided not to buy these doesn't make them a hater... I'm absolutely happy that he spent a reasonable amount and is happy with the results! After looking at all my options, I just don't think I am going to go this route, even after seriously considering it. The savings vs. cons just does not add up for me.

You can get the LG Streets for less than 2x as much, especially if you figure in +$ for extra parts, +$ to add cats, +$ for harder install, +$ more again for cat install, and -especially- +++$$$ if you're comfortable installing LG's on your own vs having a hard install with these or other difficult systems like Kooks, all of a sudden it's only a couple hundred more to get LG's made here in the US with the designers, manufacturer, & many shops nation wide to stand by them. that's worth paying a little extra to me. It's absolutely not worth paying $1000 more like I thought good headers would cost, but you can get good stuff for a more reasonable price.

Regardless of my being willing to pay more for the LG's, if I really was stuck on not paying more than $750, I'd be looking real hard at the TSP's for basically the same price, at most $50 more. I have not heard anyone with problems with them on the revised ones other than the normal O2 placement / shield problems many systems seem to have (unfortunately).


Many people will take other things into consideration out side of whether or not a product can eventually be installed without long term problems. Ease of installation can be a big point for the shade tree mechanics that would rather save the install money and put it toward better or more parts, or other projects / family. A lot of the people on these forums also have a lot of pride in putting parts made in their home country on their car for many reasons, including some I mentioned above. And while the product itself may be good, a good product from a "cheap crap company" is just the same in many people's eyes. You need to remember that even great companies, regardless of the industry, will have failures. Stuff breaks or doesn't work for no good reason sometimes, even if it's out of the control of the maker. Even if this company had no less or more of a failure rate vs. comparable companies, something will eventually break, and nobody wants to be that guy with this kind of company.

Sure, there are plenty of people that will scoff at any part that doesn't costs a premium price and rub your nose in the dirt for not volunteering the corvette tax, but I'd like to believe that they are the minority, not the majority here from what I've seen so far.

Do what works for you, just make sure you're making an educated decision on what's important to you!


Which is pretty much the range the TSP system is in too, just something else to add to the consideration pile.

 

lets guess the hp gain 18hp gain

344 is my guess

 

My sentiments EXACTLY! It took me about 4 hrs to install in my garage, but I've got a lift so that helps. You are so right about the haters...
Scott

 

Nice write up...

Waiting for the Dyno-tune numbers...

 

Thanks I am going into the shop at 8am so the dyno tune should be done by lunch...I will let you all know ASAP!

 

Point me in the direction of Dynatechs for under $1300. best to PM me cause the mods hate that kind of info.

 

You did the install your self? That's great to hear, wish we would have heard more about it earlier!

Is the lift necessary? Did you run into anything that required an extra set of hands? I'm guessing since you own a lift you're probably used to wrenching on stuff, but have you done header installs in a c5 before? If so, how does it compare?

I must say, if you're able to do it on your own in 4 hours it makes me wonder why it was taking up to 3 guys at a time for vettemaniac's install just as long, if not longer. I'd love to hear the details! What kind of problems did you run across & how did you get around them? If it's not that bad to install them after all then that does make them a much better deal!

Appreciate any details you can give us!

 

The only part that really required an extra set of hands was holding the right header in place, but out of the way so I could install the starter. It had to be removed in my case to get the right side in place. On the other hand, I saw a write up where they removed the right valve cover (which I didn't do), so go figure. BTW, I was lazy and didn't remove the spark plugs, so I had to carefully work around them and was still able to fit them in without breaking a plug.
Scott

 

Good job man! Sounds good huh?

 

I'm really curious as to how they perform!!!

Tim

 

I think moving the starter is pretty common for header installs, so that doesn't sound too bad. Did you have to unbolt the driver side engine mount or pry on it at all to get the driver side header in? That's the part that concerns me. I'll probably be replacing the plugs so wont have to worry about that But good job!

 

No movement of the motor was necessary. I really should have pulled the plugs, but like I said, I was lazy. As usual, it ended up taking more time because of it. False economy! BTW, they do sound great through the ti Z06 mufflers.
Scott

 

Thanks for clearing that up! So really it should take less than 4 hours if you pull the plugs so you don't have to work around them, and no tweaking on the engine!

Good job guys! Glad they're working out well for you, wish we could get more feedback on these little used / new parts from all sides quicker / easier so everyone can make better informed decisions.

Still waiting to hear back about who OBX's distributor was & where they are from. If you could deal with them directly without having to mess with OBX you might be better off if / when problems come up.

 

can't wait to see some numbers!