Which Headers?
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 254
Likes: 1
From: White Bear Lake Minnesota
Which Headers?
Hi guys, I have a 1999 coupe 6 speed. I purchased used a couple years back, I havent done much to it other than a new set of tires. It came with a magnaflo exhaust but stock headers and that is really all that I know about it. I believe it has the Magnapack system right now.
http://www.texas-speed.com/p-776-mag...-corvette.aspx
I would like to keep that as I enjoy the sound of it but I want to add a nice set of headers that will match up. What would you all recommend I go with, im pretty new to all this but want my best bang for my buck. I may add a small cam in the future if that matters at all with my exhaust decision? Thanks
http://www.texas-speed.com/p-776-mag...-corvette.aspx
I would like to keep that as I enjoy the sound of it but I want to add a nice set of headers that will match up. What would you all recommend I go with, im pretty new to all this but want my best bang for my buck. I may add a small cam in the future if that matters at all with my exhaust decision? Thanks
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 254
Likes: 1
From: White Bear Lake Minnesota
I looked at the XS and they do look nice and price is reasonable. If I order the XS Catless would they hook right up to my current exhaust or is this something I would need to have an exhaust shop do?
Pro
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 666
Likes: 30
From: Milwaukee WI
I will give you a warning that i never considered till i needed to take my 1 7/8" kooks out of my car.
Buy headers that are easy to put on and take off the car. Last thing you need when you are trying to drop half the drive train to change a clutch is to find out it would be faster to just drop the whole drive train cause your stupid headers worth MAYBE 4 more hp then easily removable headers, cant come out of the car without more or less taking out the engine.
Buy easy or be sorry down the road.
Buy headers that are easy to put on and take off the car. Last thing you need when you are trying to drop half the drive train to change a clutch is to find out it would be faster to just drop the whole drive train cause your stupid headers worth MAYBE 4 more hp then easily removable headers, cant come out of the car without more or less taking out the engine.
Buy easy or be sorry down the road.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 254
Likes: 1
From: White Bear Lake Minnesota
I will give you a warning that i never considered till i needed to take my 1 7/8" kooks out of my car.
Buy headers that are easy to put on and take off the car. Last thing you need when you are trying to drop half the drive train to change a clutch is to find out it would be faster to just drop the whole drive train cause your stupid headers worth MAYBE 4 more hp then easily removable headers, cant come out of the car without more or less taking out the engine.
Buy easy or be sorry down the road.
Buy headers that are easy to put on and take off the car. Last thing you need when you are trying to drop half the drive train to change a clutch is to find out it would be faster to just drop the whole drive train cause your stupid headers worth MAYBE 4 more hp then easily removable headers, cant come out of the car without more or less taking out the engine.
Buy easy or be sorry down the road.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 2,300
Likes: 115
From: Odessa FL
St. Jude Donor '10-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17
I will give you a warning that i never considered till i needed to take my 1 7/8" kooks out of my car.
Buy headers that are easy to put on and take off the car. Last thing you need when you are trying to drop half the drive train to change a clutch is to find out it would be faster to just drop the whole drive train cause your stupid headers worth MAYBE 4 more hp then easily removable headers, cant come out of the car without more or less taking out the engine.
Buy easy or be sorry down the road.
Buy headers that are easy to put on and take off the car. Last thing you need when you are trying to drop half the drive train to change a clutch is to find out it would be faster to just drop the whole drive train cause your stupid headers worth MAYBE 4 more hp then easily removable headers, cant come out of the car without more or less taking out the engine.
Buy easy or be sorry down the road.
Pro
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 666
Likes: 30
From: Milwaukee WI
I have no idea which headers are easier or harder to install. I know that kooks totally redesigned their headers to be easier to install. Mine are the older harder kind. It is worth $500, which I think is about the whole market spread in price of anything reasonable, to buy something that comes in and out without removing anything else or dropping the subframe or pulling the motor, even if it costs 5hp.
If I was buying headers today, #1 thing i would look for is ease of install, which will require you do research of actual people that installed them.
If I was buying headers today, #1 thing i would look for is ease of install, which will require you do research of actual people that installed them.
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Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 254
Likes: 1
From: White Bear Lake Minnesota
Thanks for the input guys I appreciate it, and I do understand that its a crap shoot if asking for which header gains the most power but that is not what I am looking for. I am looking for quality, reasonable price, and something that will mate up to my current set up. My reason for adding a header is I have a K&N intake with 80mm throttle body then stock headers which go to the Magna flo exhaust. i feel pinching off at the headers is just dumb for one and I would like to add a small cam in the future and it makes sense to me to have the intake and exhaust flowing correctly...
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 254
Likes: 1
From: White Bear Lake Minnesota
I spoke with a local exhaust shop yesterday. http://timscustomexhaust.com/ and he said he can build me a set of tri-y headers that will be better than anything I just buy and bolt on. When I price out ordering a set of headers and having him install them vs. having him build me a set and install the price equals out to about the same.
Would the hand made tri-y exhaust be a good route to go or am I better off with pre-fabs from XS or Kooks etc...
Would the hand made tri-y exhaust be a good route to go or am I better off with pre-fabs from XS or Kooks etc...
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 2,048
Likes: 315
From: USA
Kooks, LG, ARH tried and true...proven to make power and work. That's what I would do, why make it more difficult on yourself? If you were doing some sort of extreme, one-off setup then custom totally makes sense. I didn't see any picture of Tim's work on his site?
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 254
Likes: 1
From: White Bear Lake Minnesota
Yeah I looked on the website after I posted the link and didnt see any pics which was odd but I have been to his shop and had him do some work on my Jeep which I was happy with. He has hundreds of pics on his wall at the shop from hot rods to Lambos that he's done custom exhausts on...
Im just weighing out all options, like I said if I order a set of headers I will most likely have him install them as I just dont have the time to do it. And when I spoke with him on the phone he was of course all about building custom Vs. buying and installing.
Are tri-y headers the best option for these cars? I havent found to many online but the ones I did find seem pretty expensive compared to "standard"
Im just weighing out all options, like I said if I order a set of headers I will most likely have him install them as I just dont have the time to do it. And when I spoke with him on the phone he was of course all about building custom Vs. buying and installing.
Are tri-y headers the best option for these cars? I havent found to many online but the ones I did find seem pretty expensive compared to "standard"
Last edited by Vette10R; May 23, 2015 at 11:49 AM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 6,644
Likes: 478
From: OK
This is from an OLD article written by Chuck Mallett... for what it's worth
Things have changed a bunch in the last 16 years... that being said unless your doing more upgrades... heads/cam etc... he may be making a good point.
The LS-1 needs headers. Not true. In stock motors, the exhaust headers actually flow better than the engine’s heads, and adding headers will not add power (and may cost power from reduced exhaust scavenging and velocity). Like the computer, our 372 cubic inch LS-1 motors use stock headers and H-pipes, and work very well with them, and there certainly isn’t 30 horsepower hidden in there. The catalytic converters remain the biggest restriction in the C5’s exhaust system, to the tune of about 12 horsepower on an otherwise stock motor. There are several other points which are important to remember emissions controls are a reality—to comply with tightening standards, the double-wall headers and H-pipe should stay on the car (this promotes quick catalyst light-off). Also, a little back pressure in the exhaust is a good thing—the catalytic converters and mufflers provide enough so that the LS-1 has a strong low-end pull. Without a little back pressure, the car would not have the low-rpm torque it currently enjoys. The good news the money you wanted to spend on headers can now be spent where it will do some good.
Things have changed a bunch in the last 16 years... that being said unless your doing more upgrades... heads/cam etc... he may be making a good point.
The LS-1 needs headers. Not true. In stock motors, the exhaust headers actually flow better than the engine’s heads, and adding headers will not add power (and may cost power from reduced exhaust scavenging and velocity). Like the computer, our 372 cubic inch LS-1 motors use stock headers and H-pipes, and work very well with them, and there certainly isn’t 30 horsepower hidden in there. The catalytic converters remain the biggest restriction in the C5’s exhaust system, to the tune of about 12 horsepower on an otherwise stock motor. There are several other points which are important to remember emissions controls are a reality—to comply with tightening standards, the double-wall headers and H-pipe should stay on the car (this promotes quick catalyst light-off). Also, a little back pressure in the exhaust is a good thing—the catalytic converters and mufflers provide enough so that the LS-1 has a strong low-end pull. Without a little back pressure, the car would not have the low-rpm torque it currently enjoys. The good news the money you wanted to spend on headers can now be spent where it will do some good.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 254
Likes: 1
From: White Bear Lake Minnesota
This is from an OLD article written by Chuck Mallett... for what it's worth
Things have changed a bunch in the last 16 years... that being said unless your doing more upgrades... heads/cam etc... he may be making a good point.
The LS-1 needs headers. Not true. In stock motors, the exhaust headers actually flow better than the engine’s heads, and adding headers will not add power (and may cost power from reduced exhaust scavenging and velocity). Like the computer, our 372 cubic inch LS-1 motors use stock headers and H-pipes, and work very well with them, and there certainly isn’t 30 horsepower hidden in there. The catalytic converters remain the biggest restriction in the C5’s exhaust system, to the tune of about 12 horsepower on an otherwise stock motor. There are several other points which are important to remember emissions controls are a reality—to comply with tightening standards, the double-wall headers and H-pipe should stay on the car (this promotes quick catalyst light-off). Also, a little back pressure in the exhaust is a good thing—the catalytic converters and mufflers provide enough so that the LS-1 has a strong low-end pull. Without a little back pressure, the car would not have the low-rpm torque it currently enjoys. The good news the money you wanted to spend on headers can now be spent where it will do some good.
Things have changed a bunch in the last 16 years... that being said unless your doing more upgrades... heads/cam etc... he may be making a good point.
The LS-1 needs headers. Not true. In stock motors, the exhaust headers actually flow better than the engine’s heads, and adding headers will not add power (and may cost power from reduced exhaust scavenging and velocity). Like the computer, our 372 cubic inch LS-1 motors use stock headers and H-pipes, and work very well with them, and there certainly isn’t 30 horsepower hidden in there. The catalytic converters remain the biggest restriction in the C5’s exhaust system, to the tune of about 12 horsepower on an otherwise stock motor. There are several other points which are important to remember emissions controls are a reality—to comply with tightening standards, the double-wall headers and H-pipe should stay on the car (this promotes quick catalyst light-off). Also, a little back pressure in the exhaust is a good thing—the catalytic converters and mufflers provide enough so that the LS-1 has a strong low-end pull. Without a little back pressure, the car would not have the low-rpm torque it currently enjoys. The good news the money you wanted to spend on headers can now be spent where it will do some good.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 6,644
Likes: 478
From: OK
The Vararam B2 is a nice feel it in the seat of your pants upgrade... at least that is MY experience. I added Ti cat backs and will also consider the CAT removal... for 10 or 12 horse that's a pretty significant gain, IF that is good information... I would think Mallett knew what he was talking about even back then.
Racer
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 346
Likes: 24
From: Selma, NC
I do agree that the stock cats are a huge restriction on the exhaust, but I would go for a high-flow set instead of eliminating them (unless you don't mind the extra popping and gas smell)
If I were planning mods, long-tubes would definitely be near the top of the list.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 6,644
Likes: 478
From: OK
I had XS-Power headers installed on my otherwise stock 1997 LS-1 and saw gains across the board (dyno). I didn't notice a huge SotP difference, but the improved sound through the B&B bullets more than makes it worth it.
I do agree that the stock cats are a huge restriction on the exhaust, but I would go for a high-flow set instead of eliminating them (unless you don't mind the extra popping and gas smell)
If I were planning mods, long-tubes would definitely be near the top of the list.
I do agree that the stock cats are a huge restriction on the exhaust, but I would go for a high-flow set instead of eliminating them (unless you don't mind the extra popping and gas smell)
If I were planning mods, long-tubes would definitely be near the top of the list.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 254
Likes: 1
From: White Bear Lake Minnesota
Anybody else have opinions on headers being a waste of money with stock heads etc...
Another thought is what about if I go with a cam in the future, wouldnt I need the headers at that point?
Another thought is what about if I go with a cam in the future, wouldnt I need the headers at that point?