So I`m strapped for cash from my move from California back to Arkansas .I saw some headers and X-Pipe on Ebay and was wondering if any one has ever tried these out before.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-4-1-LONG-T...RZhRF3&vxp=mtr

 

I can tell you that I have no experience with buying this type stuff off eBay. But I will say you get what you pay for.. if it's a super cheap price like that then it has to be made super cheap with material.. if I was you I would wait till a forum member needs to sell and buy theres.. plus it will give you some time to save up a little bit more extra cash. Just my 2 cents..

 

I just bought a supercharged c5 and found a crack in one of the oem headers. I was looking at buying these as well as a temporary fix. I can get my money back selling them locally if a good deal on a set of kooks comes up, otherwise I hope they wold hold up. I'll be following this thread.

I haven't been able to find any specific reviews about this combination. Generally with cheap headers, the fitment of the mid pipe seems problematic. By purchasing this as an assembly, I think there's less chance of issues.

Every post about eBay headers is covered in generic "you get what you pay for" guidance from people who have no experience with the product in question. This is basic logic that everyone understands, however putting $1200 headers on what is now a $10- $20k isn't everyone's idea of a great investment.

 

I had purchased and installed a set of the eBay headers. I had no issue with it at all. Sound great and looks good. IMF there has been others had posted in the past about their experience with the headers.

 

WOW! For $400.... Its a NO BRAINER to get them.

The only thing to worry about is fitment. They are made of a very TOUGH Stainless Steel.

I test fitted a set of E-Bay Headers on my C6 Coupe and a Friends 2004 C5. Each one had some minor fitment issues that were easily resolvable. Both set of headers performed excellent.

To get the most out of them, you should get a tune. My fuel economy dropped significantly on the C6 when it wasn't tuned. The engine ran rich.. After the tune, the fuel economy increased over stock and performance also increased.

I purchased a set of stainless Works headers for my 02 ZO6 waaaaay back in 2003 before E-Bay headers were available. The stainless works headers, mid pipe and mufflers fit excellent!! They are even the 3" dia from the collectors back!

 

well i guess i will have to retract my statement, others say go for it..

but if they dont fit right and you end up having to "influence" it to fit right and something happens like say one of the welds brakes then you wont be able to re sell them locally. which means now your setup is gunna cost you the 400 bucks extra that you just spent on the temporary solution now. you can go either way will this really, at the end it is your car, your money and your time doing the work.

let us know what you decide, i am interested to see how they fit. i read thru the comments from the ebay seller and there are not terrible reviews from him. maybe it will work out.

mike

 

Do a search on youtube. I remember at least one C5 owner complaining about the "ebay exhaust" he bought and showing you what was wrong with it. Of course, there is not one ebay exhaust for C5s, but several different sellers/manufacturers. Definitely a gamble unless you read positive reviews from several trusted sources/people.

 

I've been looking at a set of Ebay shorty headers as a direct replacement for the stock exhaust manifolds, with a possibility of buying an Ebay cat back system. Yep, budget is the driver.

Looking at shorty headers for better low end torque for autocross racing.

 

The people I know who bought them or others that know people that have. The issues were fitment or they hang to low compared to name brand headers. Some had to dimple areas to get them to fit or grind off areas on the block.

On a facebook group a few months ago somebody posted a vette with ebay headers and his complaint was they hung to low. Compared to others you can see the difference. He had to remove them due to scraping on a dropped C5.

 

It seems all the popular cost effective brands have QA (consistency IMO/IME) issues. My Texas Speed had horribly warped flanges (I had to have them milled) and one side hangs quite low, sloping up towards the back.
If I weren't in Canada they would have been returned.

 

A little misleading, it says 3" but look at the actual specs
1 7/8 inlet to 3 inch collector BUT the xpipe and connectors reduce to 2.25

You get what you pay for.

 

I purchased the XS Power headers and X Pipe with Cats.....Tuner installed them along with cam, heads, underdrive pulley, oil pump and new water pump. No issues and they look and perform well.

Jim

 

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...han-300-a.html
My install of eBay headers is in this thread. And they fit and perform well.

 

If strapped for cash, skip for now, buy more gas and drive.

 

ABSOFRIGGENLOOTELY!

Some history. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY back in 98-99,, Those shorty heades were the CATS PAJAMAS (because there wasnt anything else to improve the exhaust) and cost $1500. Eventhough they only provied a small gain in HP/Tq, some purchased them. For 10-15 HP gain,,, Ide say PASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SAVE for a real set of LT SS Headers and midpipe setup.

Bill

 

I got a Chinese set for 250 shipped off that company Jeff Bezos owns. Fit just fine, I had to have 18" extensions made after the x pipe. Cheap and easy enough for any competent exhaust shop to handle... or yourself if you can weld.

 

I wouldn't put $300 headers on my C5Z.....I'm sure some have had luck w/ it, but the consistency of the fitment/bends/welds & ALLOY of the metal used will vary all over the place when you buy cheap *** chinese knockoffs. I have literally been to the factories where stuff like "OBX" (which are relatively pricey compared to the products originally discussed on this thread" & the "manufacturing" process is a joke. They got guys welding using a tiny hole in a piece of cardboard to serve as "eye protection" lol!!! They're supposed to be made of "304" (18% CR 8% NI stainless steel) & the foundry they buy pipe blanks from is just throwing a mish mosh of scrap into their furnaces w/ chemistries that are all over the place, they do not use the correct annealing or heat treating processes & when they try to usually not @ the correct steps in the process, They do not know or care to add grain refiners when forming the virgin pipe at these foundries.

China is really good at copying stuff to like a 90% version, look up real close or start to peel back the layers & really find out the manufacturing process & you'll understand why one is just a cheap copy & the other is a real deal engineered product. They don't understand the WHY of certain steps in the manufacturing process, therefore they neglect or screw up the HOW if that makes any sense.

Take that FWIW. I have ARH headers on my car. #Merica

 

What is '#Merica'?

 

Get them if you want, just don't be mad if they don't fit properly and you have to modify them.

If they fit fine, great. If they need to be dented/cut/modified, fine, do it and don't feel bad since they are cheap. It's a guessing game how they will fit.

If you want something to fit the first time 100% then SW/ARH/Kooks/LG is your answer.

 

If you're not in a rush to get headers, I'd keep an eye out on eBay for a used set of quality headers. When I was shopping around they actually seemed to be a bit cheaper than what I could find used on the forum here.

Installing headers wasn't too bad of a job, but I didn't want fitment issues since I was going to have to install using just floor jacks. Made the install just bit easier overall with buying quality headers.