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I know this question has been asked and a few reviews have been posted in the past on these headers; however, none are that recent and, from my research, it seems the build quality and resultant fitment had been improving. That said, I'm seeking real world experience/feedback on these headers as I'm going to be buying a set of LTs in the next couple weeks and, if I can get away with paying under $800 for a set that fits and works, why the hell not do it!
I understand that they're made by another company in China but I'm less concerned with that and more concerned with fitment, ground clearance and durability/longevity. If they fit, don't leak and do their job, I'm good with them. Would I rather run a set of ARH or Kooks? Sure... But I'd rather not pay twice the amount for them if I get the same net result.
So, any feedback/insights anyone can provide on these things would be greatly appreciated!
Seeing as nobody else has replied...
Mine are 4 1/2 years old on my daily driver, and are holding up great.
That said, based on my pair, I would probably wait for a used set of a better brand if I had to do it again. My flanges were severely warped (had to have them milled), and one side hangs down a fair bit, pointing up. Good thing I didn't and don't want to lower my car.
I hear Hinson is a good option too. Stainless coated headers and aluminized steel x pipe for $840 shipped on their site.
I saw Texas Speed LT's on a C6 at a shop....they hung RIDICULOUSLY low to the point one primary was almost 50% dented due to hitting stuff over and over.
Last edited by smitty2919; Nov 14, 2018 at 04:06 PM.
Ive been trying to communicate with them and they tell me they’re currently making a setup with high flow cats only - Said they’re “in production” and when I asked how soon they’d be done, they stopped responding to me. Very interested but hard to buy them when they ignore you... Haha
Thanks for all the feedback thus far guys - Very helpful!
I am in the process of installing these headers on my car as I type this. The quality out of the box has been great and yes I used other brands of high end long tubes in the past.
Flanges are within a piece of paper worth of being flat. I was able to put both in from the top by myself. Valve covers off, steering shaft loose, did NOT jack the motor at all.
They're a little close to the steering shaft when installed but I don't think it will be a problem. Probably a hair over 3/16s inch gap.
Ground clearance appears to be great from what I can tell so far.
I might be able to get some pictures later today. Hope to have this job done tomorrow or Saturday. I still need to finish building up the mid pipes.
I am in the process of installing these headers on my car as I type this. The quality out of the box has been great and yes I used other brands of high end long tubes in the past.
Flanges are within a piece of paper worth of being flat. I was able to put both in from the top by myself. Valve covers off, steering shaft loose, did NOT jack the motor at all.
They're a little close to the steering shaft when installed but I don't think it will be a problem. Probably a hair over 3/16s inch gap.
Ground clearance appears to be great from what I can tell so far.
I might be able to get some pictures later today. Hope to have this job done tomorrow or Saturday. I still need to finish building up the mid pipes.
Perfect timing! Thanks for this feedback and, yes, if you are able, please do post some photos. Hell, I’ll even drive down to South Hill once you’re done and meet you somewhere to see them in person, if you’re open to it.
I bought my 01 with the TSP longtubes and added the catted 3" TSP x-pipe. My headers have been great, but the x-pipe...to say it has not been smooth is an understatement. Most pipes you bolt on have a "Z" cut in the expanded pipe connections to prevent leaking, these do not so they leak. The bends are not very forgiving and my drivers side is rubbing on the pan holding my lt gas tank in...also, the pipes are about 8.5 inches across at the x and the tunnel is 8.75. With my cam, my pipes regularly hit the tunnel or just rub on the tunnel transmitting all the sound everywhere. I did get in touch with TSP and had them send me a second set because the first set was almost 9" and was wedged into the tunnel rubbing on both sides...that was a NOISY ride. If I had to do it again, I would not go with a 3" x-pipe, I would get cats that were 3" on one side to connect to the headers and 2.5" on the other side then use a 2.5" x-pipe that clears everything.
Sorry OP don't mean to thread jack, but (Mr. Black) where did you get that plate to keep the o2 wires from touching the exhaust/headers?
Looks clean! Had trouble with wire management on mine.
It's an aftermarket tunnel cover made by TPS (not to be confused with TSP lol) and I can only guess that the holes are there for this purpose? That being said, I'm definitely not the first one to have routed the o2 wires that way on a C5. I don't see why you couldn't carefully take an 1 1/4" holesaw and make your own hole in a factory torque tube cover for the same purpose. Just make sure the hole is deburred very well.
Knowing what I know now, if I would have just routed the wires before putting the headers in place it would have been a two minute job instead of an hour job filled with expletives.
It's an aftermarket tunnel cover made by TPS (not to be confused with TSP lol) and I can only guess that the holes are there for this purpose? That being said, I'm definitely not the first one to have routed the o2 wires that way on a C5. I don't see why you couldn't carefully take an 1 1/4" holesaw and make your own hole in a factory torque tube cover for the same purpose. Just make sure the hole is deburred very well.
Knowing what I know now, if I would have just routed the wires before putting the headers in place it would have been a two minute job instead of an hour job filled with expletives.
Thanks for the pics and I'll likely take you up on coming out to the shop soon! They actually look pretty damn nice in the photos... Would be very interested to hear if you have any kind of exhaust leaks, etc. because of the comment you made about the flanges being not quite flat, once done and getting it fired up.
I had to remove the driver side header and finesse one of the tubes with a hammer as it was making contact with my steering shaft. So, as for fitment, they get a C. I haven't had any issues with build quality. They both bolt up fine and work as intended.
Thanks for the pics and I'll likely take you up on coming out to the shop soon! They actually look pretty damn nice in the photos... Would be very interested to hear if you have any kind of exhaust leaks, etc. because of the comment you made about the flanges being not quite flat, once done and getting it fired up.
What axle back are you going to be running?
Didn't mean to scare you with the flanges. They're as flat as I would expect. Holding a straight edge on them and shining a flashlight to them there is a sliver of light shining through from tip to tip. I would consider that normal honestly. I did start it up last night with the collector extensions on there but the cat back disconnected and there was definitely nothing obvious at the flanges using GM MLS gaskets. Still have to finish the mid pipes today.
The catback on this car is a mystery. It is either a really old Corsa touring type system or possibly a copy of said system. I don't know if it's foreign or usa made, but going by the stamps on the tubing I am leaning towards USA. It sounds great for a stock cam but I think when I do my cam and heads it may go to the loud side lol.
I had to remove the driver side header and finesse one of the tubes with a hammer as it was making contact with my steering shaft. So, as for fitment, they get a C. I haven't had any issues with build quality. They both bolt up fine and work as intended.
FR, how much of a gap did you have at install? or was it touching right out of the box?
I was reading another thread in here from a year ago where a guy posted a picture from about the same vantage point as my picture of the drivers side above and he had almost a half inch of clearance. So yeah, that kind of inconsistency is a little disappointing.
I had to remove the driver side header and finesse one of the tubes with a hammer as it was making contact with my steering shaft. So, as for fitment, they get a C. I haven't had any issues with build quality. They both bolt up fine and work as intended.
How long ago did you purchase/install yours? I only ask because it sounds like they've been continually making tweaks over time to smooth out these inconsistencies.
I bought my 01 with the TSP longtubes and added the catted 3" TSP x-pipe. My headers have been great, but the x-pipe...to say it has not been smooth is an understatement. Most pipes you bolt on have a "Z" cut in the expanded pipe connections to prevent leaking, these do not so they leak. The bends are not very forgiving and my drivers side is rubbing on the pan holding my lt gas tank in...also, the pipes are about 8.5 inches across at the x and the tunnel is 8.75. With my cam, my pipes regularly hit the tunnel or just rub on the tunnel transmitting all the sound everywhere. I did get in touch with TSP and had them send me a second set because the first set was almost 9" and was wedged into the tunnel rubbing on both sides...that was a NOISY ride. If I had to do it again, I would not go with a 3" x-pipe, I would get cats that were 3" on one side to connect to the headers and 2.5" on the other side then use a 2.5" x-pipe that clears everything.
Good Luck!
Jeff
They can fabricate headers but they can't make a simple x pipe? Pretty simple packaging constraints compared to headers...
Last edited by smitty2919; Nov 16, 2018 at 03:03 PM.
Texas Speed Long Tubes/X-Pipe
