The truth about adding Speed Engineering headers??
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From: Vancouver Island, B.C.
The truth about adding Speed Engineering headers??
Thinking of spending some money on my ‘07 Base manual trans. I already have fancy Magnaflow X-Pipe and corresponding mufflers. Sounds amazing, wife and I can have great conversations. Now, I understand SE headers won’t bolt up to the present X pipe and if I get their pipe and header system, I will lose my cats which I don’t want to.
How much louder is adding headers without cats and how does someone turn off the CEL for the rear 02 sensors?
How much louder is adding headers without cats and how does someone turn off the CEL for the rear 02 sensors?
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From: Prosper TX/Austin TX
2020 C6 of the Year Winner - Modified
If you don’t want to spend the money for ARH or Kooks, you can get a set of LG Motorsports 1-3/4” longtubes with catted x-pipe fairly inexpensively, not as cheap as Speed Engineering, but then there’s a reason they’re so cheap. Better quality, great fitment, good power increase. Chip @CCA Corvette Parts has great prices & excellent service.
You’ll need to get the car tuned after adding headers for proper operation so plan for ~$500 for that.
You’ll need to get the car tuned after adding headers for proper operation so plan for ~$500 for that.
Last edited by JABCAT; Mar 5, 2021 at 11:42 PM.
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You get what you pay for, I would go with Kooks or ARH & their X pipe WITH cats, you may get a nasty smell without the cats. You will then need a tune for the O2 sensors
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2016
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From: Massillon, OH
I tried speed engineering on my z06 and there was no way they would fit. They were wedged in between the bell housing and it was an extremely tight fit.
I ended up going with Texas speed headers as I had them on my base C6 and they fit like a glove both times.
I ended up going with Texas speed headers as I had them on my base C6 and they fit like a glove both times.
Safety Car
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From: Erlanger, Kentucky
Thinking of spending some money on my ‘07 Base manual trans. I already have fancy Magnaflow X-Pipe and corresponding mufflers. Sounds amazing, wife and I can have great conversations. Now, I understand SE headers won’t bolt up to the present X pipe and if I get their pipe and header system, I will lose my cats which I don’t want to.
How much louder is adding headers without cats and how does someone turn off the CEL for the rear 02 sensors?
How much louder is adding headers without cats and how does someone turn off the CEL for the rear 02 sensors?
While cheap headers may fit and work fine on your car, often they don't fit very well and installation is a nightmare.
Best way to turn off rear O2 sensors after installing headers is with a dyno tune that turns them off while optimizing the engine calibration to take full advantage of the headers.
As for sound, headers will be a little louder while idling and cruising but with cats, it won't be much more than stock. But it will sound awesome when you open it up.
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Thanks for all the answers people! Appreciate it but being up in Canada all your recommendations would be way too much money. Bordering on about $3k for a set of headers and cats isn’t able to happen with me unfortunately.
Weird how one set of headers fits like a glove on most cars but some say they won’t fit and went to another brand etc. You would think that a company bends them all the same to fit our cars which are all the same.
Weird how one set of headers fits like a glove on most cars but some say they won’t fit and went to another brand etc. You would think that a company bends them all the same to fit our cars which are all the same.
Last edited by Michael Dene; Mar 6, 2021 at 12:12 PM.
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A lot of people are going to tell you they suck because they have “premium ARH, Kooks, stainless works, or lg headers”. What I can tell you is on my c5 I had eBay headers, SSAC to be exact. The welds were great, the 304 stainless looked great before but even better after a few cycles. The flanges were thick and they never leaked. Some people will say they won’t last. I had mine on my car for 4 years and got a lot of compliments on both the looks and the sound. Some people will then tell you that you won’t gain as much power with eBay headers. What I can tell you is that while my car was not a dyno queen, it’s still one of the fastest bolt-on c5’s recorded. I think 3rd fastest manual and 8th fastest overall. See where this is going? People that have SE headers will probably say you’re making a great decision, and people with other brands will knock them. Just tell them to line their car up with yours to see which one performs better. Now that I have a c6 I will either be getting SE headers or TPS (NOT TSP) headers. Good luck with whichever route you go!
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From: Vancouver Island, B.C.
A lot of people are going to tell you they suck because they have “premium ARH, Kooks, stainless works, or lg headers”. What I can tell you is on my c5 I had eBay headers, SSAC to be exact. The welds were great, the 304 stainless looked great before but even better after a few cycles. The flanges were thick and they never leaked. Some people will say they won’t last. I had mine on my car for 4 years and got a lot of compliments on both the looks and the sound. Some people will then tell you that you won’t gain as much power with eBay headers. What I can tell you is that while my car was not a dyno queen, it’s still one of the fastest bolt-on c5’s recorded. I think 3rd fastest manual and 8th fastest overall. See where this is going? People that have SE headers will probably say you’re making a great decision, and people with other brands will knock them. Just tell them to line their car up with yours to see which one performs better. Now that I have a c6 I will either be getting SE headers or TPS (NOT TSP) headers. Good luck with whichever route you go!
Getting back to SE headers or eBay versions, is there any way to still retain the cats?
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From: Prosper TX/Austin TX
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A lot of people are going to tell you they suck because they have “premium ARH, Kooks, stainless works, or lg headers”. What I can tell you is on my c5 I had eBay headers, SSAC to be exact. The welds were great, the 304 stainless looked great before but even better after a few cycles. The flanges were thick and they never leaked. Some people will say they won’t last. I had mine on my car for 4 years and got a lot of compliments on both the looks and the sound. Some people will then tell you that you won’t gain as much power with eBay headers. What I can tell you is that while my car was not a dyno queen, it’s still one of the fastest bolt-on c5’s recorded. I think 3rd fastest manual and 8th fastest overall. See where this is going? People that have SE headers will probably say you’re making a great decision, and people with other brands will knock them. Just tell them to line their car up with yours to see which one performs better. Now that I have a c6 I will either be getting SE headers or TPS (NOT TSP) headers. Good luck with whichever route you go!
I can’t tell you how many posts I see regularly by people who went with the cheap exhaust, cheap headers, cheap (insert part) & then are pulling them off to replace them with something better. I prefer to do things right the first time, & I care about the quality of parts I put on my car, but that’s just me.
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Been running Speed Engineering headers and off road x pipe for three years now with zero issues.
Fitment was perfect and they don't hang low at all as some manufacturers.
T304 stainless is T304 stainless, I couldn't justified spending an extra 2 grand on something no one sees anyhow. Save the money for your tune. Yes it is louder with no cats, doesn't bother me, I'm old and hard of hearing from younger days .......
Fitment was perfect and they don't hang low at all as some manufacturers.
T304 stainless is T304 stainless, I couldn't justified spending an extra 2 grand on something no one sees anyhow. Save the money for your tune. Yes it is louder with no cats, doesn't bother me, I'm old and hard of hearing from younger days .......
Safety Car
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From: South Florida
Sure you can build anything to be fast with a bunch of cheap mix-matched parts, if your only goal is to go fast. But there is a reason cheap parts are cheap, quality of materials used, fitment, warranty, etc. People roll the dice all the time & some have no issues while others have a lot of issues & end up replacing the cheap parts with better quality parts & spending more money & time than they would have if they just purchased the better quality parts in the first place.
I can’t tell you how many posts I see regularly by people who went with the cheap exhaust, cheap headers, cheap (insert part) & then are pulling them off to replace them with something better. I prefer to do things right the first time, & I care about the quality of parts I put on my car, but that’s just me.
I can’t tell you how many posts I see regularly by people who went with the cheap exhaust, cheap headers, cheap (insert part) & then are pulling them off to replace them with something better. I prefer to do things right the first time, & I care about the quality of parts I put on my car, but that’s just me.
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If you don’t want to spend the money for ARH or Kooks, you can get a set of LG Motorsports 1-3/4” longtubes with catted x-pipe fairly inexpensively, not as cheap as Speed Engineering, but then there’s a reason they’re so cheap. Better quality, great fitment, good power increase. Chip @CCA Corvette Parts has great prices & excellent service.
You’ll need to get the car tuned after adding headers for proper operation so plan for ~$500 for that.
You’ll need to get the car tuned after adding headers for proper operation so plan for ~$500 for that.
Regards
Chip
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Race Director
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I understand where your coming from to an extent for things like intake manifolds, throttle bodies, cylinder heads, blowers etc, but were talking specifically about headers. Same diameter primaries and collectors, similar designs, similar power. I haven’t seen anything too bad about the SE headers. Mostly about the junk clamps, and occasionally an issues with poor fitment. Usually the poor fitment is from people putting the x pipe on the wrong way. There have been some but not a ton where the headers were just not going to fit, but you could literally buy another full set and still be at half the price of ARH and kooks and it’s very very unlikely the second set wouldn’t fit. The only time I would ever not recommend speed engineering is if someone was doing a max effort NA build and only cared about max dyno numbers.
Safety Car
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I don’t necessarily disagree, but there are other factors I mentions, for example warranty on the product. If you’re planning to keep the car for awhile, that should be a consideration. SE offers a 1 yr warranty on their headers while the others, including LG which can be had for not much more than SE, offer a lifetime warranty. Again just things to consider when spending $ on the vehicle.
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Speed engineering are just cheap Chinese knock off headers. They're a distributor for the cheapo Chinese ones from eBay, but they do a massive amount of social media marketing to make people think they're better than they are. If you want a low grade product at a mid grade price, speed engineering is your ticket.
That said, they'll work. Low grade products like them are most often direct copies of a better product made for pennies on the dollar with Chinese "we aren't going to call it slave" labor.
I'd buy the cheap ones off ebay over the speed engineering ones. But that said, if you're spending a decent amount of money for a car, why put the cheapest possible products on it? Speed engineering headers is like saying "I use nothing but the cheapest Dino oil I can find at big lots", you're being penny smart but dollar stupid.
If I was gonna do cheap headers, they'd likely be pacesetter or jba. They're at least made in the US.
Regarding your cats question, that's going to be custom outside of a more expensive set of headers. Also, cats are expensive, so expect sticker shock when you go to get them added.
That said, they'll work. Low grade products like them are most often direct copies of a better product made for pennies on the dollar with Chinese "we aren't going to call it slave" labor.
I'd buy the cheap ones off ebay over the speed engineering ones. But that said, if you're spending a decent amount of money for a car, why put the cheapest possible products on it? Speed engineering headers is like saying "I use nothing but the cheapest Dino oil I can find at big lots", you're being penny smart but dollar stupid.
If I was gonna do cheap headers, they'd likely be pacesetter or jba. They're at least made in the US.
Regarding your cats question, that's going to be custom outside of a more expensive set of headers. Also, cats are expensive, so expect sticker shock when you go to get them added.
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So I've done speed engineering headers on my 13 GS and my cousins 09 base and I can tell you for a budget header the fit and finish is beyond good. For one the install took maybe an hour and a half tops, including disassembly of the factory stuff. 2 years on both sets and they still look great. the only thing I'd recommend is upgrading the clamps that come with it. They supply pieces to use it with any exhaust configuration (z06/zr1, ls3, and ls2 styles). If im not mistaken I believe they sell a catted version. I had a $1200 set of kooks on my c5 and they didnt fit half as good as the SE headers do on the C6. I know alot of people will argue with me but sometimes you really are just paying for a name and I truly believe this is one of those instances. I'd 100% recommend them. I paired them with a factory NPP on a switch (catless). No drone on the highway with the NPP closed, Great sound when its open. You wont be disappointed.
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From: Vancouver Island, B.C.
Speed engineering are just cheap Chinese knock off headers. They're a distributor for the cheapo Chinese ones from eBay, but they do a massive amount of social media marketing to make people think they're better than they are. If you want a low grade product at a mid grade price, speed engineering is your ticket.
That said, they'll work. Low grade products like them are most often direct copies of a better product made for pennies on the dollar with Chinese "we aren't going to call it slave" labor.
I'd buy the cheap ones off ebay over the speed engineering ones. But that said, if you're spending a decent amount of money for a car, why put the cheapest possible products on it? Speed engineering headers is like saying "I use nothing but the cheapest Dino oil I can find at big lots", you're being penny smart but dollar stupid.
If I was gonna do cheap headers, they'd likely be pacesetter or jba. They're at least made in the US.
Regarding your cats question, that's going to be custom outside of a more expensive set of headers. Also, cats are expensive, so expect sticker shock when you go to get them added.
That said, they'll work. Low grade products like them are most often direct copies of a better product made for pennies on the dollar with Chinese "we aren't going to call it slave" labor.
I'd buy the cheap ones off ebay over the speed engineering ones. But that said, if you're spending a decent amount of money for a car, why put the cheapest possible products on it? Speed engineering headers is like saying "I use nothing but the cheapest Dino oil I can find at big lots", you're being penny smart but dollar stupid.
If I was gonna do cheap headers, they'd likely be pacesetter or jba. They're at least made in the US.
Regarding your cats question, that's going to be custom outside of a more expensive set of headers. Also, cats are expensive, so expect sticker shock when you go to get them added.
Somebody a couple posts ago said to go with LG, they “aren’t that much more”.
Well yes they are and out of the question.
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Joined: Nov 2019
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From: Vancouver Island, B.C.
So I've done speed engineering headers on my 13 GS and my cousins 09 base and I can tell you for a budget header the fit and finish is beyond good. For one the install took maybe an hour and a half tops, including disassembly of the factory stuff. 2 years on both sets and they still look great. the only thing I'd recommend is upgrading the clamps that come with it. They supply pieces to use it with any exhaust configuration (z06/zr1, ls3, and ls2 styles). If im not mistaken I believe they sell a catted version. I had a $1200 set of kooks on my c5 and they didnt fit half as good as the SE headers do on the C6. I know alot of people will argue with me but sometimes you really are just paying for a name and I truly believe this is one of those instances. I'd 100% recommend them. I paired them with a factory NPP on a switch (catless). No drone on the highway with the NPP closed, Great sound when its open. You wont be disappointed.
Cats are paramount. I will need a system with cats but after looking into them, the whole project might not happen.
Race Director
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From: Melbourne, FL
You might be better served by a set of z06 manifolds and downpipes. May be able to source those cheaper as takeoffs?
