So your B&B bullet is LOUD like liveable on the highway I love the muscle car growl but i dont want TOO much popping and chattering heard. Loud is not TOO much of a problem here or inspection just dont want it to be a cop magnet ya know........

 

if you don't run cats, you use o2 sensor bypass adapters.

 

It definitely would be a good idea to advise servicing dealer of computer modifications to avoid possibility of technician re-flashing computer to factory spec. Not good.

 

Is the B&B bullets that loud........ Do you think it would be unbearable to drive on the highway though with NO cats???

 

or just get a diode from radio shack for $0.99 and solder it in your stock one 02 sensors.... saved me a lot of cash.

 

How did you do that?? AND what is that???

 

Basically it alters the amount of voltage to the computer. The diode lowers the amount so much that the computer thinks that the air is clean but its really not.

I have not done it on my C6 yet as I still have cats but have done it on my Camaro. Works perfect and passes emissions. No SES light.

I will make a tutorial soon....

 

I recently purchased a well known brand of one of the few race headers w/CATs curently available for the 2006 ZO6. I was extreamely disappointed in their construction quality: unequal length 32-38" primary tubes, sloppy bends, cuts and welds, cheap collector design without race spec tapered internal difussers, round header flange ports when the ZO6 engine has D ports, etc.

These are actually pipes already being built and sold for the base C6 Vette and just happen to fit the new Z06 (same engine compartment dimensions), so they are passing them off as a Z06 system. The fact they adventise just a small 30hp gain over the stock ZO6 system, this is really a very insignificant performance gain, showing how poorly they are tuned/designed for the Z06 engine. A properly tuned/designed race quality header system should deliver closer to a 10-15% (50-70hp) gain over the stock Vette's untuned 4-Y C6 header manifold.

I was still goiing to install the X brand pipes on my car just for the advertised 17lb weight savings, but I found out after a day of pulling my car apart, the stock C6 headers will not drop out the bottom of the easily as advertised. The clearance is just to tight. The stock Cats need to be unbolted first for wiggle clearance, but they are installed with lock nuts and attempting to unbolt them was stripping the mounting bolts and I'd have to destroy then to get them out. Knowing the brand X headers with their 4-long primary tubes were going to be even more bulky and difficult to stuff back up in the car than pulling out the stock headers, I decided the better part of valor was to return the car back to stock.

When I finally do bust my *** to get my stock Z06 headers off the car, I want to make sure the pipes I do put in there are a real, high end race quality system designed and built in house by a serious race product manufacturer specifically for the new C6 Z06. Not a system that is an off the shelf base C6 system built by another giant industrial header factory employing illegal aliens betweening cranking out $500 headers for SUVs and pickups.

If you're paying under $2,000 for a header system with CATS, your buying junk. A properly designed hand built race system might cost around $4-5,000. You get what you pay for.

Meanwhile, you can get a more cost effective overall performance and handling gain to the Brand X headers' 30hp gain by installing ligher race wheels or 2-piece brake rotors to replace the heavy stock ones.

 

If your looking into headers go with long tubes! Hands down the best mod money can buy. Should be your first performance mod for ANY car, not just Vettes.

ZO6's do not have long tubes.... no new car does.

 

Sure sounds like you got the wrong headers. All the Z06 headers I have seen have the D shaped port. By the way, you can get a real quality Z06 header with cats and X pipe for under $2000. Try Stainless Works, LG's, or Kooks. I think you'll be very happy. Personally, I'd go with the Stainless Works, they make an awesome Z06 header system and they are a quality product.

As far as headers giving you 10% to 15%, that only happens if the stock system was really bad to begin with. The stock Z06 manifolds and exhaust system are not that bad.

Also, don't worry about stripping out the bolts, they will come out unless you were rounding the bolt heads and if that is the case, then you need to get some good 6 point sockets. Also, soak them with Liquid Wrench for a few hours. And yes, removing the cats first is the best way to get them out. Then they come right out, a header install is about a 3 on a scale of 1 to 10, pretty darn simple.

You'll have to keep us all informed on the $4000 to $5000 system you end up getting for your Z06. If you would like, I'm sure Al Noe of Stainless Works could work with you to add some costs to their setup. Maybe a good gold plating would do the trick.

Thanks,
Glenn