What do headers and stock exhaust sound like? Does it sound louder at all? Or give it a better grumble? What about drone?

I do not want to spend $1500 on a cat back that provides little to no performance gain. In the end all I care about is performance. A sound change would be nice but not necessary and I know headers are a definate performance gain. I also like the stock look of the exhaust tips. I was just curious about the sound.

 

I used Melrose LT headers w/ R/T hi flo cats mated to the Stock exhaust. At idle there is no noticeable difference...no drone @ cruise, just a more muscular should during acceleration. This is exactly what I wanted...better performance, not loud just a slightly better sound. You will notice the difference. My headers were about $1800 (installed). Much better bang for the buck than catback IMO!!

 

I also have Melrose Headers and RT High flow cats with stock exhaust. Everyone claims headers with stock exhaust is barely noticeable but I think it is a good 20% louder....especially on acceleration. For me this was perfect..I didn't want much louder to draw more attention then what i already have.

 

I did the same, Melrose headers (w cats) & Calloway Honker, staying with the stock exhaust. The sound was just what I was looking for. About 10% louder, I can actually feel a bit of rumble, even on the idle, a slight drone around 1500-1600 rpm, not objectionable. I can feel the extra torque immediately. Even my wife gave this a thumbs up.(she did not want it very loud) Overall very pleased with this combo. Thinking about a good street tune this spring to take full advantage of the mods.

 

Whats the deal with these Melrose headers? I have never heard of them before until this thread and now three people posting with Melrose. How are those headers? Quality? Price? Melrose vs LG?

I have hijacked my own thread, I know. I still would like more opinions on my first post though.

 

You took the words right out of my mouth.

 

FWIW - I have Melrose too. They're great.

I have GHL's on, though...not the stock exhaust.

 

I recently purchased GHL exhaust for my 05 Z51 M6 and the sound is Great, I'm curious of how it would sound with Headers, them Being the next mod on my list.
Greentank, If you have a sound bite that would be great!

 

I also have Melrose headers with stock mufflers on a 2005 A4. There is an ever so slight increase in volume and a bit more rumble standing behind the car at idle. There is little to no increase in volume or rumble in the cabin at idle or cruising speeds until you put your foot into it. On heavy acceleration, it does have a bit of a roar!

In my opinion, the headers and OEM mufflers at idle and cruising speed are so much like stock (and so quiet) that I'm installing a Corsa Sport system this weekend.

By the way, in an A4 which would be far worse than a manual trans there is also no drone or objectionable resonance. I'm pretty sensitive to the drone I have in my ZR1 and won't tolerate it in my C6. If you want quiet but also want to wake the car up, do the headers and airbox with a dyno tune and stock mufflers. If you want a bit more of a performance car sound, I'll let you know how the Corsas are no later than next weekend.

 

IMHO, the only time you can hear the stock exhaust w/ headers is at WOT. I wanted to hear the exhaust all the time w/ no drone. Corsa Sports provided that.

 

Melrose come jet hot coated (inside and out) from the factory for about $1599. I believe the LG and Kooks are slightly more and you have to pay about $200-250 to have them coated. Before making the decision I talked to several installers who praised Melrose for their quality and fitment, they also look good under the hood. I don't believe there is any difference in the performance among the various brands of long tubes.

 

Melrose headers are made of mild steel.

LGMs, KOOKS, ARH, Stainless Works, and Dynatechs are made from 304 stainless steel. Headers are like most anything else, you get what you pay for, and there is lots of information here and in the C5 section about the performance of LGs, KOOKS, ARHs, Dynatechs, etc.

304 stainless is extremely corrosion resistant, much more so than mild steel. 304 Stainless also dissipates heat much better than mild steel, hence no reason to coat it other than looks.

A lot of times exhaust components corrode from the inside out due to moisture, sometimes acidic moisture, which settles inside the pipes when the car is not running.

The coating will typically guard against this, but in areas where the integrity of the coating has been breeched or is thin,, inside the flanges, and collectors, etc, rust can and will start in mild steel exhaust components and continue causing the coating to blister, much in the same way as the finish on a car blisters when surface rust takes hold.

Eventually it can rust through.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/showthread.php?t=919807
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...post1545319356
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...p?p=1551290513 post #10
http://www.instant-g.com/Products/Ex...t/DSCN7010.JPG
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...%3Den%26sa%3DN
http://z06vette.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17387
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...%3Den%26sa%3DN



My advice, if I were I going to drop the dough on headers, I would strongly consider 304 Stainless Steel as opposed to mild steel.

There is so much debate about that its not funny. A lot of folks will tell you that beer is beer. Regardless of brand. Wine is wine, bread is bread, and Scotch is Scotch, Vodka is Vodka, tires are tires, a battery is a battery and .........is ....well you get the picture and that there is no perceivable difference between "top shelf" and the rest in any of the preceding examples. Experience has taught me different though and I tend not to believe that headers are headers.
http://www.digitalcorvettes.com/foru...8&postcount=29

 

Here is my 2 cents. I have American Racing headers with stock exhaust. Cost is around 1500 bucks. Installation is "free" if you do it yourself. Sounds better than stock, but not obnoxiously loud. No drone at any rpm, note I sad no drone, not slight drone or tolerable drone etc etc. The after market cat backs are a waste of money. If I want to irritate my neighbors, I just fire up my chopper with the 124 cubic inch S&S motor and 2 into 1 exhaust with no baffles!

 

Umm, that's one reason to coat 'em. Less heat in the engine bay is a good thing.

Jet-Hot "Because of its low emissivity and insulating effect, JET-HOT Sterling creates a thermal barrier to protect headers - inside and out - while reducing heat transfer into the engine compartment. But the good news goes beyond protecting headers from thermal fatigue. Plugs, wires, fan motors, water pumps and other heat-sensitive parts get a break, too, in a cooler environment. JET-HOT Sterling will normally boost power when applied to headers for two reasons. First, the coating promotes denser, more potent fuel/air charges by insulating the engine bay from exhaust heat. At the same time, it accelerates the pulsed-vacuum effect on “tuned” headers, resulting in more effective scavenging of cylinders. The increased velocity of exhaust gases produced by higher exit inertia not only clears each cylinder more quickly; it also draws in the next fuel/air charge more efficiently."

No, I hate Scoth.

 

I went up and corrected it.

And yes you are right, coating is said to offer the benefits that you listed. Less underhood heat, no matter how much less, can only be a good thing.

 

Coated Stainless Works with stock exhaust here, and I find the combo just right for a 'Vert. Slightly louder with a little rumble at idle, a good bit louder than stock at WOT.

 

Kooks LTs /w cats + stock catback here. I LOVE the sound. The mod is worth it for that alone. Perfectly stock around town, no drone on the hwy (M6 car), but when you get on it, it makes this awesome roar that is cross between a Ferrari V8 and a NASCAR race motor. Just freakin' awesome. People take notice, I can tell you that!!.

I may be crazy, but I think the Kooks have a very special sound. I have ridden in an LG car, and it didn't sound like that.

In any case, headers + stock rear is really the way to go for a nice balance of sound.