Mirage Headers $500 W/shipping= Bad Medicine so buy American!!
07-23-2011, 12:54 AM
#1
Safety Car
Thread Starter
Mirage Headers $500 W/shipping= Bad Medicine so buy American!!
One of our members had good luck/hp with these so I ordered an E-bay set.
My experience with this set would be a disaster!!
unless you are a fairly good TIG welder using ER309L. If you had to pay someone capable of fixing these right it may cost more than a good USA set! At my rate it would. 
Lots of people with un-trained eyes could miss these defects until the headers are installed, then they would have to pay for removal and fixing. I have not installed these headers yet so there may be some more problems down the road.
PIC #1= Inside flange/tube, in next pic I will show you "day light" coming through this flange/tube. I had two total with daylight showing through and at least four others with cracks in the flange welds due to the welds being skimpy and the technique.
My experience with this set would be a disaster!!
unless you are a fairly good TIG welder using ER309L. If you had to pay someone capable of fixing these right it may cost more than a good USA set! At my rate it would. Lots of people with un-trained eyes could miss these defects until the headers are installed, then they would have to pay for removal and fixing. I have not installed these headers yet so there may be some more problems down the road.PIC #1= Inside flange/tube, in next pic I will show you "day light" coming through this flange/tube. I had two total with daylight showing through and at least four others with cracks in the flange welds due to the welds being skimpy and the technique.
Last edited by C7/Z06 Man; 07-23-2011 at 01:51 AM.
07-23-2011, 01:00 AM
#2
Safety Car
Thread Starter
Pic#2= You can see the daylight coming through around the 4 o'clock position. In the next pic I will show you what it looks like form the other side.
07-23-2011, 01:03 AM
#3
Safety Car
Thread Starter
Pic#3= Same tube but the other side.
07-23-2011, 01:08 AM
#4
Safety Car
Thread Starter
Pic#4= This is the inside of another tube that did not have daylight or a crack in the weld.
Last edited by C7/Z06 Man; 07-23-2011 at 01:14 AM.
07-23-2011, 01:13 AM
#5
Safety Car
Thread Starter
Pic#5= Here is some of my repair work, still have the two outside flanges to weld tomorrow. PS: One of those two tube welds is the one that had the daylight showing through in the above pics.
Last edited by C7/Z06 Man; 07-23-2011 at 03:24 AM.
07-23-2011, 01:20 AM
#6
Safety Car
Thread Starter
Pic#6= This is the completed "other side" header including clean-up of the insides of the flange.
07-23-2011, 01:25 AM
#7
Safety Car
Thread Starter
Pic#7= This is still the completed "other side" with a gasket laying on it that measures 1 & 13/16" I.D.
Last edited by C7/Z06 Man; 08-27-2011 at 04:49 PM.
07-23-2011, 01:35 AM
#8
Safety Car
Thread Starter
Last Pic
Pic#8= Here are both sides laying on the work table so you can get a sense of what they look like. I think that they may perform fine when done and remember I have not tried to install these yet but it's a lot of work that should not be necessary. I would recommend to stay away from China Junk!
PS: Learn from my mistake, however I suspected this might happen and I am lucky enough to have the skills to fix it. Thank God!
OH, and that real welding shield is "Old School" when there were a lot more "REAL" welders.
PS: Learn from my mistake, however I suspected this might happen and I am lucky enough to have the skills to fix it. Thank God!
OH, and that real welding shield is "Old School" when there were a lot more "REAL" welders.
Last edited by C7/Z06 Man; 09-11-2012 at 01:05 AM.
07-23-2011, 01:55 AM
#9
Team Owner
Wait until you get to the part where you attach (uhh, I mean attempt to attach) the X-pipe to the headers, not exactly a perfect match there usually LOL.
And you have an automatic trans? Oh man, good luck finding some adequate clearance there.
And you have an automatic trans? Oh man, good luck finding some adequate clearance there.
07-23-2011, 02:09 AM
#10
Safety Car
Thread Starter
Last edited by C7/Z06 Man; 07-23-2011 at 02:14 AM.
07-23-2011, 02:19 AM
#11
Team Owner
How do the collectors look inside? I know they come with the 'power spike' as well but I'm talking about where the 4 primaries/tubes come together at the collectors.
07-23-2011, 02:52 AM
#12
Safety Car
Thread Starter
2) Some of the tubes stick in further than others, one in particular sticks in two or so inches more than the other three in the one side. The weld quality is "poor looking" and un-even compared to what was around the header exhaust flanges in general but everything looks sealed and polishing will do wonders at a quick glance but when you look closer at the collector welds they are not very uniform at all. I.E. a dab here and mound there, etc.
Edit: Don't hold me to it but I may take a picture of the inside of one of the collectors and post it here soon.
Last edited by C7/Z06 Man; 07-23-2011 at 03:16 AM.
07-23-2011, 06:50 AM
#13
For whatever it's worth I won't touch a set of those off-shore headers. I'm a Kooks Header fan and have installed many sets without issue and with great fitment. A few weeks ago a friend came over with a complete header to tail pipe JetHot coated Kooks kit for his new 2011 LS3 Camaro. It took 3 of us right at 2 hours for the complete end-to-end install. Yes we had a lift and yes we had pneumatic tools but the quick turn wasn't because we are fast but rather because absolutely everything fit perfectly and went in without issue....as they should!
BUY AMERICAN!
BUY AMERICAN!
07-23-2011, 07:16 AM
#14
Pro
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I'd chuck those gaskets in the trash and get a set of GM or Cometic multi-layer steel ones. Very unlikely they will last very long before the annoying exhaust leak ticking noise begins.
If you reuse your stock hardware a set of these would be a good idea to keep them tight:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-washers/=daspgx
Stage 8 locking bolts are effective but a pain, these Nord lockwashers in stainless steel have held up very well over the years and cost ~$20 for enough to do both headers and have spares.
If you reuse your stock hardware a set of these would be a good idea to keep them tight:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-washers/=daspgx
Stage 8 locking bolts are effective but a pain, these Nord lockwashers in stainless steel have held up very well over the years and cost ~$20 for enough to do both headers and have spares.
07-23-2011, 01:01 PM
#15
Safety Car
Thread Starter
I have used the locking bolts years ago and they work! but the plan I have been using for awhile now is to use "studs" with nuts, that way you will not wear out or pull threads in an aluminum head.
I plan to reuse the stock exhaust gaskets if they are in good shape.
I plan to reuse the stock exhaust gaskets if they are in good shape.
Last edited by C7/Z06 Man; 07-23-2011 at 01:04 PM.
07-23-2011, 01:19 PM
#17
Team Owner
1) No they do not have that pointy "power spike" in the center of the four tubes inside the collectors if that's what your talking about.
2) Some of the tubes stick in further than others, one in particular sticks in two or so inches more than the other three in the one side. The weld quality is "poor looking" and un-even compared to what was around the header exhaust flanges in general but everything looks sealed and polishing will do wonders at a quick glance but when you look closer at the collector welds they are not very uniform at all. I.E. a dab here and mound there, etc.
2) Some of the tubes stick in further than others, one in particular sticks in two or so inches more than the other three in the one side. The weld quality is "poor looking" and un-even compared to what was around the header exhaust flanges in general but everything looks sealed and polishing will do wonders at a quick glance but when you look closer at the collector welds they are not very uniform at all. I.E. a dab here and mound there, etc.
so the latest versions of these cheapie Chinese ebay headers are in fact even worse than the older generation ones? Both the welds at the flange and the collector area of the two ebay sets (both appeared identical to yours) that I'd closely inspected a few years back didn't seem quite as bad as your photos and your text describe, not as good as the Kooks, ARH or LGs I've seen but almost acceptable at least.
07-23-2011, 01:29 PM
#18
Safety Car
Thread Starter
With the PITA work I have already put into this China $hit they are no longer cheap in my book, period! and as you say I'm not done yet.LS1LT1, Header leaks are over the line for me and "Not Acceptable" no matter how shinny they are.
Last edited by C7/Z06 Man; 07-25-2011 at 09:56 AM.
07-23-2011, 01:33 PM
#19
Race Director
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That's really unfortunate to see. Mine were much higher quality, 200 bucks cheaper and had the spike positioned very nicely and required no cleanup at all. When compared to a set of Kooks I was told mine actually looked nicer on the inside, but it's possible it was just a poor set of Kooks and an exceptional set of nameless headers.
FWIW, mine were not labeled as "Mirage" headers though. They were simply un-named longtubes copied from Kooks being sold on Ebay. So it could very well be a different manufacturer. These Mirage headers started being sold almost a year after the nameless sets that me and several others purchased.
Bummer that you had issues with em.
Looks like OBX are the way to go now unless the guy that sold mine starts selling them again. Still the best 300 bucks I've ever spent.
Good luck...I know how frustrating it can be to get something that isn't working right and of crap quality (having an issue with a vendor myself right now).
FWIW, mine were not labeled as "Mirage" headers though. They were simply un-named longtubes copied from Kooks being sold on Ebay. So it could very well be a different manufacturer. These Mirage headers started being sold almost a year after the nameless sets that me and several others purchased.
Bummer that you had issues with em.
Looks like OBX are the way to go now unless the guy that sold mine starts selling them again. Still the best 300 bucks I've ever spent.
Good luck...I know how frustrating it can be to get something that isn't working right and of crap quality (having an issue with a vendor myself right now).
Last edited by FloydSummerOf68; 07-23-2011 at 01:44 PM.
