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Headers showed up today, still waiting on return label from Holley so I can receive the correct exhaust. Initial inspection looks like pretty decent quality. Ill be taking them after work to get ceramic coated.
still waiting on a shipping label but should have everything ready to go by the end of next week. hopefully i can get to the track this week weather permitting to get a baseline from stock to bolt ons then cam.
At long last i got the correct part number exhaust. only took a month start to finish
Initial impressions out of the box: at first glance it looks like a really nice system. The siamese X and pricing were what really drew me in as well as the resonators. at closer glance, im far from impressed with some of the weld quality as well as slag and splatter left all over. Additionally, the resonators are somehow already beat up around the edges with some seams/stress marks on the cans themselves. Not really a huge issue as itll be under the car out of sight out of mind, but dropping over a grand on a brand new system, i would think it should be near flawless. maybe im too nitpicky but whatever. I should have the headers back from the ceramic coater today or tomorrow then itll be installed.
well worth the wait, having several coated headers + typical aluminized steel exhaust rust out compared to 10 years + still good 304 stainless system that was on a daily driver turbo'd jetta thru all weather including salty winters the 304 stainless excels even though costly! its said to keep over twice the heat in the pipe as well
got everything installed yesterday after several hours trying to snake in the over axle pipes with the x in place as per the instructions. I eventually got fed up, dropped the x and they went right in. Installation snafus aside... It actually sounds like a corvette now, better videos incoming once I get some time this weekend. Initial cold start up was pretty loud but once the idle settled its a very quiet system. Theres a little extra rumble but near stock level at idle and cruising. At wot it really screams. Granted its a brand new setup and the mufflers need time to break in, theres a pretty pronounced drone around 2000rpm and a "boomy" quality near peak torque but every car I've had with an x pipe has been similar. I absolutely love the tone. Its got a nice deep rumble that turns into a snarl in the upper rpms. Defintely more smiles per gallon now. It also has deceleration pops and burbles but I assume that'll be somewhat mitigated by a tune. My butt dyno isnt exactly calibrated well but it seems a lot punchier down low and less throttle needed to get up to speed. I also find it interesting that the car now rarely gets hotter than 195 even in traffic whereas the stock setup always ran 205-215.
And yes I know, vertically filmed clips are cancer. Wasnt my doing.
the beauty part is that ONE exhaust may outlast the car!!! with only aluminized steel available for common older cars you can bet more than one system will be needed if you have it about 5 years, has 304 stainless mufflers on systems + never replaced them.
Definitely got the deeper header exhaust sound. Woke up the Corsa extremes to the next level.
I'm going to do headers soon. I have the Corsa extremes and looking to do long tubes very soon. Do you get any drone/slight drone or just get the burbles? I'm stock right now and don't get drone just very very minor burbles which don't bother me and I wouldn't call it drone. What headers/size, catted or non catted did you run if you don't mind me asking? Thanks in advance
Hello myredhead1 - I pm'd you with the message below; hope you might notice. thanks!
Hi ... Northern California guy here (2009 6A). Saw your 04-20-2017 post on the Hooker Blackheart Shorty Headers below. Did you feel any performance gain to justify the purchase? Was it noticeably louder as to be annoying? How was the install? Did you put on new gaskets? One of my reasons in considering getting them is I would think they would be lighter than stock. The claim of 15 additional hp's & 14 ft/lb torque are not bad either. Hope you see this messaage and would really appreciate getting your honest feedback before deciding on making a good size purchase! Happy Holidays!
ps: Do you still have them on the car (if you still have the car that is)? If so, how are they holding up?
The hooker shorties were absolutely worth it. The sound was deeper but not loud, if that makes sense. The install was very straight forward and yes, I did re use the stock gaskets. Absolutely agree on the 15/15 gain. The only reason that I removed them was bc I fell into a great deal on a pair of kooks long tubes. During Xmas, holly usually runs a sale with up to $100 off. Good luck. Great pieces.
