Headers and X pipe
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 2,090
Likes: 988
From: Orwigsburg Pa
Everyone has there preference. I had Kooks on my C5 Z06 and they were air born coated. Not sure what the difference is but I know for them being coated they did not get hot. You could touch them after driving it and they would not be hot. I think most go with the Kooks and American racing headers. These are the ones they install at Carlise during corvette fest.
CF Community Team
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 14,103
Likes: 7,400
From: Pittsburgh
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I would stick with either Kooks or American Racing Headers, there are plenty of others out there though
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 837
Likes: 388
From: Olathe KS
You will get similar performance gains from any set of headers, the difference is on the fit. There are definitely differences in fit/install difficulty. I just went through a whole three month saga putting texas speed 2" LTs and catted X on my Z06. They fit ok but made so much non-exhaust noise (rubbing, ticking, etc...) I had to swap them out. I went with Kooks the second time around and couldn't be happier but it took Kooks 9ish weeks to get them to me. I have a Z06 and was after 2" headers so if you are going for 1-7/8" headers you may be fine with TSP though, not sure. I didn't coat mine, I've heard good and bad things about that plus it was going to turn my 9 week lead time into 12-14 plus add more money to the bill.
The fit and finish is so good on the Kooks you don't even have to pull off the oil cooler lines to get them in and they come with much better clamps so you can avoid chasing exhaust leaks. I've heard similar things about ARH. Learn from my mistake, you get what you pay for on headers.
The fit and finish is so good on the Kooks you don't even have to pull off the oil cooler lines to get them in and they come with much better clamps so you can avoid chasing exhaust leaks. I've heard similar things about ARH. Learn from my mistake, you get what you pay for on headers.
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Instructor
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 168
Likes: 91
If you go with ARH midlength high flow catted headers (with catless X pipe) you won't need a tune (no problems with check engine light). Love mine -- relatively easy install (time consuming if you haven't done it but not hard). You won't make quite as much power as longtube headers (~approx 8-10hp less) -- but you have to decide if that matters to you, especially if you'd rather keep the stock tune (which isn't really possible/recommended with longtubes). No difference in volume between midlength/longtube alone, but tone will be slightly different (hard to describe on the internet... would need to be in person). Most X pipes are the exact same -- pick your favorite -- Catless makes the most sense (not sure why you'd bother with a catted X pipe on this car... might as well keep stock if you decide you don't want to go catless).
Definitely go ARH or Kooks. Fitment issues aren't worth the savings IMO.
Definitely go ARH or Kooks. Fitment issues aren't worth the savings IMO.
