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So I have a solar performance throttle body, Haltech intake, and Borla Atak catback exhaust.
would headers be a good bang for the buck upgrade?
Or could I spend that money in a better way?
So I have a solar performance throttle body, Haltech intake, and Borla Atak catback exhaust.
would headers be a good bang for the buck upgrade?
Or could I spend that money in a better way?
If you can swing it, do high flow cats and headers. Both can easily be done at home from the top down over a weekend.
I thought about cats too but I see quite a few people have CEL with the cats. Wasn’t sure if there’s a certain one to go with that has no issues or do you have to get the O2 extender regardless?
I thought about cats too but I see quite a few people have CEL with the cats. Wasn’t sure if there’s a certain one to go with that has no issues or do you have to get the O2 extender regardless?
I have had zero issues with my Corsa cats in over 4k miles, no O2 extenders needed. I just put on AFE headers about 1000 miles ago, no issues there.
Most that get cat CELs are going with cheaper products from what I've learned, or just don't take their time to sure up the installation.
Nice! How was the performance increase? I assume it’s a bit louder? Did you get a tune als?
No tune yet, the below is with ported TB, ported intake, AFE intake, and high flow cats. Once the headers break in more I'll put it back up on the dyno to see if any gains were achieved.
This is what a cold start sounds like with everything but The headers. It is definitely louder. If you are going for loud, just doing the cats will get you there. The headers just made everything throatier.
Good aftermarket "high flow" cats like Corsa will cost you roughly $2k, if you look at the above dyno chart that Kraz8s posted, he gained 13-14 horsepower by replacing the stock headers/cats/throttle body & intake, is it worth it? Only you can answer this question
Good aftermarket "high flow" cats like Corsa will cost you roughly $2k, if you look at the above dyno chart that Kraz8s posted, he gained 13-14 horsepower by replacing the stock headers/cats/throttle body & intake, is it worth it? Only you can answer this question
Totally agree with all of this. For me, I just like to tinker and happen to have close access to a dyno. There is no end game for me till my wife tells me to stop spending
No tune yet, the below is with ported TB, ported intake, AFE intake, and high flow cats. ONCE THE HEADERS BREAK IN MORE
I'll put it back up on the dyno to see if any gains were achieved.
This is what a cold start sounds like with everything but The headers. It is definitely louder. If you are going for loud, just doing the cats will get you there. The headers just made everything throatier.
Once the headers break in ??? once the coating is heat cycled and seasoned? once they have gotten hot, cooled off and retightened? 20+ yrs of building tuning dynoing Vettes and all the american Sport and muscle cars. I have never seen a car gain HP over time from Letting the headers Break in. its a metal pipe for exhaust to flow thru. go strap it to the dyno now its ready.
Last edited by smurfkiller; Aug 20, 2025 at 07:51 AM.
Good aftermarket "high flow" cats like Corsa will cost you roughly $2k, if you look at the above dyno chart that Kraz8s posted, he gained 13-14 horsepower by replacing the stock headers/cats/throttle body & intake, is it worth it? Only you can answer this question
How did come up with 13 rwhp? There is no base dyno run for that car. With those mods, the gains should be at least 20 rwhp.
Once the headers break in ??? once the coating is heat cycled and seasoned? once they have gotten hot, cooled off and retightened? 20+ yrs of building tuning dynoing Vettes and all the american Sport and muscle cars. I have never seen a car gain HP over time from Letting the headers Break in. its a metal pipe for exhaust to flow thru. go strap it to the dyno now its ready.
Did I say that they would gain more, no? Breaking in constitutes making sure there are no issues with them. I think you may want to stick to what you said you've been doing for 20+ years because reading is definitely not your cup of tea.
these c8 has almost a full header on the car. I really cant see much of a gain going with a aftermarket header at all. Now a high flow cat set up new air box and filter, I can see helping... If I had it to do over the headers from the stock set up I would have kept on the car.
I did do header,,high flow cats,, 91 T.B. ported intake,,aftermarket air box and fliter,,Then a Titanium Juggernaut racing z06 mufflers set up. No tune and not doing no more to this motor.. By the seat of the pants I can tell a little diffs is about all I can say on these mods...
these c8 has almost a full header on the car. I really cant see much of a gain going with a aftermarket header at all. Now a high flow cat set up new air box and filter, I can see helping... If I had it to do over the headers from the stock set up I would have kept on the car.
I did do header,,high flow cats,, 91 T.B. ported intake,,aftermarket air box and fliter,,Then a Titanium Juggernaut racing z06 mufflers set up. No tune and not doing no more to this motor.. By the seat of the pants I can tell a little diffs is about all I can say on these mods...
Yep, car comes with headers from the factory. Zero to not much gain from aftermarkets. Could move the curve around a bit with different headers but that's about it.
Headers?
