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So first off i would like to thank my friend Nick Filippides of American Racing headers for putting together such an awesome set of headers and a super Catback system for my C8. This is the exhaust system that GM should have gone with. I always thought my car sounded really aggressive with the OEM system but man was i wrong. The new system is unreal. This is a valveless system which is extremely quite at idle. I don’t know how they do it but the car goes into V4 with NO CHECK ENGINE somehow the computer thinks the valves are fully functional. When you accelerate you can hear the raw and growl of the Catback along with the headers. There is NO DRONE OR RASPY SOUND. Full open throttle is crazy with the windows open this system means business.With the windows closed i would really say it is as quite if not quieter than the OEM header and Catback system. I will be adding pics and video to this post as soon as i can. I can not quote you a price on this entire system or just headers or the Catback system. If you want further information please call AMERICAN RACING HEADERS AT (631) 608-1986. YOU WON’T BE SORRY!!!!!. American Racing Headers will be adding their own videos to their posts and more info on these systems!!!!!.
Last edited by hunter105; Oct 20, 2020 at 07:22 AM.
It was a pleasure working with you and we're very grateful to you for allowing us to use your ride to develop our new C8 Catback. Saying we're pleased with the results and overall appearance of the kit is an understatement. It sounds amazing, as the catback truly compliments our long tubes, and the power gains are very impressive. It's worth mentioning that the header and catback combination also sheds 32lbs of weight. That's considerable for those that want a significant decrease in weight while not having to deal with an excessively loud exhaust. We have our own video we will be posting tomorrow with more detailed information. Stay tuned. Thanks!
Our headers are a fairly simple bolt-on that require no tuning. Without tuning, there's no reason to void anything. My recommendation is to keep all the factory components after the swap in case there's ever a reason to return to stock. I appreciate you inquiring.
Can anyone say for certain (100%) that headers will not void powertrain warranty?
Thxs
My favorite liability law case was a court that held a company liable when a customer was injured using a screw driver as a hammer and the handle cracked,. Apparently the court felt that the company should have anticipated someone would use a screw driver that way and made the handle strong enough to withstand that use.
A long way of saying I would strongly advise not making any decisions expecting "certain (100%)" But it's your choice.
I think its a bit lazy to sell a $3k exhaust system with no valves while the OEM system has four.
Lazy? A bit harsh no?. Why is it a bad thing to offer a system that gives you the best of both worlds without incorporating valves? Frankly we find that nearly all NPP systems, stock or aftermarket, sound horrible when in the open position, and sound like a Toyota Corolla when closed. They’re all are very raspy and other than cabin drone, there’s nothing we hate more than high pitch rasp. Our system is designed to avoid annoying rasp. (See the video). It’s also mellow enough at cruise and idle to make low speed driving a pleasure.
I welcome you or anyone to take a good look at how much work goes into building our Pure Thunder catback. It’s a very highly detailed and time consuming system to build. It’s also 100% USA made.
Lazy? A bit harsh no?. Why is it a bad thing to offer a system that gives you the best of both worlds without incorporating valves? Frankly we find that nearly all NPP systems, stock or aftermarket, sound horrible when in the open position, and sound like a Toyota Corolla when closed. They’re all are very raspy and other than cabin drone, there’s nothing we hate more than high pitch rasp. Our system is designed to avoid annoying rasp. (See the video). It’s also mellow enough at cruise and idle to make low speed driving a pleasure.
I welcome you or anyone to take a good look at how much work goes into building our Pure Thunder catback. It’s a very highly detailed and time consuming system to build. It’s also 100% USA made.
Nick
You're correct with me saying it was a lazy approach. I have the SOUL high performance cats which I love, even with track days no CEL has tripped yet. I'm also disappointed with them with not having a valved exhaust system. Its nice having the exhaust with the touring mode which has absolutely zero drone, but then with the option to open the valves for a much more aggressive exhaust note. I hope you're addressing the market which would prefer valves to go Mild to Wild when desired and utilize the OEM modes.
You're correct with me saying it was a lazy approach. I have the SOUL high performance cats which I love, even with track days no CEL has tripped yet. I'm also disappointed with them with not having a valved exhaust system. Its nice having the exhaust with the touring mode which has absolutely zero drone, but then with the option to open the valves for a much more aggressive exhaust note. I hope you're addressing the market which would prefer valves to go Mild to Wild when desired and utilize the OEM modes.
KOTYKB, With an ARH system, mild to wild is under the control of the driver's right foot. We had the ability to provide that with this system we developed, with cabin drone at low speeds and high pitch rasp at high rpm eliminated from the equation. I can't speak for other brands, only ours. I recommend a PM to the OP for anyone that might want first hand experience. I'm sure he will concur with what I'm saying. Thanks.
Valves add complexity and it's something else to go wrong. It seems that ARH found found a way to accomplish the same thing with a little more simplicity which is better. Nick, how was the 32lb weight reduction accomplished? I suppose the valves would be part of that but not all of it. Materials are the same? What about the cat construction?
Valves add complexity and it's something else to go wrong. It seems that ARH found found a way to accomplish the same thing with a little more simplicity which is better. Nick, how was the 32lb weight reduction accomplished? I suppose the valves would be part of that but not all of it. Materials are the same? What about the cat construction?
Bill,
The sheer mass of the factory catback is where 22 of the 32lbs came from. The valves played a small part overall but taking a good look at the factory setup tells the whole story. We chose to use our Pure Thunder mufflers that are definitely heavier than just a pair of bullet mufflers, but it was a small price to pay when you take into consideration the great sound they provide. The other 10lbs are from the swap to our long tube headers. The factory manifolds are heavy when combined with all the heat shields that are no longer needed. There are NO under hood temp issues to be concerned about. I assure of that.
Lastly, we are not including the weight of the cats in the equation. In fact, We haven't done any additional testing with aftermarket cats since our initial testing proved that the factory cats, with their 6" OD surface area, perform extremely well. With the quickest and fastest C8 running our headers and catback, yet maintaining the factory cats, what more proof is required that upgrading the cats isn't necessary at this point. I'm sure there will be a slight weight reduction switching to aftermarket cats, but the added expense isn't worth it, at least not presently.
Many dealerships will overlook mods as long as it is not an insane mod. Hell my dealership was great with me and my C7 was supercharged with an E-Force. So it really comes down to the dealership.
It was a pleasure working with you and we're very grateful to you for allowing us to use your ride to develop our new C8 Catback. Saying we're pleased with the results and overall appearance of the kit is an understatement. It sounds amazing, as the catback truly compliments our long tubes, and the power gains are very impressive. It's worth mentioning that the header and catback combination also sheds 32lbs of weight. That's considerable for those that want a significant decrease in weight while not having to deal with an excessively loud exhaust. We have our own video we will be posting tomorrow with more detailed information. Stay tuned. Thanks!
Nick
yeah yeah, I know old thread.
Nick, are there any videos of this pipe when in v4 mode?
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American racing headers and catback system
