Header selection for C7 A8
 

I race my daily driver c7a8 (drag) 20 times a yr but use it everyday as my business car and make many calls using the handless feature of the car (nice). I intend to increase my performance by adding long tube headers and a tune for e85. My question is which brand is QUIETEST so that I can continue to use my handless feature. I believe that stainless steel is quieter than mild steel and that a ticker guage will be quieter than a thinner guage. Low range torque is important so the 1.75 or 17/8 tubes would be preferred. Have any of you had experience with more that one brand on your car so that you can report a difference?

Look at the LT headers from LG motorsports look at the collector of this header get the 1 7/8 set up and dont look back. If you are not going to do a boosted car & looking at low end tq. Look at what they done with the 1 3/4 to a 1 7/8 LT header. Give them a call tell them your set up & what you are going to be doing with the car & the parts you have in it & go from that.

What I love about LG is one of the few CO. that really do hard core R&D on every part that they put out here. So if it done work for what it is design to do they dont put it out to us for sale. Plus they use all the parts on their race car. Robert

I agree with Robert , LG's are second to none with fit and finish and the welds are top notch. As far as price , they are middle of the pack , not the cheapest but not the most expensive

I really do not think that there is a noticeable difference in sound between the different headers . Remember you are going from a cast iron manifold and 4 cats to stainless individual pipes and at best 2 cats ... .
If you have NPP you should be fine
Dave

+2 for LG.

\db2

We can do a Kooks catted setup. Still good power with less sound and no smell of gas.

-Josh

Thanks for the responses

I run TSP catted headers which are around 1200 or 1250 so cheaper. I do love the sound but as far as performance I think the tune and E85 will give you the biggest bang for the buck.

I run the TSP catted headers on mine and they are perfect.

Fuel smell is based on tune and whether the system is catted or non catted, not brand.

how do they fit , did you need to modify them in any way.....

Dave

I did mention "catted" in my post lol.

-Josh

Well enough. Had to space their tunnel plate down in the front about 1/2" more to get the clamps to clear. Other than that they were good.

Any brand of headers is going to be much louder but if you keep it catted and the OEM catback it will help. If you want the absolute quietest way to add headers, catted ARH mid lengths into the OEM catted x pipe and OEM exhaust would stay pretty docile.

I have American Racing 2" headers with their hi flow catted xpipe into my stock NPP axleback on my Grand Sport. When I want it quiet I simply put the car in touring mode and it is close to stock quiet unless wide open throttle. Yes I chose 2" for my bolton car... blasphemy... but guess what. They make more power and the track performance backs it up. The ARH fit is flawless and build quality is second to none.

Headers
 

Checkout headers from Billy Boat Exhaust Company. Great quality.

We carry a large line of headers for the C7 and have installed just as many. In the end the volume is about the same with the only difference being that off road pipes will be louder then high flow cats.

If you want to keep low end and mid range torque I'd look into the AFE TRI-Y set ups. They tend to offer the best midrange gains as that is what a tri-y design is for.

ARH, Kooks and Stainless Works should all get some love as they are premium high quality long tube headers. I'd run anyone of them on my car and be completely satisfied. They all use premium 304 stainless steel and come with excellent fitment.

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Is there any difference in exhaust note between Kooks and ARH? I have Kooks + Kooks green cats + NPP mufflers and it's the best of both worlds with great fit and finish. Just curious if the ARH sound any different than the Kooks when comparing ARH LT + high flow cats to Kooks + high flow cats.

Every header will be louder than the stock exhaust manifolds. So dont expect any of them to be the same noise as stock.

Your only option is to add the high flow cats as they are slightly quieter and keep the exhaust smell down from the offroad mid pipes. Don't base your header decision on price. We do these installs every day. If you want the best fitment and quality go with ARH or Kooks. We run ARH on all of our shop vehicles. TSP is a good option for the price but expect to make them "fit" sometimes. We charge a set price for ARH and Kooks and charge more for any other header brand install.

If you need ARH, Kooks, or TSP then give us a call or email. We can send them to your door lower than anywhere you find them listed.

Here is our ZR1 getting ARH headers with dyno time.