Moose

iTrader: (5)

I'm looking at 3 differnet headers right now..

First thunders race headers for 714$ Mild steel coated. look great, and supposley equal lenght headers and make great power.

next are the QTP headers, same headers as thunder just in stainless.

3rd are the Kooks headers. Stainless, 1 3/4 header. He suggested 1 /3/4 stepped to a 1/ 7/8. I think that is to much for my stock size LS1.. 834$

Need help. can't make up my mind..

2002_TAWS6

Im in the same spot. Need as much feedback as possible.

TTT!!

Classic

iTrader: (3)

I had the stainless 1 3/4 from Kooks. I had them for about 5 months and just recently sold them to upgrade to the stepped Kooks. When I pulled them out, they were in perfect shape - no splits, cracks, etc.

I would go stainless all the way. Even with the coating you can have problems. A lot of coatings are having problems with surface rust forming on the coating, which makes them look like crap.

I say go for the Kooks and screw the QTPs. It might take you 10 weeks to get them, while Kooks will have them to your door in 2 weeks.

Moose - def go with the stepped headers. On a heads/cam car you will see a little bit of a gain over the straight 1 3/4. Plus if you decide to spray, you will def want the stepped.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

How long the coating holds up is mostly due to weather conditions, how hot your exhaust gets (obviously N2O cars will have a hotter exhaust temp during spraying), and the quality of the coating. Thinkness and quality of the metal also matter. The factory polished ceramic coating on my Bassani's is still perfect 1.5 years later, but I never drive it in bad weather....

FAST LS1

iTrader: (2)

If you care about looks the only way to go is Stainless.
If not, get the mild steel uncoated and have all the same performance for a much cheaper price.

felton316

Stainlessis much better than mild steel for headers. If you do get mild steel, make sure that they are coated.

FAST LS1

iTrader: (2)

There is no performance difference between mild and stainless. Also if you drive the car everyday even the coated mild steel headers will rust eventually.
The main differences in performance is going to be based on the primary size, shape, and how they merge as in, if they have a merge collector. Other gains could be due to the constrution of the y-pipe with some of the header systems.

2002WS6_MN6

I disagree...
http://www.burnsstainless.com/TechAr...s_article.html
I have Kooks Stainless for the reasons mentioned in the article above.

I agree.. here is your biggest performance considerations.

FAST LS1

iTrader: (2)

I agree that SS is a much better header material. I just don't think you will actually seen any rwhp difference between 2 headers that are constructed exactly the same with the only difference being one is mild steel and the other is stainless steel.
Same goes for the coated headers. They do help keep underhood temps down, but they aren't going to add any rwhp.

Pro Stock John

iTrader: (34)

There are two kinds of header buyers...

1) I want a deal. These folks buy mild steel.

2) I want the nicest headers out there. I am one of these folks, I am all about stainless. Now stainless might be overkill but I have always like how they look after even being on the road for a few years. I had a set of TTS headers that were used and looked awesome even after being on two cars. I now have a set of Kooks 1.875>2.000 step headers on my blown Formula. Nick from Kooks has a mid 9 second all motor Olds, so he is also a racer.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

PSJ, that is not totally true. I am all about the best quality, best looking, best performing part for whatever I am in the market for. Price is basically never my top concern.

BUT, stainless was not an option for me as there are no stainless steel mid-lenght headers for LS1s that I know of. I wanted a mid-lenght, I was never in the market for an LT. I bought the best that was avalibile in that catigory. My point is, not all of us without stainless were just "looking for a deal".

I do agree that stainless is prefered, hence the reason why I bought the stainless Y-pipe, and a fully stainless catback. But I could not get stainless headers in the size (lenght) I wanted.

Moose

iTrader: (5)

John

I'm looking for the best performance I can get for the $$$$

If I'm only gonig to see 3 rwhp more for the kooks, is it worth it?

For my combo, what does wveryone recommend. Heads and cam, and wil be spraying the car next year.

Cal

iTrader: (1)

I love my QTP headers, and they were on my doorstep within a week of ordering. Yes they are expensive, but you will appreicate the quality long after the bill is paid.