Nickster 7

Oh, don't know how I missed those! Thanks a lot.

Thanks! I have the black ZR1s for now. I would really like some Technipolished Fikse FM5's some day!

Ok, so what is the difference between the Speed Engineering and LPP headers other than Price and type of Stainless they're made out of?

camar0corey

iTrader: (22)

Nice car, I'm partial to the color. Another vote for go for the stainless the first time. Even ceramic coated headers will eventually show their age.

LT1BADZ

iTrader: (1)

The LPP are 1 3/4" to 1 7/8" stepped headers, Speed Eng are 1 3/4"....also check out XS LT1 headers, Huron speed sells them....

CamaroWhoopAss

iTrader: (1)

I'd go with the pacesetter LT's if you're going cheap. I believe they flow just about as good if not better than anything else under $500. I have seen 10 sec cars run them, so they can't be that bad. You can get them on ebay right now for under $270 with free shiping. Just type in "95 z28 pacesetter" on ebay and you will find them in the first few results. Absolutely sand and repaint them high temp, else they will rust. I plan on putting them on my 94z this year...

Nickster 7

At the moment, I'm considering LPP/XS and Speed Engineering longtubes. Could anyone provide input on the main differences? Speed Engineering look like Pacesetter clones I think, and LPP/XS look like Kooks clones.


Thanks a lot man! And yeah, I'm planning on going stainless now after seeing some cheaper options.
Yeah, I see that. So basically, XS and LPP sell the same headers.

Well, I can pick up a set of stainless headers just as cheap as the Pacesetters. I still might choose Pacesetters since I won't have to delete emissions, but I'll need to research that a bit.

BTC

Buy stainless and buy once.

Catmaigne

iTrader: (6)

Texas Speed/Speed Engineering/eBay headers are likely all the same. 1-3/4", no merge collector or venturi spike, 304 stainless, Pacesetter clones, from China. These tend to be hit or miss.

LPP headers are made by XS Power. There might not be any difference between the actual headers themselves, just branding. 1-3/4" to 1-7/8" stepped headers, merge collector with venturi spike, 321 stainless (321>304), Kooks clones, from USA. Quality is better overall.

There is also OBX which are stepped 304 stainless china headers but they're not worth it compared to LPP.

Nickster 7

Well, I think I'll go with the XS Power or LPP. Nice car BTW!

01WS6BLACKLS1

I agree with camar0corey, I myself installed the ceramic coated hooker long tube headers on mine and I am very meticulous when it comes to my car by the way. The headers and the y-pipe combined for like almost $650. Sickening. The son of a guns still started to get surface rust on the bottom side of the car, why I dont know being that I daily drive it 6-7 months out of the year? So do yourself a favor get the stainless if at all possible, cause these things ain't cheap. I would hate to see someone else go through the same crap like me. BTW love the car!

BTC

Mild steel headers will rust. It cannot be prevented.

Nickster 7

Thanks for the help everyone, and for the comments about my car. I'm probably going with the XS Power headers on eBay. They're pretty cheap. They come with copper gaskets too.

What are the best gaskets and other mounting hardware to use?

revolutions

iTrader: (1)

My personal preference is Percy's aluminum header gaskets and Stage 8 header bolts.

camar0corey

iTrader: (22)

I will say the copper is the way to go. I've reused the same set of copper gaskets for about 8 years now, no issues.

I actually just use common Mr. Gasket header bolts. A trick someone told me once that does seem to work really well is wrap the threads with thread tape. I haven't had one back out since. Then whenever you have to remove the headers they also do not get seized in there.

Nickster 7

Ok the XS come with copper, so I should be good to go then. I figured I'd want to go with some kind of metal gasket.

CamaroWhoopAss

iTrader: (1)

Oh hell yah. Just looked those up on ebay. 2 year warranty! They should be good to go then, and they look great.

Nickster 7

Yeah man! They seem like the way to go.

Thanks again everyone for helping make my decision. I can see that purchasing stainless headers is the unanimous choice.

Nickster 7

I sure as hell won't do this install myself. A local exhaust shop quoted me $70 per hour for 5-6 hours worth of work, so $350-$420 for a header install on an LT1.

Does that sound reasonable?

BTC

If you have the necessary tools, or can acquire them, a place to do it and the time, you should do it yourself. You'll save some money and learn about your car in the process.

Opinions vary on gaskets and bolts. I used Percy's Dead Soft aluminum gaskets. I believe a lot of people recommend a certain Fel-Pro gasket, perhaps the 1406.

I used a stainless steel Breslin split lock header bolt, which I now believe are manufactured by Percy. They were a pain to find because the company went under after the death of the owner. I'm not sure I would go to that much trouble again, but at the time it was the bolt that I wanted

Most people will probably recommend a 1" ARP bolt with a 5/16" head, and it may be these http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ar...1209/overview/.

Nickster 7

A place to do it is my concern, and I really don't have time to do it myself either. I need to spend my time focusing on school, and if I have a project in the garage, I'll fall behind in classes.

I have heard opinions on gaskets before, but rather than spend more money, I'll probably use the supplied ones. Bolts I might purchase.

CamaroWhoopAss

iTrader: (1)

The labor RATE is reasonable, but I don't think it should take 5-6 hours. Now I haven't intsalled LT's yet and I know they are more of a pain in the ***, but I have had to remove and put back on my stock manifolds before and it only took about 2-1/2 hours combined time, with only hand tools and one jack. The biggest pain in the *** is the rusty manifold bolts and the emissions crap, but I even managed to get mine off without a torch, just pb blaster. I'd say 3-4 hours max, get a second opinion/quote.