Mbueno

Hi, i am new to this website and also sort of new to the ls1 engine. I recently bought a 2002 Camaro Z28 and i love it to death. She is a beast! But i want to make her a little faster and sound great. I have installed an slp airlid for now but i want to put headers and a catback exhaust.

I just want to make sure if a few things are possible before i start buying all these things.

Are those ebay headers any good? They look the same as pacesetter ones and they are stainless steel, not to mention they are priced quite good.

Would it be a good idea to just stick with the stock y pipe and keep the cats? I was wondering if your are able to use the stock cats with headers and if the fitment would be good.

Finally for the catback i want to get the slp loudmouth II exhaust, which will i see any gains from that catback system if anyone has installed it?

I will get it tuned eventually after the headers by that mail in order by frost. And i want to thank you guys for guiding me in the right direction for not wasting money on mafs, those superchips and stuff. Saved me a lot of money by reading many post on here.

Thanks in advance

777Shock777

iTrader: (5)

Well I can't really answer too much for your headers questions...

But I have heard that using SLP loudmouths with headers can make them quite raspy, I know you want the Loudmouth 2s so maybe it wont be as bad.

YES you will definitely see gains in horsepower with any free-er flowing exhaust system

sams02Z28

I have an 02 Z28 with pacesetters and the Loudmouth 2,if u like noise then go for it..IMO it sounds badass on a cold start an right around 2500 3000 rpms!! I still hav the stock y pipe on but if I'd do it again I'd get the y pipe/header package,less hassle and a better flowing exhaust! If u do put cats on go with som high flows,the stock ones will jus kill power an a good bit of sound..good luck!

trdavis222

When I bought my car it already the Hooker muffler and y pipe with SLP tips. It also has the SLP lid and LT headers. Sounds great. It's a little loud, but I also have a cam and tune.

Mbueno

Okay thanks for the advice, and well yeah i think it would be good just to switch out the whole system. Probably be around $1000. And which y -pipe would you guys recommend?

z-maro

iTrader: (18)

I don't think you can (and definitely should not) use the stock y-pipe with LT headers. If you get LT or mid length headers you will have to get a ORY or catted Y-pipe that fits the headers (or get one custom made). You could get shorty headers and use the stock cats and Y, but you won't see as big of gains as with LT's. As for the cat-back, if you go with mid of long tube headers I don't think the LM2 would be the best option from what I have heard. Just listen to sound clips on youtube and LS1sounds to see what you like best.

homerz28

Stainless steel OBX ebay headers here. fit well and look good.

Mbueno

Okay i see and the sound is kinda important to me so i will look some vids up. And i will do more research on cats to see the fitments and price. I want long tubes so a catted y pipe is good for that. My budget is about a thousand, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. As for the ebay headers i will look more into those as i read in another thread they're good and you said they were good too. But thanks again, i really appreciate all this help.

Also do you guys recommened tsp catted y pipe? I read and heard that they hang really low to the ground. I wish i could get a ORY pipe but I use the car as my daily driver and need it to pass emissions. Or could i get high flow cats and use them on a ORY pipe? Probably a little cutting on the Y pipe and it would fit?

02CamZ28

iTrader: (30)

I wouldn't go with ebay headers, I have heard bad things about them and i hear they arent really durable, I have pacesetter lts, love em and they are a decent price, wouldnt stick with factory y pipe, too much restriction, tsp has a good catted y pipe. Youll just have to look around, but i wouldnt buy any off ebay, just a peace of mind thing for me,

justin hover

bbk LTs ceramic coated come with a nice merge y-pipe, I've read nothing but good reveiws and their cheaper than any other option (except e-bay)...

BOBS99SS

iTrader: (2)

this or tsp, you will need a y pipe with longtubes,i like the she is a beast comment lol,

homerz28

maybe some, but OBX are good, and won't rust as fast as pacesetters, and come with a y pipe

Mbueno

Okay so OBX is an option and so is pacesetter. And tsp y pip. Well hopefully everything goes good with this set up. And as for the catback to go with this set up which would you guys recommend? I heard a few camaros on youtube and so far borla sounds nice but it does cost a very pretty penny. I heard that the flowmasters american thunder cost some hp? Idk if thats true but that does sound nice as well. And OBX headers are the ones that are like for 200$ correct? But someone is selling headers on craigslist (i think pacesetter or hookers) for $150 so i will go and take a look at them.

And okay i just went to Texas Speed and they have a bundle that has pacesetter headers (ceramic coated) and the catted y pipe for 580... hmmm seems like a decent price if you ask me. Plus the o2 sensors and the catback i am still debating on what to get.

justin hover

Don't go with flowmaster with longtubes, it sounds like a v-8 truck imao.. I couldn't make a decision on a catback either so I went with a TDs..can't go wrong their. All catbacks have their place, all in all their gonna sound very similiar..GL their...I can tell you magnaflow is going to be somewhat quiet, while slp can be loud/raspy with LTs.

homerz28

GO STAINLESS WITH HEADERS whatever you do
in my humble opinion...

hiram007

iTrader: (19)

Going through the same thing with my brothers 2000 SS and I went through the same thing 9 years ago so here's my advice:

1. I definitely do not recommend ebay headers. The price in those headers arent enough to make you wanna try them and if they are then the deal is probably to good to be true. Get your LT's from a reputable vendor who can help you out if you problems or questions.

2. If your gonna use LT's, your gonna have to ditch your stock y pipe and the cats. Even if you can use them, why would you want to? They would kill your exhaust flow and defeat the purpose of the headers. Best thing is to get a offroad y, that will maximize your exhaust flow from the headers. YOu could get some free flowing cats but you wont maximze your hp if that is what your looking for

3. The catback is where the tricky part is. I had a Loudmouth I on my 99 WS6 with Hooker LT's and an offroad y, loved it, it was loud as hell at but it did have the rasp to it like a **** at 2.5k through 4.5k rpms but I didnt mind. Most people say it sounds like *** but I didnt think it was too bad (I ran open headers before, that **** sounds like ***). Since you have a Camaro, I would go with TSP Rumbler with dynomax bullits. It's an x pipe, hook that up to your LT's and you will have the most free flowing exhaust you will need with the best sound around and the loudest as well, dont even have to worry about the offroad y pipe. The body of the Camaro compliments this exhaust because it dumps before the axle (if you had a Trans Am, it would look stupid if you didnt have your exhaust tips come out back, the reverse I believe is true for Camaros).

Last thing I would say is to get ceramic at the very least. Painted headers are garbage no matter what brand. Ceramic or Stainless is the way to go.

homerz28

Again, OBX headers ARE GOOD to go. Trust me.

Mbueno

Okay i do think the ebay headers are good, they are stainless steel. I agree with that, same material used but different brands. And well i need cats for emissions since its my daily driver so i think x pipe is out. But i haven't done much research on those. But does the tsp catted y pipe hang low? And pacesetter would be another choice of headers as well will look more into that.

hiram007

iTrader: (19)

Pacesetters are good from what I hear and its a bargain price too for those on a budget. Never heard of any problems with those. As far as the TSP catted y hangin low, never heard of anyone's hanging low or scraping regardless of brand, at least not at stock height. If you lower the car, your gonna scrape every so often no matter what you buy. Its all in the driving. You will lose a little clearence with LT's, not too bad though. The only times I would scrape were if I didnt enter a parking lot at the right angle or took a bump too hard.

justin hover

Make sure you read the exhaust sticky.....and don't think too hard, you can't go wrong getting ceramic pacesetter lts with a catted y- pipe, tsp with a catted y, or bbks < not sure if they have a catted y-pipe. Pick one and go with it, they've all had good reveiws on fitment, quality, and budget.