Looking for advice on headers. Whatcha guys got?

 

not sure about Calif. legal (probably not?) but Kooks and LGM are currently two most popular long tube header...
unfortunately in Calif. you may have to consider "shorties" which will add some power but not as much as long tubes...good luck.
i know what is popular in Calif. is to just SC the car and not worry about exhaust or cams etc...fully legal and adds about 100rwhp....

 

Re the mufflers, the Corsa titanium is probably the least restrictive, but also the loudest. The Z06 Ti mufflers are much more quiet, but still give a nice muscle car tone, especially w/ LT's & an aftermarket Y-pipe.

I have the Random Technology X-pipe, w/ metal matrix cats, the Z06 TI mufflers, and LT headers (see my other thread on this subject). They sound great at idle (very smooth Ferrari-like tone), but get aggressive at WOT. No Check Engine lights or error codes.

Don't know what LT headers are CARB-approved for use in CA.

 

I went with the Dynatech SuperMaxx LT headers which have a very good build quality and are reasonably priced at about $1500 for the whole system which includes X-pipe and high flow cats. You can buy the headers seperately for about $975. I believe this system is more about power under the curve rather than peak HP.
As for cat backs I went with the GHL bullets which are well known for having very little reasonance issues. They're quiet while tooling around at the low revs, and sound mean at WOT. They also have a very nice build quality and the whole system comes polished.

 

Pick up a D1SC from A&A and be done with it. For headers go with the Dynatechs or Kooks ( whichever one is on sale at the time ) .. Both companies make good LT headers. FWIW, you can pick up a nice set of headers with x-pipe and hi-flow cats for around $1,300.

Mark

 

I am a fan of the FLP Header package, comes with everything Long tubes,high flow cats, off road pipes, and the x-pipe all jet-hot coated and the fit and finish is tops on the market(from the 3 forums I frequent).

as for the mufflers, anything is better than stock on a C5 and most of the systems will give you the same gains and I say that with first hand knowledge from going to allot of dyno gatherings not to mention I spend more time at the track than the average Vette owner..

I still have the stock ti's on my Z06 with the FLP long tube header system and still dynoed higher than a friends car with the exact same mods except for he has a Borla stinger muffler system(oh and both cars were dyno tuned with LS1 edit by the same guy on the same day) so don't beat yourself up over the mufflers but do your home work on the headers, they cost to much to do twice!

 

I have the zo6 ti exhaust and recently put on FLP headers + no cats + x pipe. Under normal driving and highway, there is hardly any noticable noise increase. It almost sounds stock. When on it, it can get loud in an exotic way. So far no check engine lights, but a friend of mine has done some tuning with HP Tuner. We left the rear O2s in there.

As far as catbacks go, I hear there isnt much HP improvement going from one to the other. The Z06 ti mufflers have the advantage of being fairly cheap and they are very light weight - 13lbs each compared to 22lbs stock mufflers.

I will be going to the track hopefully to break 12s in a few weeks.

 

For a stock or near stock 346 the LGMs are the best header IMHO. But, they are not 50 state legal. In fact most headers are not. So, if you are stuck on 50 state legal your options are limited. I think there are lots of folks who get around this in Cali. and just run non 50 state headers though...

 

Our headers are now available. Check em out.

 

The one thing everyone seems to have forgotten is that I need headers that are going to pass smog.

Who can give me a LONG TUBE package that is SMOG LEGAL!?

 

Almost nothing is "smog legal" as I said. Inquire on Corvetteforum for what the folks in Cali. are doing. Most folks seem to find ways around it...

 

In California, any aftermarket parts that are not C.A.R.B. approved are technically not legal. Also, in most states, relocating the catalytic convertors is also not legal.

Having said that, the Random Technology X-pipe and metal matrix cats do not throw any codes, and with tuning, should easily pass a sniffer test. Without tuning, my car was pretty lean, which can elevate the level of some pollutants.

 

I've heard the LGMs have problems with the O2 sensors being located to far back?

 

As said above,no longtube headers are SMOG leagal.So if your worried about it you will have to keep the stock manifolds and maybe do a new X-pipe or something.
Longtube headers can have problems with the 02's being placed farther back.?Tuning can take care of that problem

 

LGMs swap higher wattage rear 02s to the front. This will cure any switching issues with the lower wattage fronts throwing codes.

 

LGM's here. No problems after LS1-edit.

 

The Fastest Vettes in Speed World Challenge GT run LGMs

 

just get a magnacharger and a corsa and be done with it

 

As mentioned above, in CA LT's may be a problem in general. That aside, I am shopping for a set that will install relatively easy, provide a good gains across the RPM band and not just the peak, I am willing to give up a few peak HP to get this gain, they must be SS and must retain all four O2 sensors. Here is what I have found:

Kooks - Hard to install, not all SS

LG's - Don't retain all four O2 sensors so figure the SIMs into the price

Dynatechs - Reported problems of hitting steering shaft and O2's hitting tunnel cover, also very heavy

Stainless Works - Meet all my requirements

QTP - Meet all my requirements

So I have it down to two, I think Unfortunately, I also have a major house project ongoing and likely won't pick up a set until this winter.

 

vettenuts: What is the advantage of keeping all 4 O2 sensors? Any tuning advantage? Isn't the SW midsection mild steel? Are they all 3 inch back to the catback?

The LG's seem to be using the best cats and produce a bit more on the low end than others, does that factor in much for you?