lay off the caffeine man

but in all seriousness... the coating on the BBK's is indeed very good... I'd put money on it that it would las longer than a year or two... mines been on there close to a year and don't show any signs of the coating flaking... they look just like the day I bought them...

I've got the "chrome" ones without the coating on my stang... they work, but are ugly after a few weeks of driving... the coated ones are the way to go IMO...

they have a good Y-merge and ball flanges on the y-pipe which are less prone to leaks...

 

Everyone loves the looks of stainless when they're new. Ever seen them after a few months/years? They're ugly as sin, IMO! That purple/brown/blue dark color is not attractive in my eyes! So don't feel like you're getting these awesome looking headers that stay that way forever for the extra money....they don't always look so pretty!

 

Yea, I don't like how the stainless looks after a while either. And where are you guys getting that mild steel headers are only gonna last a couple of years, you've got to be joking. So the guys with stock uncoated/non stainless pipes have to buy all new exhaust every 2 years because they're rusted through....give me a break. It would take YEARS for those things to rust through. My stock exhaust system is over 10 years old and it isn't rusted through.

Just get the coated Pacesetters, they'll last you long enough. You'll probably sell your car or want a different setup by the time those rust through...if ever.

 

Could be do to the difference in weather conditions. Come drive your car out this way for a winter and see what happens to them. Under ideal/ better weather they will/should last longer.

 

I would buy the Pacesetter Armor Coated if I didn't have or want to spend a lot of money right now. I've installed a few sets and they look as good as mine mostly (depending on weather conditions driven in) and perform good from what I have seen. I have the Finiish Line Performance (FLP) and have had good luck out of them for the past 5 or 6 years but I paid $1.200.00 or $1,300.00 for the kit (Headers, Y pipe, and Converters, and Off Road Pieces to do away with Converters). The stainless KOOKS is what I would buy now and have them coated maybe but for 5 to 6 year mine are Jet Hot Coated and they have a little rust on them and I think all of them will rust if you drive it in any weather.

 

RIGHT ON MATT!! thats what ive been saying all along.. look at the used parts section, there are some stainless headers that look like ****.. ive had my pacesetters for almost 2 years now with just slight rusting around the collector which i expected..

 

I was reading through this thread hoping somebody would say this. Factory exhausts are not stainless steel and I don't see them rusting through in "2 years". My stock exhaust from 1999 didn't look like it was being rusted through when I removed it during the summer. This is coming from somebody in NYC where a million pounds of salt are dropped if theres 1cm of snow on the ground. The exhausts seem to last just fine here. I'm gonna most likely go with pacesetters with tsp true duals when I do my exhaust in the summer. I'll just wait the "2 years" and buy new ones when it rusts out. Surface rust does not equal NEED NEW EXHAUST NOW! The rust actually has to eat away through the whole pipe which will take a damn long time..

 

I think when they are talking about rusting they are talking about surface rust not actually rusting through. I could be wrong though but thats what I thought of when they were talking about it. Headers aren't going to rust through in two years, coated or not.

 

Exactly, when I had my coated SLP and Hooker's they both pitted and had small rusty (surface) areas on them. Personally the change in color on my Kook's is more tolerable. But to each their own.
TO THE ORP....I think your idea of buying black painted headers and repainting them is sound and obviously cost effective for you. Go with that for now and of you decide to change later ( more money to spend) down the road....you know their are quite a lot of options for you to look at. Good luck with your choice...I'm sure it will work out for you.

 

Did you drive your's at all in the winter? I'm thinking of getting coated Hooker's and not driving in the winter... I know there might get some little surfuce rust but they don't be bad right?

Also to the guy who started the thread... do you drive your's in the winter? If so they will eventually get surface rust so you're pry better going the route you're thinking and then when you get some money down the road you can get some stainless ones.

 

Unless you guys have experienced the salt and rust you dont know what he's up against. Even Stainless ones would rot in New England..LOL j/k

I would price around to see what it cost local to get them sandblasted. Then look for someone to coat them for you or get the VHT primer and paint and do it yourself.
Price it all out because in a few years after driving in the winter with the salt on the road they will need to be redone.

Interesting views on stainless headers, mine always looked good as long as the tune was good. Turned a nice golden hugh after a while. Keeping the oil out of the chambers helped a tremendous amount to their appearance.

 

Yes, the first 3 years I had to and they did pit and get rust spots from all the snow/salt etc. The spots were noticeable but did not hurt the functionality of them.

 

I agree, unless you have experienced the rigors of a true winter...you have no clue.
My Kook's headers are a light golden color with just a hint of purple after 2 years.

 

Do people really care that much on how their exhaust looks???!? =/ I'll never understand that.

 

Only when you open the hood especially if they show it!

 

Even if the hood is open, the headers don't exactly jump out at you or something that people tend to notice(unless LT are different? I don't have any personal experience with them.... yet). But, each to their own

 

Actually yes a nice looking set of LT's does stand out under the hood. Its personal taste. Some guys like it nice and clean under there. I polish mine with some Mothers before I put them on.

 

yeah i do take the car out in the winter, and i can get them sandblasted for free because my cousins in machine shop, i'd just buy that 1500degree header paint of jegs sounds like my most reasonable choice thanks for your opinions

 

Yep, make sure your use the primer though as well it really does help with adhesion.

 

it really doesn't just bake off from heat cycling?

i'm painting mine with VHT paint. it's rated at like 1300-2000 degrees, but i don't think it'll last more than a few months.