Questions on installing headers myself
02-21-2009, 10:43 PM
#1
Staging Lane
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Questions on installing headers myself I was wondering how difficult would it be to install headers on my 2000 Z28.
How much i would have to lift it?
Also would i have to weld it together?
Which type of headers should I get?
Long tube, shorty?
What brand and size?
And lastly how would i go about installing them?
Thank You
How much i would have to lift it?
Also would i have to weld it together?
Which type of headers should I get?
Long tube, shorty?
What brand and size?
And lastly how would i go about installing them?
Thank You
02-21-2009, 11:57 PM
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I was wondering how difficult would it be to install headers on my 2000 Z28.
How much i would have to lift it?
Get some jack stands and a few 4x4's and you should be fine
Also would i have to weld it together?
You shouldn't make sure you buy some band clamps from summit racing or a local shop
Which type of headers should I get?
Long tube, shorty?
Long
What brand and size?
Pacesetters are cheap otherwise if you want something to last forever look into stainless steel
And lastly how would i go about installing them?
Buy a 10 mm ratcheting wrench, its pretty straight forward
Thank You
How much i would have to lift it?
Get some jack stands and a few 4x4's and you should be fine
Also would i have to weld it together?
You shouldn't make sure you buy some band clamps from summit racing or a local shop
Which type of headers should I get?
Long tube, shorty?
Long
What brand and size?
Pacesetters are cheap otherwise if you want something to last forever look into stainless steel
And lastly how would i go about installing them?
Buy a 10 mm ratcheting wrench, its pretty straight forward
Thank You
02-22-2009, 12:19 AM
#5
Question one, "how difficult?", that's really a more personal point of view, but I'll try to answer your other questions and let you decide.
Number two, "how high?" There is currently 98 Z28 in my shop that we have on 4-6Ton Jackstands. There is about 24in of space between the tranny pan and the floor and that allowed us to slip the headers in from the bottom with plenty of room.
"Welding?" Optional. If you want to be able to disassemble your exhaust, I would say use band clamps to seal the joints in the tubes. If you are looking for a more permanent situation, sure have everything welded.
"LT's or shorty's?" We're installing Jet Hot Long Tubes w/emissions in this particular vehicle with an Off Road Y-Pipe also from Jet Hot. But you may need to consider where you live when you make this decision. Do you have a vehicle inspection for emissions in your area? We do not here in Iowa, so pretty much anything goes. According to other threads on this site, Long Tube headers are NEVER emissions legal, but they allow better flow and that computes to horsepower. So that's definitely something to look at.
"Brand and size?" On a stock LS1 the most popular size for a Long Tube is 1 3/4in Primarys merging into a 3in Collector. Any more is just over kill. Shorty's I don't know much about. You'll have to do some research on those. Brand is a neverending topic of debate here. Do a search and learn. Decide what best suits your budget, power needs, quality, and likes and dislikes. And you'll also need a Y-Pipe to attatch your new headers to your catback exhaust. (Unless your going with a True Duals setup, but thats another story alltogether.) Alot of guys go with a catless Off Road Y-pipe or ORY. Others like to remain a little more eco friendly and go with a catted Y-Pipe. Again another decision you'll have to make.
"How to?" Again, do a search. There are hundreds of Header Install Threads on this site alone and many more on the web. What we did is raise the vehicle high enough to get the old exhaust out and then test to see if the header would fit. If not, we would raise the vehicle until it did. Just be sure to use heavy duty jackstands and hd jack as well. And BE ******* CAREFUL! Take your time raising and lowering the vehicle and be sure the vehicle is stable before crawling under and turning wrenches. The scary, but effective, "Shake" test is the method we applied here. Get the car on the stands and give it a good shake. If it doesn't move in anyway that you see unsafe, like fall off the stands, you're good to go.
Hope this helps. No matter what you decide, good luck with your project.
Number two, "how high?" There is currently 98 Z28 in my shop that we have on 4-6Ton Jackstands. There is about 24in of space between the tranny pan and the floor and that allowed us to slip the headers in from the bottom with plenty of room.
"Welding?" Optional. If you want to be able to disassemble your exhaust, I would say use band clamps to seal the joints in the tubes. If you are looking for a more permanent situation, sure have everything welded.
"LT's or shorty's?" We're installing Jet Hot Long Tubes w/emissions in this particular vehicle with an Off Road Y-Pipe also from Jet Hot. But you may need to consider where you live when you make this decision. Do you have a vehicle inspection for emissions in your area? We do not here in Iowa, so pretty much anything goes. According to other threads on this site, Long Tube headers are NEVER emissions legal, but they allow better flow and that computes to horsepower. So that's definitely something to look at.
"Brand and size?" On a stock LS1 the most popular size for a Long Tube is 1 3/4in Primarys merging into a 3in Collector. Any more is just over kill. Shorty's I don't know much about. You'll have to do some research on those. Brand is a neverending topic of debate here. Do a search and learn. Decide what best suits your budget, power needs, quality, and likes and dislikes. And you'll also need a Y-Pipe to attatch your new headers to your catback exhaust. (Unless your going with a True Duals setup, but thats another story alltogether.) Alot of guys go with a catless Off Road Y-pipe or ORY. Others like to remain a little more eco friendly and go with a catted Y-Pipe. Again another decision you'll have to make.
"How to?" Again, do a search. There are hundreds of Header Install Threads on this site alone and many more on the web. What we did is raise the vehicle high enough to get the old exhaust out and then test to see if the header would fit. If not, we would raise the vehicle until it did. Just be sure to use heavy duty jackstands and hd jack as well. And BE ******* CAREFUL! Take your time raising and lowering the vehicle and be sure the vehicle is stable before crawling under and turning wrenches. The scary, but effective, "Shake" test is the method we applied here. Get the car on the stands and give it a good shake. If it doesn't move in anyway that you see unsafe, like fall off the stands, you're good to go.
Hope this helps. No matter what you decide, good luck with your project.
