Edelbrock shorty headers review
07-17-2009, 05:28 PM
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Edelbrock shorty headers review This past summer I decided that I wanted to upgrade the performance on my 2000 camaro ls1. I saw edelbrock shorty headers in GMHT mag and thought that might be a good idea until I saw a price I could not afford in the neighborhood of 450 dollars new. So I proceeded to search on ebay and found a set with according to the seller "a handful of starts" I bought them for the reasonable price of 140 dollars including shipping. Got them to my house and really liked the ceramic coating nice workmanship. So considering I am a little gunshy working on aluminum blocks and heads I checked around town to see how much it would cost to install them. I got quotes of 500 dollars. 
Even after telling them they were direct bolt on and no modificatiion would be needed.
I decided to do it myself and in so doing was nervous about all of the things that could go wrong. But the CATS on my car were replaced about a thousand miles ago and I figured I would not have such a hard time with the bolts. Getting plenty of advice and encouragement from LS1tech members I soaked the bolts for two days in penetrating oil and with a little muscle boom all the bolts came off without a hitch. I must say the hardest part was squeezing in the passenger side to undo the manifold bolts. They were tough from the beginning to the getting them out the resistance was always there and I ended up with numerous scratches and two bruised fingers from pulling up the ratchet so much.
Installing the headers was pretty easy, I was most nervous about the torque specs 11 and 18. I decided to go 11 starting from the inside and working my way out and 17. I did not have a very good torque wrench so I figured I would rather go lighter and tighten later then over tighten and strip. Bolting on the cats was a little bit of a challenge they give you bolts and nuts instead of studs to use a little odd but doable. the cats being bolts up left a little slack between the rear pipe and the connection to the cat. About 1/4 inch, so i put the bracket on, thinking that there was no way it was going to take up that much slack, it did.
After getting everything bolted up, I finally started my car and my nightmare started happening, exhaust could be seen rising up from the cats, the engine was stumbling and the service engine light was blinking, Oh SH--. Once again turning to my colleagues on LS1 tech they help me go through a check list in my mind and sure enough after calming down and tightening up the cats a little more the exhaust stopped leaking, I found out the ses light was a poorly put on spark plug wire......
Was it worth it, in my opinion yes if you can get a good deal on them, I noticed a difference. I have no dyno's to show you, no track times to post but I can tell you that going at a 10 mile roll and stomping on it, the tires broke loose which I was not able to do before, and that was with a passenger too. I hope this helps those people not sure if they want to get the shorty headers or not.
Thank you for everybody who help me, especially burnout346 who came to my aid right away this last day....
Zach Arnold
Even after telling them they were direct bolt on and no modificatiion would be needed. I decided to do it myself and in so doing was nervous about all of the things that could go wrong. But the CATS on my car were replaced about a thousand miles ago and I figured I would not have such a hard time with the bolts. Getting plenty of advice and encouragement from LS1tech members I soaked the bolts for two days in penetrating oil and with a little muscle boom all the bolts came off without a hitch. I must say the hardest part was squeezing in the passenger side to undo the manifold bolts. They were tough from the beginning to the getting them out the resistance was always there and I ended up with numerous scratches and two bruised fingers from pulling up the ratchet so much.
Installing the headers was pretty easy, I was most nervous about the torque specs 11 and 18. I decided to go 11 starting from the inside and working my way out and 17. I did not have a very good torque wrench so I figured I would rather go lighter and tighten later then over tighten and strip. Bolting on the cats was a little bit of a challenge they give you bolts and nuts instead of studs to use a little odd but doable. the cats being bolts up left a little slack between the rear pipe and the connection to the cat. About 1/4 inch, so i put the bracket on, thinking that there was no way it was going to take up that much slack, it did.
After getting everything bolted up, I finally started my car and my nightmare started happening, exhaust could be seen rising up from the cats, the engine was stumbling and the service engine light was blinking, Oh SH--. Once again turning to my colleagues on LS1 tech they help me go through a check list in my mind and sure enough after calming down and tightening up the cats a little more the exhaust stopped leaking, I found out the ses light was a poorly put on spark plug wire......
Was it worth it, in my opinion yes if you can get a good deal on them, I noticed a difference. I have no dyno's to show you, no track times to post but I can tell you that going at a 10 mile roll and stomping on it, the tires broke loose which I was not able to do before, and that was with a passenger too. I hope this helps those people not sure if they want to get the shorty headers or not.
Thank you for everybody who help me, especially burnout346 who came to my aid right away this last day....
Zach Arnold
just pm me if you need any more help. Enjoy your headers! 
07-18-2009, 09:23 AM
#4
Zach
Most people will flame you at the thought of using Shorty and not going with Long Tube header.. I am not one of those.. There is some power to be gained but, yes, not as must as a LT setup.. If it is enough for you and your happy with it.. Good going !
I really would like to see some dyno's of stock, shorty and then Long Tube's, no other mod except maybe tuning as needed.
Enjoy what you got and what you did, from the sound of it, you have accomplished something they you were afraid of handling and now have it under your belt as a job well done !
Most people will flame you at the thought of using Shorty and not going with Long Tube header.. I am not one of those.. There is some power to be gained but, yes, not as must as a LT setup.. If it is enough for you and your happy with it.. Good going !
I really would like to see some dyno's of stock, shorty and then Long Tube's, no other mod except maybe tuning as needed.
Enjoy what you got and what you did, from the sound of it, you have accomplished something they you were afraid of handling and now have it under your belt as a job well done !
07-18-2009, 11:26 AM
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You know I am not sure if it would be worth it, I do have a weiand intake that is going to be ported and after I install that I will probably send my computer away for a mail tune.
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07-18-2009, 07:35 PM
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a stock car gains alot from a tune let alone a header and intake car.....weve ran shorty headers on mustangs around here for years.....
when i wasnt tuning my own car i had WAIT4ME do my mail order stuff...they always worked great....
when i wasnt tuning my own car i had WAIT4ME do my mail order stuff...they always worked great....
07-19-2009, 02:47 PM
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You would waste money on a mail order. You need a tuner (HPtuner/EFI Live) or a dyno tune to get any gains. These would log your air fuel ratio and allow for a better tune. A dyno tune runs around $500. A tuner runs $400+ new.
