I'm thinkin of changin the manifolds off the car and puting on either pacesetter headers with y-pipe or mac headers with the offroad y-pipe. Whats the difference though with mac's offroad y-pipe and the one with high-flow cats?

 

off road Y means it has no cats. go LT's all the way.

 

The Pacesetters are cheap, but won't make any more power than a modded set of Macs, MAYBE 5 ft lbs in the midrange. I have seen/installed a set of Pacesetters and I personally think they're junk. I'd take my old Mac's over them anyday.....JMO of course

Josh

 

If you are doing the work yourself, do not buy the MACS. They are a major pain in the *** to install. Everything I have read says the Pacesetters are pretty easy to install. The Pacesetters may not be the quality of a $1200 set of FLPs or TTS; but they are not junk either. And they are 1/3 the price.

 

What makes the "MACS" such "a major pain in the *** to install"?

 

What are your future mod plans? If you plan to get at least a cam in the future, I would go with LT's. If you plan to stay as a bolt on car, the Macs will be plenty sufficient.

 

I'd like to get either a ls6 cam or hotcam in the near future, depending on which won't void the warranty. I have concerns with the pacesetters, sounds too good to be true, and since its relatively new who knows how long they are goin to last. But so far they seem worth it. Anybody know what makes the macs such a pain to install? I've read the pacesetters have also been a pita to install on some cars.

 

bottom line is LT's will almost always make more power and for the price pacesetters really cant be beat...they look great and will perform with the best headers out there...their ypipe sucks i will say that. I've heard the ypipe fitment isnt great & you may have to do some notching of the kmember but other than that ive heard nothing but good things about pacesetters...then again ive heard nothing but good about macs too though i had some of their coated headers on my mustang and they rusted in about 8 months so take that for what its worth...pacesetters have a completely different high temp coating then the older macs that i had but they are still unproven really. I had problems getting the correct ones for my 98 too pacesetter sent me the wrong stuff twice...just stuff to chew on while you make your decision.

lata
Bill

 

Go with the Pacesetters. They are not junk. They look great, fit great, and perform great. JUST DONT BUY THE ******* Y PIPE! I wish to God I hadn't. You should be able to have one made for about the same amount of money.

 

Will the Mufflex Y work with the Pacesetter headers?

 

I have the Pacesetter y-pipe. To an extent it could be made better but I think your over reacting. If you have the tools, want to save money and understand that saving money means you dont get the best product in the market; then the Pacesetter y-pipe could be used.

Bob, the Mufflex y-pipe can be used. If I am correct I purchased my setup from Trevor @ Texas Speed. An employee of that store gave me the 'ok' with the mufflex. I asked because at the time I was thinking of slip on/off cats @ the time.

 

I used a G2 y-pipe that I had on with shorties. Just some cutting and 2 connections and there u have it.

 

Does any one have a good write up for installing a set of pacesetters. I've never really worked on cars but I am good with my hands. I just need directions on how to do something and I can do it. Does anyone know of a good one or can someone make a good write up for me. I want to order them soon and install them Martin Luther King day weekend. TIA.

 

Andy pacesetters are JUNK, at least the one's I installed. Hey how does your car run anyway?

Macs hard to install? With the stock manifolds removed, it took me 15 minutes to slide both Macs in from the bottom....4 yrs ago. I have installed several sets since, and every set has been the same. Must be the weather or something

The only longtubes worth the money from what I have seen are Grotts, FLP's, or Kooks. Hookers, Pacesetter, and shorties are cheap and they're cheap for a reason....

Josh

 

I can vouch for that, the Macs are no harder, and usually easier than any long tube.

Tom

 

Do you mean junk in terms of quality or performance? I'm leaning towards the macs now but not sure if i can get them smog legal for the relatively same amount as the pacesetters and not void out the warranty. Have you had any problems taking in any cars to the dealership and them give you crap about the macs? Im looking at these but am not sure on how the sound will be with a stock exhaust and if it will pass emissions or not.


http://www.macperformance.com/store/...Product_ID=500

 

"The only longtubes worth the money from what I have seen are Grotts, FLP's, or Kooks. Hookers, Pacesetter, and shorties are cheap and they're cheap for a reason...."

Sounds like someone's a little bitter there Josh . Ken's star mechanic said that out of the 50 or so sets of headers he has installed, these were the easiest by far. Besides the piece of **** y pipe, the Pacesetters are sweet. You WILL not beat them for the money. And if you are trying to tell me that a set of QTPs or Kooks are proportionatly better for the increased cost, you are out of your ******* mind. Tom, I don't know how you can say the macs will go in easier than a header that basically falls into place. Who the hell wants to put midlength headers on a car when you can get longtubes for less money and trouble, and yet more power and sound? There isn't a damn thing wrong with paying $1200 for a set of headers/y pipe for that extra 5-6 hp. It just isn't worth it to me. Its ridiculous to say that their junk when the only problems come from poor y pipe design. The headers are exactly as advertised and a good bargain at that. They provide great aesthetic, performance, and sound gains. Goddam that why pipe! Did I mention I hate that Ypipe? Oh well that pipe is history tomorrow anyway.

Having said that, John, Smog legal will depend on your states requirements. Here in GA, on OBDII vehicles (95 and later) there is no actual exhaust test. They simply tap into the diagnostic port and check for readiness(trouble codes) from the car's computer. If the computer says everything is cool, then you pass. The only snag is there could be a visual inspection. Highly unlikely, and it would put the inspector in a prime position for you to stomp on his head. Check it out in IL to be sure. If you have a GM warranty, the only part of your warranty you will void is for the specific exhaust pieces that you replace with aftermarket parts. Besides that, as far as their concerned, aftermarket is aftermarket. You don't get any breaks for using midlengths instead of full longtubes. Talk to your service manager about it and see what he says. They're usually pretty nice, and if they're not, you need to find a new damn dealership to do business with.

Bad Andy

 

listen to me since i have experience with both headers..The macs are good headers..they make power, install was easy (both from top)..when i got a cam i knew they were the restriction on my dyno results. I got pacesetters and their ORY..MAJOR difference..more power everywhere.

macs - good headers
pacesetters-great headers

 

I have Macs, and they were not very hard to install. The passenger side was a little tricky because I could not drop them in from the top for some reason. So I needed to remove the starter and grind a little nub piece of the block to get them in from the bottom (anyone who has installed macs from the bottom know EXACTLY what nub I am referring to!)

Anyway, the fit is great once installed. No banging, rubbing, scraping, etc...

I would have went for LTs but at the time pacesetters were not available, and I could not justify spending ~$1000 for LTs and a y-pipe. My Macs cost me $399 with the y-pipe.

Tommy

 

I have MACs and find them great. 11.1@124mph through a three inch catback with single cutout with the MAC's, ORY and 360ci.

I also saw a superstroker dyno over 500RWHP through bone stock MACs and ORY. You might see a bump in low rpm torque of about 3-6RWTQ with longtubes. Peak HP is normally within 2-4RWHP. Not worth the price differential for your typical longtubes IMO. Pacesetters look pretty good but I haven't had a set in my hands yet to really look at them.