30th t/a

iTrader: (51)

Just as the title says. Are the more expensive headers such as ARH, QTPs & Kooks worth it the extra money over the Hooker, Pacesetter & Jethot's?
Id like to hear your thoughts & experiences.

BIG_MIKE2005

iTrader: (116)

I know one thing, I bought some ceramic coated Pacesetters about 3-4yrs ago. I'll not be replacing them with another ceramic coated set if at all possible. I daily drive mine in all weather & the lower part of my primaries where they start to come close to the merge are rusting. The upper half you can see from the engine bay still looks good though.

My next go round I'm thinking about just spending the cash on stainless so I don't have this issue again. I have no intentions of selling the car & I'd rather not have to buy a third set of LT's in another 3-4yrs.

Now does quality of the ceramic coat come into play between brands, I do not know. But for the cost difference between stainless & ceramic coated I'd damn sure like to know. Thats why I bought ceramic in the first place, I didn't have damn near $900 to drop on just LT's alone. And honestly I'd still rather not spend that much if at all possible. The mark-up on stainless LT's is crazy outragous. There is no way these companies need to charge that much cause I know there isnt even anywhere near that in materials. They are making a killing on them priced as they are now.

RedRallyeZ

iTrader: (20)

i had some of the ebay headers when they came around about 4 years ago. At the time i paid about a third of what the big guys wanted and these were stainless. The fit definately left something to be desired. If i had to do it agian, id get the ARH or at least the QTP's. i would like to have the HVMC's the next time around. Overall im about as satisfied as i could be for 30% of the price, but im not gonna pretend ive got the best out there either.

chrs1313

iTrader: (24)

stainless all the way...I have some qtps that I will let go for 500 shipped...race version...

here is the thread with pics pm if interested...

https://ls1tech.com/forums/parts-cla...bolt-rear.html

my dad has ceramic and his car has 17k miles on it and never sees even rain and they are starting to rust...jethot coated ceramic

30th t/a

iTrader: (51)

Thanks guys.
How about power between the high dollar vs the low dollar? Is it worth it?
I see pacesetters & Hooker's going for 250-300 and the Kooks & QTPs going for 600-700. Thats a big chunk of money for a 5rwhp gain...

Element

iTrader: (5)

Ran Pacesetters for about 5 years, never had any problems with them other than rust - the ceramic coating doesn't stick around long except around the head flanges. For what I paid for them, I can't complain.

Just had a set of Kooks 1 7/8" swapped in...figured there was no reason to cheap out again on ceramics, even though the car isn't a daily now (haven't put more than 300 miles on it in the 6 months since I picked up a commuter car), and the slight bump in primary diameter (up 1/8" from the Pacesetters) and HVMC wouldn't hurt anything, although I didn't buy the Kooks with the idea of getting more power. The Kooks were surprisingly less expensive than I had thought they'd be, although a lot of that was "generous" sponsor pricing.

Stainless isn't cheap (I did metal fab design in a previous job, and the price of something like a relatively small 12ga S304 bracket was painful even for me, and I was just designing the things), but you are going to pay a bit more name premium on top of the materials costs. That's how it works regardless of what you buy, though.

FST SS

I bought ARH's and although they were expensive, I doubt I'll ever have to replace them. And I have no intension of ever selling my car.

redbird555

iTrader: (14)

^^Exactly the hp ganins with all headers are more or less the same the thing u pay for if fit and finish.

RedRocketZ28

iTrader: (19)

I can't complain about my pacesetters. Been on the car for 3 years and roughly 30k miles. Been in the rain a handful of times and never any snow. The collectors are pretty rusty and the y-pipe is garbage, but they serve their purpose. Like others, I didn't have the money to drop on name brand stainless headers. For the money they fit perfect.

SWEET98SS

iTrader: (8)

I have slip fit on my lpps , they leak. I will be getting some ARH someday

senicalj4579

iTrader: (41)

Depends on a few factors. Do you plan on having your car for a long time? Is the car a show car? Do you have the money? Are there going to be people looking under your car knitpicking how the exhaust looks? If so then yes stainless is worth it.
But...if money is an issue,you dont care about a little rust,(whats the big deal anyway?) ...then just get pacesetters like I did.
While the more expensive header companies MIGHT take more time on their product (although I seriously doubt it) The power gains DO NOT have anything to do with the material of the product. What you are paying for is the material and looks (IN MOST CASES.)
Personaly I dont believe its ever worth the money to buy stainless unless you have a showcar,or you find a good deal.
Would I like to have stainless? yes I would but not worth the money imo.
My pacsetters are just fine. Went 12.7 with just mods in sig and as far as looks go...iv had them for for over 6 months (up here in new england) and they may have a little rust but who gives a rats ***

stevez2885

iTrader: (9)

i think i paid 360 shipped for my bbk "chrome" race style headers from byunspeed and love them...its my DD and havent had any problem with them besides some slight discoloration from heat but no rusting and no coating peeling....easy install with ORY and the ORY goes right where my stock Y went so i dont have any clearance issues..only bad thing is the collectectors are ball n flange so my Y is 2 1/2" then goes to 3" where it meets the I pipe

SSmoken

iTrader: (26)

definitely go with stainless if you can. ive had my qtp's for a few years and they still look pretty new. i wouldnt want the flaked off rusted look of headers in my engine bay imo.

heartless_T/A99

iTrader: (1)

i have ARH and although they were expensive it was well worth it. It's my DD but ill never sell my car.

Joshiedoom

iTrader: (4)

I have ebay stainless, they look perfect after two years of DDing, fit like ***, good buy but Im going top shelf stainless, its worth it if you plan on keeping the car for a while.

Element

iTrader: (5)

Thing is, headers will eventually rust out, especially around the merge/collector area. How pretty the headers are doesn't make a damn of difference to me, but the life/cost ratio does, and the fact that I don't like major engine components being 5-year maintenance items.

X-ray

iTrader: (6)

No. I have the cheaper LPP stainless headers ($475 shipped, plus a $50 discount since I bought an x-pipe with it), and I trap at 110mph. I even have a dented primary. I've only ran a 13 sec flat because my 60' sucks, but since I trap at 110 mph I say my horsepower must be pretty good since the only mods I have that affect HP are an air lid plus exhaust.

senicalj4579

iTrader: (41)

Thats why I put in there "Do you plan on having the car for a long time?" and "Do you have the money?" Obviously you fall into that catagory. Good for you. I do not unfortunatly so whatever

BIG_MIKE2005

iTrader: (116)

Hows the fit & quality of those LPP Stainless LT's, for that price those are a damn good buy compared to other Stainless options on the market.

X-ray

iTrader: (6)

Quality is decent, it's not an ARH of course. They fit fine, but I installed solid motor mounts at the same time which helped fitment I'm sure.