Impression of Flowtech headers within
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From: Bridgewater,Ma
Impression of Flowtech headers within Installed a set of Flowtech's on a customers car and here is what I thought.
Packaged good with all hardware.The flanges are weak and bend easy.Pass side fit good.Driver side sucked to get in,jacked the motor up to fit.Once in they were wedged on the K-member and the collector was wedged on the floor pan.Very bad fit.After some seriour wedging/prying,we got the clearance needed.
So the customer brought us some cheap headers but had to pay extra labor charge to make them work.The headers look like knockoffs of Pacesetters but added a 3 bolt flange.
All in all I would never buy these headers.They justify the phrase of "you get what you pay for"
Packaged good with all hardware.The flanges are weak and bend easy.Pass side fit good.Driver side sucked to get in,jacked the motor up to fit.Once in they were wedged on the K-member and the collector was wedged on the floor pan.Very bad fit.After some seriour wedging/prying,we got the clearance needed.
So the customer brought us some cheap headers but had to pay extra labor charge to make them work.The headers look like knockoffs of Pacesetters but added a 3 bolt flange.
All in all I would never buy these headers.They justify the phrase of "you get what you pay for"
It trips me out how some people can have unbelievable pain in the *** problems with headers and then others have a smooth 3 hr breeze install w/ the same headers. I'm strarting to hear bad things about the flowtechs.
I bought a set of Flowtech's a long time ago and was dissapointed to say the least! No performance gain at all, and the worst construction I have ever seen. I will never buy a Holley product ever again due to my experience. What a world of difference when I bought/installed my Thorley headers.......perfect.....with great performance results!
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LS1Tech Sponsor
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Joined: Nov 2001
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From: Bridgewater,Ma
Originally Posted by 98Z28M6
It trips me out how some people can have unbelievable pain in the *** problems with headers and then others have a smooth 3 hr breeze install w/ the same headers. I'm strarting to hear bad things about the flowtechs.
It's pretty normal to get different quality on each set of headers when they are cheaply made/sold.I've installed a ton of headers and the Flowtech/Pacesetter are never the same.The best fitting header's i've done are Kooks,FLP's and even most Hooker's. I just hope people relieze that you get what you pay for.
Gotta figure why would Holley make a copy of the Hooker LT while reducing the price considerably. They didn't, they offered a lower quality header that looks like a blind man welded.
That is why the Stainless Steel looks so appealing now. By the time you buy a decent mild steel header, have it coated, have a Y-Pipe contructed with cats and quality hardware (not the cheap crap they send with the header), you are almost at stainless level with top notch quality. For example:
JetHot Coated Hooker LT's $580 shipped
(2) Carsound Cats $140 shipped
(2) GM Exhaust Gaskets $25 shipped
(1) Flowmaster Scavenger Collector $45 shipped
Custom Y-Pipe $150
(4) SS Band Clamps $50 shipped
~$1,000 it what it costed me for mild steel.
That is why the Stainless Steel looks so appealing now. By the time you buy a decent mild steel header, have it coated, have a Y-Pipe contructed with cats and quality hardware (not the cheap crap they send with the header), you are almost at stainless level with top notch quality. For example:
JetHot Coated Hooker LT's $580 shipped
(2) Carsound Cats $140 shipped
(2) GM Exhaust Gaskets $25 shipped
(1) Flowmaster Scavenger Collector $45 shipped
Custom Y-Pipe $150
(4) SS Band Clamps $50 shipped
~$1,000 it what it costed me for mild steel.
Last edited by Blacker; May 7, 2004 at 04:06 PM.
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Staging Lane
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 68
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From: pittsburgh
headers are all personal preference..sure you can spend a $1000 on good headers if you have harsh weather and need stainless..like myself i don't need stainless cause my car only comes out in the summer..so it's a lot cheaper for me..and as for the crappy welds, ohh well nobody sees then anyway..and from what i have seen all headers are hit or miss on the install..some go right in , some take forever..even the 1300 dollar headers..for that price they better fit something!! and all long tubes are about the same h.p. anyway..so to each there own i guess...
That is what I thought. My car is a garage kept car that does not see winter at all. The coating still rusted and the weld broke, on the Air Tube, because the weld is bad to begin with. Bottom line, you get what you pay for. I am having to revisit the header purchase again because mild steel headers suck and the coating still allows them to rust. If you get 304 stainless, they will not rust and have a much better warranty, if needed. One thing I don't understand is why people will buy a mild steel header and plan to purchase a stainless steel version later on. Why buy the mild steel's then? Do the job right the first time and spend less money too.
