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So I am getting serious about getting some long tubes for my 02 Z28. I feel like I'm going with long tubes and a catted y (because I don't want to wear gas edition cologne). I need recommendations on different options. I also would love it if someone could give me an estimate of how much sound I will gain... because the stock exhaust is very underwhelming.
I went American Racing LT's/ORY and dont regret that move a single bit! Especially after farting around with 3 sets of TSP's that would NOT fit my car. Ground clearance/fitment on my lowered car is fantastic and nothing rubs ANYWHERE! Yes it was a painful purchase but, my car was torn apart swapping out headers for the better part of 3 months and it should not have taken that long! HP is kinda hard to gauge and I didnt dyno mine. 30-40hp tuned possibly but, every car is different. Every tuner is different. Every dyno is different!!! I highly suggest you swap out to Prothane engine mounts while you have the exhaust out. Makes the job so much easier and you will be glad you got the worn stock rubber mounts out of there.
Last edited by 99Silver6.0; Dec 15, 2023 at 07:36 AM.
I also put KOOKS on my car (ceramic coated) - with y pipe and cats. I have an SLP loudmouth 2 (bullet thru-style) "muffler" (had that for a long time). And everyone says how good this sounds. Its louder than the stock manifolds for sure. It has a nice idle sound without being too aggressive or obnoxious, but once you get over about 3000 rpm it really sounds goooood and healthy. Up at 5k its glorious. I'm not sure how much HP gains, might depend on your specific tune. Fitment was spot on, I did the install myself, everything fit with no leaks.
I went American Racing with Catted Y, they fit great and performed great with none of the gas smell, They usually do a special right around the first of the year, may even have a Christmas special of some sort, call and talk to them & just see what they are willing to do, they are great to deal with.
I went with Kooks 1 7/8 combined with their True Dual exhaust system on my 4th gen 10yrs ago and it was money well spent. Absolutely no raspy/cackle sound around 2500rpm that is common with a lot of Y pipe exhaust setups on these cars.
I went with Speed engineering on my 2000 GMC Yukon SLT last year and they fit pretty good considering it's a 4wd. I had to clearance them in 2 spots but for the price, I would buy them again.
Moral of the story. If you don't want to deal with potential fitment issues, buy ARH or Kooks. If you don't mind dealing with potential minor fitment issues, then save money and grab the SE or TSP headers.
I agree with the above posts. ARH, Kooks etc.
Quality name brands always. Can never go wrong
Me personally, I bought Pacesetter Long Tubes about 10 years ago. Ceramic coated
A little cheaper than the American racing due to my budget at the time but IMO the fitment is great(easy install) and the quality is on par as well. Granted my car is inside 98% of the time they still basically look the same. Only good things to review about them.
The sound you’ll get is definitely a game changer compared to stock!
You’ll pick up a good amount of power as well. I documented everything when I was racing a long time ago and I think I picked up 4 tenths and 3-4mph at the track. I have a thread I started from way back.
And yes if you don’t have a cat, you will wreak of gas lol. I personally prefer no cats but that’s just me
Once upon a time I had a stock car with no cats and it was smelly. I added high flow cats and no more smell.
There will be a bit of exhaust smell any time the cats are deleted, but it shouldn't be excessive unless you have a cam with some overlap, or some reason why the engine isn't running well (e.g. misfire or poor A/F settings). But I guess "excessive" (or reeking) smell is subjective and probably more noticeable to the younger folks and/or those who have not spent a lifetime around pre-emissions or non-catted vehicles.
Personally, I'm a Gasophile so I find the smell comforting and pleasant.
There will be a bit of exhaust smell any time the cats are deleted, but it shouldn't be excessive unless you have a cam with some overlap, or some reason why the engine isn't running well (e.g. misfire or poor A/F settings). But I guess "excessive" (or reeking) smell is subjective and probably more noticeable to the younger folks and/or those who have not spent a lifetime around non-emissions or non-catted vehicles.
Personally, I'm a Gasophile so I find the smell comforting and pleasant.
Thanks for all the replies everyone! I have decided to save some money and wait a bit to get some headers because there is a huge car show coming up near me and I might go there this summer to see some 4th gens in person and get a feel for different setups in person. Many of you have mentioned the gas smell. I personally love the gas smell, especially from like a big block 69 Camaro with a cam, but the problem is that I don't want to be obnoxious to anyone I would be around. I guess my takeaway is that its really a personal preference on different headers and that anything is better than stock haha.
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Best headers? 
