Help a newbie look for headers
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 69
Likes: 0
From: Ohio
Help a newbie look for headers I don't know a single think when it comes to headers 
Please don't laugh at my questions, remember I'm a newbie....
1)Will headers make my car louder??
2)What is diference between long or short headers??
3)Do I need other mods to go with headers??
Please help a newbie out, I want to look for my next mod but not sure what to get
2001 SOM Trans Am
Borla Catback, K&N, Optima Red Top, Eibach, nothing to brag about
Please don't laugh at my questions, remember I'm a newbie....1)Will headers make my car louder??
2)What is diference between long or short headers??
3)Do I need other mods to go with headers??
Please help a newbie out, I want to look for my next mod but not sure what to get
2001 SOM Trans Am
Borla Catback, K&N, Optima Red Top, Eibach, nothing to brag about
12 Second Club
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 479
Likes: 0
From: Mpls, Minnesota
1&2: Most Likely they will increase the noise unless you get shorties, longtubes show the best performance and get louder, shorties show the least performance and dont make it much louder, mids are inbetween.
3: You do not NEED other mods for headers, but any mods will help performance, no other mods should be required to install headers.
3: You do not NEED other mods for headers, but any mods will help performance, no other mods should be required to install headers.
12 Second Club
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 479
Likes: 0
From: Mpls, Minnesota
My suggestion for header choices: From what I have heard Kooks and QTP show the best performance gains, but if you cannot afford them the more generic ones are also good, namely Jet Hot and Hooker, DO NOT GET SLP LONGTUBES
Im nearly in the same boat....Heres what Ive learned so far
1. Try this for sounds... Car sounds with diffrent set ups
2. You dont want short headers..not enought diffrence between them and stock to make the purchase worrth while
3. I'll let the experts....but from what Ive gathered it depends on what yuor ultiamate goal is..but then everything in life is like that..
Check this out too
Newbie Mod Guide: Induction and Exhaust
4. ORY= System has an "Off Road Y" No catalyic converter
Catted Y = System has a catalyic convertes
5. I cant spell catalyic !
1. Try this for sounds... Car sounds with diffrent set ups
2. You dont want short headers..not enought diffrence between them and stock to make the purchase worrth while
3. I'll let the experts....but from what Ive gathered it depends on what yuor ultiamate goal is..but then everything in life is like that..
Check this out too
Newbie Mod Guide: Induction and Exhaust
4. ORY= System has an "Off Road Y" No catalyic converter
Catted Y = System has a catalyic convertes
5. I cant spell catalyic !
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 69
Likes: 0
From: Ohio
Originally Posted by MachoCamacho
My suggestion for header choices: From what I have heard Kooks and QTP show the best performance gains, but if you cannot afford them the more generic ones are also good, namely Jet Hot and Hooker, DO NOT GET SLP LONGTUBES
I'm OK with making my car louder, that's a plus. The louder the better.
I am on a budget, so i don't think I can go top of the line just yet. Do you think I should do something else before headers??? Or am I on the right track to get more HP and a better 1/4.
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,938
Likes: 0
If you are on a budget, go with Pacesetter longtubes. Whatever header you decide, be sure to get them coated so they won't warp or rust. The reason it was stated earlier not to get SLP longtubes is because they are known to have the worst clearance around as far as lt's.
With lt's, you'll need to get a y pipe to go with it as the stock one will not work. I'd stay away from ORY's b/c of the drone and rasp that comes along with them. A nice pair of high flow cats on your y pipe will sound great and perform great. 3" diameter is all you'll need for a street car, and 2.5" will be fine too. Good luck.
With lt's, you'll need to get a y pipe to go with it as the stock one will not work. I'd stay away from ORY's b/c of the drone and rasp that comes along with them. A nice pair of high flow cats on your y pipe will sound great and perform great. 3" diameter is all you'll need for a street car, and 2.5" will be fine too. Good luck.
12 Second Club
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 479
Likes: 0
From: Mpls, Minnesota
Yeah, 5POINT7 got all of that right, people have seen a lot of performance gains over SLP too with other longtube headers, jethot, hooker, and pacesetter are all good brands, and there isnt much difference between power of them and the kooks/qtp's, theres also another choice you get when doing exhaust, 5POINT7 has it done, and i am soon having it done, and thats True Duals, he got the tsp true dual setup(420$ for setup), which is a dual exhaust setup, 3" with a x-pipe crossover(which helps performance), and bullet mufflers which he later replaced with Sweet Thunder chambered mufflers, duals are known to be a louder exhaust setup, I am gettin the TSP duals soon, should be shipped this week sometime, and I may later on decide on a different muffler setup too, but many people do have bullet muffler x-pipe setups, duals show the best performance gains, ask more questions in another thread if you wish to learn more about dual exhaust, this should be enough to get you by for a while 
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TECH Fanatic
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,654
Likes: 0
From: Ga
As he said above true duals are the way to go. One thing I can tell you is do it right the first time. There have been many people on here that get a exhaust set up then change it time after time till they find what they want. Kook's LT are a little more exspensive but well worth it. I didn't really want to spend that much on headers but from now only I'm going with the best stuff so I don't regret it later on. I went with a ORY at first and absolutely hated it. I got the TSP True Dual and couldn't be happier with it. If you don't want to spend that much on headers you can get some of the cheaper headers and still get the TSP system.
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coated pacesetters + tsp true duals =
if you can only afford headers and a y-pipe right now, you might want to hold off and save up a few hundred bucks untill you can afford true duals.
i'll agree with the above post, if you want to buy the best of the best as far as headers are concerned, getcha some stainless ones, kooks or QTP's. And for sound, true duals are sweet. the only real problem with true duals is you have to sacrifice some ground clearance when lowered. ground clearance isnt as big of a deal with 2.5" true duals where as the 3" true duals would pose a problem if lowered. they are nice and docile when you are cruising but they really speak to you and the people around you when you rhomp it.
i'm extremly happy with my setup, you can check out the TSP true duals on their website. they are a sponser of ls1tech.com as well ---->>>>
if you can only afford headers and a y-pipe right now, you might want to hold off and save up a few hundred bucks untill you can afford true duals.
i'll agree with the above post, if you want to buy the best of the best as far as headers are concerned, getcha some stainless ones, kooks or QTP's. And for sound, true duals are sweet. the only real problem with true duals is you have to sacrifice some ground clearance when lowered. ground clearance isnt as big of a deal with 2.5" true duals where as the 3" true duals would pose a problem if lowered. they are nice and docile when you are cruising but they really speak to you and the people around you when you rhomp it.
i'm extremly happy with my setup, you can check out the TSP true duals on their website. they are a sponser of ls1tech.com as well ---->>>>
Look into the QTP headers/Y pipes, great quality and they really make the power. 
www.quicktimeperformance.com
www.quicktimeperformance.com
if it's lowered, look into some custom 2.5" true duals, or go with a y-pipe. how much is it lowered? if its with sportlines (really low) or somthing like that, i would definatly not get true duals. if you want to get pacesetters, dont buy their y-pipe, the TSP y-pipe fits them nicely (w/ cats or w/out cats).
i just realized how much i pitch TSP's products on here, im such a *****
they are a damn fine ls1 products company.
as ls1lt1 stated, if you want to spend the money, QTP stuff is the way to go with their stainless. but if you arent quite ready to spend that kinda money, i would definatly search up some stuff about pacesetters and TSP y-pipes.
i just realized how much i pitch TSP's products on here, im such a *****
they are a damn fine ls1 products company.as ls1lt1 stated, if you want to spend the money, QTP stuff is the way to go with their stainless. but if you arent quite ready to spend that kinda money, i would definatly search up some stuff about pacesetters and TSP y-pipes.
Originally Posted by BitViper
Which headers can I bolt right up to my stock dual dual cat back and cats?
Originally Posted by 5POINT7
If you are on a budget, go with Pacesetter longtubes. Whatever header you decide, be sure to get them coated so they won't warp or rust.
I just picked up Pacesetter's for my 01' last night. Here's a few pictures:
http://nick.vettextc.net/Headers/
I bought these based on quite a few recommendations here on the board.
Quality looks great IMO these can't be beat for the price. I also bought the Texas Speed ORY, I spent a total of about $580 after gaskets, clamps, & o2 extenders.
Everyone keep in mind, I have very good prices for LS1tech members!! I am a stocking dealer for Kooks, Dynatech, edelbrock, and Flowtech. it's the forst of the year & I need to move some inventory!! PM or email me for great pricing!!