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1-7/8" or 1-3/4" headers for a 408?

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Old Jun 20, 2005 | 06:27 PM
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Default 1-7/8" or 1-3/4" headers for a 408?

Okay, I know that of course in theory the 1-7/8" primary LT's would yield more power. Well, as you guys know, the price difference between Pacesetters and QTP's, for example, is huge. Is the HP gain worth spending the extra cash?

I think that for the price, Pacesetters are the best bang for the buck reagrdless of them being 1-3/4" primaries. These are going on my SDPC 408 soon, and any info would help. For example, has anyone gone from 1-3/4" to 1-7/8" with extra cubes? If so, what gains were noticed? Thanks guys.

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Old Jun 20, 2005 | 06:32 PM
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I went with Kooks 1 7/8" for my 402.
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Old Jun 20, 2005 | 06:50 PM
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I went with the 1-7/8" for by cam only car....
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Old Jun 20, 2005 | 07:27 PM
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I want to pull my jet hots off for some 1-7/8 QTP's on my cam only car.
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Old Jun 20, 2005 | 08:48 PM
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You guys planning on spraying??

1 7/8" longtubes will more than likely make a little less power than the 1 3/4" on a stock cubed N/A car.
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Old Jun 20, 2005 | 08:54 PM
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my car gained 15rwhp switching from 1 3/4" FLPs to 1 7/8" Grotyohann's. Stock motor, TSP 231/237 cam.

I personally couldn't see myself spending a bunch of money on a motor and then skimping out on the headers.
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Old Jun 20, 2005 | 11:30 PM
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Originally Posted by xaon
my car gained 15rwhp switching from 1 3/4" FLPs to 1 7/8" Grotyohann's. Stock motor, TSP 231/237 cam.

I personally couldn't see myself spending a bunch of money on a motor and then skimping out on the headers.
Really?? That is awesome!

I have heard people losing power with the stock cubed motors running the bigger headers. Guess it really depends on the setup.
I completely agree with the statement about not going cheap on the headers. I am working on finishing up my 402ci and I decided I didn't want to put my SLP LT's on it. Kooks 1 7/8" for me.
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Old Jun 21, 2005 | 08:03 AM
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1 - 7/8 gets my vote for head/cam 346 or a stroker.
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Old Jun 21, 2005 | 08:09 AM
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1 7/8

QTP are worth every penny.
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Old Jun 21, 2005 | 08:26 AM
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Originally Posted by Mr. Luos
You guys planning on spraying??

1 7/8" longtubes will more than likely make a little less power than the 1 3/4" on a stock cubed N/A car.
Have you not read the CarCraft Article.....They tested this theory and 1 7/8 tubes on a stock LS1 made the most power all over. Might want to rethink your theory. I use the Edelbrock stepped race headers and they work well for me.

Mike
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Old Jun 21, 2005 | 12:04 PM
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For a 408? 1-7/8 at the very least. A stepped 1-7/8" to 2" or a 2" outright would be ideal, especially if you are going to rev it beyond 6500rpm.
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Old Jun 23, 2005 | 03:23 PM
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I have dyno proof on my 408. I went from 1 3/4 to 1 7/8 and ONLY gained from about 6000+ and it was only 8hp. I LOST everywhere else. lost 20lbft of tq down low. I posted a graph in they dyno section a few months ago
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Old Jun 23, 2005 | 03:30 PM
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Header gains are not comparable with diferent cat-backs. The system needs to be evaluated before you can decide where the gain came from. Going from 1-3/4 to 1-7/8 with a cutout(s) might not net you much gain. Conversely going to bigger headers with a performance cat-back that flows pretty good might show more gain under the curve.
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Old Jun 23, 2005 | 03:42 PM
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h/c 346 here with 1 7/8 kooks. Fastech has been using these religiously over 1 3/4 for h/c car. Low end torque suffers, but who the hell races in low rpm. HP gains are just as good as 1 3/4
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Old Jun 23, 2005 | 03:44 PM
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Technical, perhaps there are details that I'm missing but if the guy had a minimal gain from 6,000 rpm up then what is the real point of upgrading to 1 7/8 headers unless you are like full race? When I go to a 402 there is no way I'll go to bigger unless there is a substiantial hp gain.
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Old Jun 23, 2005 | 04:01 PM
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If he had a fairly open style exhaust or cutouts there wouldn't be as much gain with the larger headers because the rest of the exhaust is providing extra power vs. someone who has a more restrictive exhaust (and less HP to start with) and switched to larger headers. Two different ways of making power.

It's analogous to the gains you see from headers *only* vs. the gains you see in combination with a cam and/or heads. Remember that power is derived from the "system" of parts including the tune... Cam size, compression, etc. all play games with the numbers.
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Old Jun 23, 2005 | 05:51 PM
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Sorry man , it must be because I''m on my third cocktail, I just don't follow your logic, maybe someone else can clarify your reasoning. Thanks.
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Old Jun 23, 2005 | 07:04 PM
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for clarification, my results were on open header setups.
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Old Jun 23, 2005 | 08:57 PM
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Proof for my point. He was already making more power with 1-3/4 headers than most of us because he had no exhaust. Therefore his gains with bigger headers was smaller than someone who has a full exhaust. There's no hard number that represents the absolute hp gain from installing a part. e.g. "makes 5-15 more horsepower" claims by manufacturers.
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Old Jun 24, 2005 | 03:14 AM
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1 7/8 headers on a bigger cubed motor is hands down a worth while mod. I went from 436rwhp with 1 3/4 to 459 rwhp with the 1 7/8 Kooks and added a 12 bolt at the same time which should have costed me about 15 rwhp over the 10 bolt. This was on a 383 Stroker and through a single 3 inch cut-out. I don't recall the TQ gains , but there was no loss.
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