We started on a Saturday afternoon and finished on Sunday evening. All told it took us around 13 hours to do the whole install. We took our time, and boy am I glad we did. I think a lift is a must for an installation like this. It just makes life a whole lot easier, especially if you are doing the install for the first time.

We had no fitment issues of any kind. None, zip, nada!! Everything came out very easy, and the new headers went in easy. We did not have to remove the oil drain plug, or shave the aluminum casting block like so many others have said. Drivers side slid easily up into place by vertically installing the header in front of the drain plug. Of course, the passenger side slipped in without any attention to details. I used stage 8 locking header bolts and torqued all bolts to spec (where possible). I also installed brand new NGK TR55s before installing the headers. That was the first and probably the last time I’ll be changing plugs in my LS1. I don’t know how people can get to the last two plugs on the passenger side with bare hands – talk about pain!

We also had to screw around with the emission fittings. The EGR was especially difficult to reconnect without loosening the bracket. This created a bit of frustration, but really not all that bad.

The offroad Y pipe was not as difficult to install as most have said. Granted, having a lift is almost a must, and the damn hanger bracket was positioned way too far back for a proper fit, but the system came together quite nicely and without having to adjust it too much. There are a few small leaks in the system, especially around the header outlets, but I intend to get the whole system welded which will take care of those.

The sound is amazing! I have the SLP dual-dual cat back, and with the headers it is much deeper and authoritative when you get on it, but almost as quiet as stock when idling or cruising. No rasp or drone of any kind. At WOT it sounds nasty as hell, and turns everyone’s head. I’m very pleased with the results. As for power, I’m not sure yet, as the small leaks are taking away some low end torque. However, on the top end, I notice a big improvement. The thing wants to rev well past 6K now and I have to pay attention to the tach more than I used to.

All in all, I’m very pleased. Definitely worth the time, effort, and money. The quality of QTP’s products is second to none.

I'll post some pics in this thread once my wife gets home with my camera.....

 

Awesome! Do you plan on tuning it?

BTW - I'd recommend sticking the stock MAF back in her if you're going to have it tuned.

 

No fitment problems? Lucky bastard Enjoy.

 

Actually, I'm going to get it dyno tested first to see how much power I'm making. I figure I should be into the low 300s. If I'm not there, I think I will get it tuned. And yea, I'll take the Granatelli MAF out and put back the stock MAF. I'm not sure how much good the Granatelli is doing me at this point.

 

Stay with the stock MAF, the Granatelli has unknown tables and it will be very difficult to tune with it. Stay with the stocker till you hit 500hp.

 

Read this thread

https://ls1tech.com/forums/pcm-diagnostics-tuning/530582-granatelli-maf-fixes-f.html

 

..putting headers in is time consuming for sure....we had a hoist and 3 guys and it still took us 6-7 hours...had to grind the dr.side tab 1/8"-1/4" also..other than that,mine went in fine also..[could have pushed a little more and they would have gotton past the tab really]...SOUNDS GREAT..Doesn't it.!!!!!!!! *******..just noticed you are new here....hello from the West Coast.

 

He's not too new since he joined in 03.............

 

didn't notice that...but it says 2 posts..????

 

He most likely lurked or posted in sections that didn't count posts.

 

sections that do not count posts?? Didn't know that.....Maybe just an "above the border" "LURKER" ...........

 

Yeah there are some sections on the site that don't count posts like the street racing and kills section. Just look at the sections that Unit213 moderates, those don't count posts.

 

Were these from the new batch? My brother has some on the way from the new batch and I had to grind my K-member on the passenger' s side to get it to fit. No other issue, except that particular side gets REALLY close to the unibody rail. Hasn' t hit there yet though.

Glad all went well. I love mine for sure, and got gains above their old standard collector to boot!!!

QTPs rock !!!

When they fit...

 

You should get it tuned no matter what if you can spare the cash. The car will wake up and run alot better if worked on by someone competant. Lots of tuners to free/cheap re-tunes so you'll be covered in the future.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. BlurLS1, I think I will get it tuned. Not sure where I can go up here in Canada for a good tune. If any other Canadians lurking here, please let me know your experiences. I've heard good things about Davenport Racing in Calgary, but any other suggestions would be great!

Roarin_8, I'm going to go back to my stock MAF. I'm going to pick up some MAF ends and play around and see if I get better results with the stocker. Definitely going to go with the stock MAF for the tune.

And, FWIW, I am indeed a "Lurker". Here almost daily reading up on what everyone else is doing, but I rarely post. Spend most of my time here and on CZ28.

RADZ28, these are the older style headers without the collector. I actually bought them last year and just havent had the time to install them until now. Unbelievable, eh? I had to look at the box every time I went into the garage - drove me crazy......

 

No wonder they fit I had really good luck with them too. Sometimes I think I wished I never got rid of them, but, oh well.

Regardless, I can' t believe you' ve had them this long and not installed them. Shoot, I can' t wait when I have a new part.

When you can get a tune, you will love them even more

 

I didn't notice you were in Canada! You might have a hard time finding someone indeed. There's always mail order tunes, or you can check out the Northern Members section. Maby they have a few Canadians?

BTW - I busted out laughing when you said " eh? ", makes me think of South Park the movie.

 

I wouldn't mess with MAF ends either, just leave the MAF alone till you reach higher HP levels.

 

O.K., I'm back after taking all of your suggestions. Here is what I ended up with, and I'm quite pleased!!

Firstly, I went back to my stock MAS, but before I did, I took apart my Granatelli and swapped the ported ends with the metal stock ones. I had to dremel the plastic piece that intersects the inside of the unit, but this really didn't take long, and it set me up nicely for getting a proper tune......more below.......

I ended up taking the car over to AFI Performance here in Edmonton. They welded and adjusted my offroad QTP Y to get rid of all the leaks (I had a few, especially at the header collectors) and dyno tuned the car. At the end of the day, I pulled the following numbers:

Max Power = 330.18, Max Torque = 339.84. This was on a Dynojet dyno.

Thats with the older style QTPs without the HVMC, Offroad Y, a lid, bellows, ported MAS, and SLP Dual Dual.

I have a decent videos of the pulls (we did around 8), along with a scan of the dyno sheet. Anyone know of a free site to post the video to? It's not the best quality, but it sounds quite good at 6K RPM!

I'm quite pleased with the numbers. It actually laid down around 324 HP right off the street in stock tune. A couple of Mustang guys were in the shop right before we did the baseline, and were betting I would lay down less than 300. The look on their faces was priceless when they saw 324 right off the bat!

It certainly feels like I have more power. Tires light in first gear all the time now, and I have to watch the tach closely as it wants to keep revving past the redline.

Just a quick plug for AFI. Martin and his guys spent a good part of a day with me, and charged me a very reasonable rate for the work (including the 8 or so dyno pulls). If anyone is looking for a good tuner in Western Canada, these guys come highly recommended.

I'm curious to know what you guys think about the numbers. Seems good to me for a '99 based on what I've seen on this site and others - let me know your thoughts.........

 

yeah theyre headers are nice... how is ur ground clearance?