I am in the process of getting new longtubes and just like anything else the choices are endless. It seem QTP and Kooks seem to be mentioned alot. I do want stainless steel for sure. Also is there a big difference between a 1200 dollar set of very high quality headers and 350 dollar ebay stainless steel headers? Anyone got any before and after dynos with different longetubes?

thanks

 

First off,,im doing the same as you,,,research, research, and more research..here is what i have found out,,,

Are you looking for budget, or gains

bottom line,,,this question needs to be answered.

There are cheaper headers,,but they are not making up the gains as some of the other "more expensive" headers out there,,and by that i mean a hundred to a few hundred more,,thats why you need to know if fyou are shopping for budget, or gains

do a lot of reading,,and dont just take one guys word,,even if they have 4000 some posts on here,,,,trust me.

If you are just wanting headers to say "ive got headers" then there are some nice Stainless Steel ones around for cheap,,,,,be sure to check out the Y pipe as most are very disruptive to flow. Some people will tell you that flow is not important, or that merge quality is of no importance,,,,,,be aware.

 

i like xs stainless headers...but i'm a little biased

 

Just installed my PACESETTER long tubes and i love um.
what ever you go with make sure there coated.

Got the off road headers and y-pipe for 504 dollars to my door from www.neweraperformance.com

 

I was contemplating headers for several years (since my car was new in '00) and I saw all the different brands come to market & people's views on them. I never really had the money and ambition to do them until recently, and I'm glad because I'm really happy with the American Racing LT's that recently came out. They're 304 stainless and they come with great merges, cats, Y-pipe, etc., and they fit perfectly. My only complaint is that it took a little work to get them to shine real good. The car pulls like crazy now & it sounds incredible. You can see pics of mine on page 2 of Bandit77383's thread that I hijacked.

https://ls1tech.com/forums/showthrea...=729219&page=2

 

I am really looking for the ones that will give me the best gains no matter money and then i will work from there

 

I'm doing the same search at the moment. I have found QTP, Kooks, and ARH to be the top three. Have heard a couple complaints on fitment with QTP, and heard that Kooks hang a little low (I'm dropped 2" so that is a big deal to me). Good luck on your choice and let us know what you pick.

 

IMO, I like my Kook's. Count on adding between 20 and 30 to your hp/tq #'s. I had mine dyno tuned and gained about 30hp and 35tq with the header addition.

 

How is the fitment on those? Also any clearance issues? How low to the ground do they hang? Are you on stock suspension?

 

You will get so many opinions on this. Do a search, this same topic has been brought up a thousand times. Some say the cheaper XS stainless lT's are as good as the high-dollar ones. Some say not. I research it a lot and got it down to these three, as far as known-quality, top-notch stainless headers: QTP, Kooks, and ARH(american racing headers).
This was for my second set of headers for my '98 T/A. First set were FLP's - they don't make them anymore and they are not near the quality and fitment of what is available now. I always had issue with trying to get them to be leak free, issues with the y-pipe banging, the ceramic coating coming off, etc. so I definately recommend stainless, screw the ceramic-coated IMO.
So I got and installed recntly the ARH, and i gotta tell ya, the are TOP QUALITY headers.
Answers to the usual questions:
Fitment: all fit together nice and tight, etc.
Finish: not a shiney as some of the SS headers, but they can be polished up if desired. personally I don't care, I just like the fact that they will not ever rust. Mine aint no show car.
Ease of installation: Are you kidding me? These were SO much easier than my old FLP's were! For comparison, to install the FLP's, I had to get the car WAY up high, then they were a pain in the *** to get them to go up onto the engine, i had to remove the oil filter on drvr side too..a bitch all in all. On the ARH, I put the car up on 18" jackstands, and both headers slid right in right on up to the motor so easy i could not believe. Nothing had to be removed or altered to get them to fit at all.
Ground clearance: I don't think it could be better. these tuck up nicely under the car, and the only clearence i might have lost was maybe 1/2" from the y-pipe to the ground, when comparing to the stock y-pipe. That is because, well hell it is a 3" diameter Y, so it's gonna have less than stock clearance, it aint much tho, the Y pipe is sorta flattened in the usual "problem" areas, so as to maximize clearance to the ground while NOT banging on the floorboard of the car. A lot of the headers out there including my old FLP have that problem of banging, and it sucks. My car is lowered about 1 & 1\4" with Sam Strano springs, and i have had no problems with clearence, except ridiculous-sized speed bumps may have scraped barely once or twice, normal speed bumps are never an issue.
So there you have my vote, the ARH !

 

Great write up^^^. Excellent addition to this thread. I would really like to see someone with personal experiance with KOOKS share answering the same questions of:
How is the fitment on those? Also any clearance issues? How low to the ground do they hang? Are you on stock suspension? If not how "dropped" are you?

 

Another vote for AR headers. These things went in like a dream and the merges are awesome.

 

http://www.neweraperformanceparts.com/

 

well I ended up getting QTP headers and I think i have even decided on the TSP True dual system.....hmmmm now what muffler do i get?

I do believe the homeowners association will make a new rule because of this car .....lol I can;t wait

 

I'm voting for American Racing! People seem to gain the most power out of them then any other and the money is not too bad!

 

ARH make 1 7/8 headers?

 

I'm really happy with my stepped Dynatech race headers, very clean under the hood, and great bling bling.

 

Yes they do.

 

Yes they do, but for stock cubes I would suggest sticking with 3/4

 

I love my set of Kooks, they fit in without any problems. I am on stock height suspension, but I have never had an issue with them being low. I measured and with the car as it sits right now there is approx 5" b/w the bottom of the collector and the road.

I put in a bump stop on the y-pipe that seems to hold everything a lot tighter to the car.