I recently purchased a 97 SS, which sadly was a bit abused by its previous owners. I am a LT1 newbie, and have checked out the newbie thread a bit. But i figured i would ask you guys and see what you recommend. Which brands have worked for you, quality, and personal experience ect.

The car is all stock with 84k's on the clock. Its my daily driver, and im researching and saving $$ for my mods and upgrades.

The current exhaust: stock, cut off past the cat. (way loud and rattles the entire interior)

If im going to save the money for new exhaust, i might aswell save for the good stuff and upgrade it from the headers on back.

 

Ive never bought exhaust parts new, I see no point since those parts aren't under any stress other then heat and if they're not cracked or damaged, they are good as new for hundreds less.


But if you insist on buying the "best" Id go with Kooks headers, ORY mated to a GMMG with CME would be it...Just what I think.

 

Well what he said above, Kooks and GMMG would be nice but you are talking about the nicest headers and one of the best exhaust's there are. Kooks LT headers are 1k-1100. GMMG is 800 (not sure, someone help?).

You could go with pacesettter LT's that are coated and should last 3-5yrs down in FL. They run 450ish for the set, with gaskets and bolts. 600ish is with the y pipe. Grab those and either SLP, Hooker, Magnaflow catback for 350 and you should come in around 1k for parts.

Another option would be buy the coated LT's and do a custom true dual setup. Going over the axle can get costly but dumping them before it should be very cheap and provide good HP gains. If you put up with what you have now this should be nothing as far as noise, drone, rattles, etc. dumps-100-250. over axle 350-700.

While your at it, do the sparks plugs no questions asked. If money allows the wires and motor mounts, o2 sensors, fuel filter should be done.

If you stay on top of the FS section you should be able to find some pretty good deals. Thats what i did, ended up with Mac headers, e cutout and flowmaster exhaust with a hooker aerochamber muffler. I like it.

 

The "best" high dollar exhaust catbacks are GMMG, Corsa, Borla, and B&B Triflow...
My favorite looking and sounding is GMMG


Long tubes are Long tubes IMO, just get them ceramic coated and/or stainless...

 

I totally agree that you can buy certain parts used, and they will works as good as new ones..as long as ya know what to look for. I would have NO issues with saving some $$$..lol

I checked out a thread just a few moments ago where the guy bought the ceramic ebay headers, spudnick i believe is the username. Anyway, everyone questioned the fit and durability. According to him, the headers went in just fine with no major fitment issues, and have held up so far. In addition to the ebay headers, he is running the GMMG exhaust, and the car seems to sound amazing from the video i saw.

But if i pulled all the old parts out, i would make sure to have the funds in order to replace the things id have better access to...plugs ect. As far as motor mounts, do you HAVE to remove them when pulling old manifolds and installing headers? Or is that just something that most guys do because its worth replacing them while working in the area?

 

Any long tubes will do, I prefer Hooker/JetHot over the PaceSetters for a cheaper setup but if you can afford it obviously Kooks. Whichever ones you go with make sure they're ceramic coated. Even if I had a set of stainless steel LPP or Kooks, I'd get them ceramic coated.

 

I prefer pacesetters for a cheap set (yes I'm biased) but mostly because of the much better ground clearance.

If you can afford them, go with Kooks though.

 

yeah those ebay LPP knock offs don't look to bad. GMMG's sound good but their damn expensive for a rather simple cat back. also get some percy's seal for good header and collector gaskets and you'll never have a leak, they also make some nice locking header bolts too.

and no, motor mounts aren't required but you might as well do them while your in ther, I like poly mounts personally, the increase in vibration is minimal imo for how solid they make everything feel, good time to do the trans mount too.

NGK tr55's are some of the best plugs out ther for LT1's. you should get a 160t-stat and a fan switch or tune to match the fans to the temp too since your doing the plugs now so you can get them 1step colder to match. and new wires of course

 

i have passetter quicktrip long tubes passetter ory pipe and 24" dynomax bullet whole setup brand new was round 450 and i love the way it sounds just the route i went

 

If you're planning to keep your car, I would go with stainless steel everything. I have ceramic coated Kooks long tubes, Kooks off road y-pipe, and a GMMG exhaust. Fairly recently, some cheaper, stainless header alternatives have hit the market if you don't feel like dropping up to 2K on your exhaust.

Didn't the LT1 SS's come with the SLP 2OTL exhaust? If so, it's a shame it has been removed. If you're interested in running the factory catback, you could possibly find a used one, as they are no longer manufactured. You might even get lucky and find a new one on Ebay, but it would be a long shot. I know when I was looking for an exhaust, someone had a new 2OTL listed on Ebay, but it was priced higher than the GMMG.

 

I run the dynotech ceramic coated headers.

Run the best ur pocket book can afford, although if ur not going to get serious with the mods, any aftermarket header would be better than stock.

I would HIGHLY suggest you spend the extra buck tho to get ceramic coated headers, worth every penny and u will always get compliments on them.

Good luck.

 

I have a set of NGK V-power tr5 plugs that came with my car when i bought it. I also had a set of Ac Delco platinum plugs which i put in the car left over from my old formula. Do you know what plugs work better? Should i have used the NGK plugs instead of the others?

 

Did you mean to post this question in this thread?

 

haha no.. I have to many windows open. sorry

 

Hey:

321 Stainless is best for the price. Whatever you do go with both in

stainless, if you plan on keeping the car.

LPP makes a good nicely price stainless header and duals, also Ebay has some

lower priced stainless systems, that many have had good luck with.

Coatings do burn off after time, so they are not the one time do it end of

story as many think. Buy the best you can afford. LTs and Catback can be a

onetime purchase if planned well, and be money very well spent with a little

research.

Dub

When In Doubt Do Without

 

Yeah, ground clearance is an issue where i live, and ive heard pacesetters are the best when it comes to clearance. Im probably going to get a pair of Pacesetters online from Speed Engineering Performance Parts. Their prices seem ceaper than other websites. Anyone had any experience with them?

 

I would guess Kooks, or Kooks clones, offer better ground clearance than Pacesetter, but they're going to be more expensive.

 

my mac mids have done me justice. even tho ill be installing a set of kook clones soon. my mac mids will be up for sale soon. they offer very good ground clearance

 

Mine still have 0 rust after 3 years.

I did get them jet hot coated though. Plug access is great.

I did have to dimple one of the primaries a tiny bit because one of the bolts is hard to access. Other than that, they work great.

 

Man, thanks for all the responses guys!!

I do not HAVE to have an exhaust system RIGHT now...so ill practice my patience and save up some $$. In the mean time ill research the hell out of good aftermarket LT1 exhaust systems.

Seems like the pacesetters are the best for both your wallet and your needs, where the Kooks are just the top of the line and priced as such. As far as going ceramic or stainless...some say that ceramic will chip and flake, and others seem to have no issues with it. Seems to me like it may be the coating process...some shops do it right and others may not. Ill research that more.

So lets say i decide on some headers....what would some of you with daily drivers recommend past the LTs? I hear that many enjoy the flow and sound of their true dual LT1's...(which is a Y-pipe with an X pipe further down, and bullits correct? Or am i just TOTALYL wrong on that..lol)

Im not planning on street or track racing my car..lol..ill have the occasional fun tho..so dont get me wrong. Im looking for good air flow and a deep, clean sound.