DownSouthWS6

iTrader: (1)

so i got the black painted headers cause i liked the way they looked (dont like shiny engine bays) and a guy with a 99 T/A told me last night that the painted ones suck and would only add 1/2 hp. something about the aluminum heads and the black and there being too much heat. so did i get bad headers?

GIGAPUNK

iTrader: (2)

Don't ever, ever, ever listen to anything that guy has to say about cars ever again. Color doesn't matter. The problem with most black painted headers is that they are usually made with mildsteel, that doesn't retain heat as well as stainless, and they will rust within the year. The heat issue is only a problem regarding intake air temp. Get a good cold air intake, and it's no longer an issue. The power from headers comes from their design, not their color or material.

XxApollynxX

iTrader: (2)

Yeah don't worry about what he said. I used to have uncoated headers on one of my 97 Z28's for 2 years, and 1 year on my old impala SS. Like GIGAPUNK said they might rust out in a year or so, and they will extract some more heat but I wouldnt worry to much about it. What brand headers are they Flowtech?

TheBlueKnight

iTrader: (4)

Actually a study was done where green headers made 10 more hp than bright purple headers.

1_bad_TA

iTrader: (6)

Depends on the paint that was used. I've had it were the paint flaked and peeled off within months and i've had sets that were fine for years. The ones that started to flake rusted the others not.

therealcreeper

iTrader: (37)

ceramic coated headers will retain more heat and help keep under hood temps down, but i can't see that being worth more than 5hp. i have formerly painted headers on mine. they're all rusted out but i still picked up like 20hp with them after a tune.

don't think anyone else thought of this though: are they shorty headers or longtubes? if they're shorties you will gain very little power and they don't have heat shields like the stock manifolds so maybe that's where he was getting the heat thing from. otherwise he's just an idiot, haha.

DownSouthWS6

iTrader: (1)

theyre 1 3/4 long tube pacesetters.

GIGAPUNK

iTrader: (2)

What brand paint lasted more than a year? Curious cuz I'm repainting a set I'm about to take the mig to.

And downsouthws6, those should pick you up close to 20 hp. Just don't be surprised if they get ugly. And avoid wrap, if you're woried about heat make a heat shield specifically for your booster and MC etc.

therealcreeper

iTrader: (37)

i bought some VHT header paint for mine. supposed to withstand 1300-2000 degrees, says ceramic coating on the can but i don't believe it. i've heard it holds up pretty good though in the few reviews i've found. i never got around to painting mine so i'll never know for sure.

and yeah you'll pick up a good amount of power with those. they're gonna rust but who caresss. very few ppl see my engine bay.

408z28

iTrader: (44)

I always buy the black painted headers. I'll throw them in the blast cabnet as soon as i get them, bead blast them down to bare metal. After I get them down to bare metal i'll spray them with a ceramic based heat resistant flat black. Once im done i'll heat them to about 175 degrees and let them sit. After they cool back down, i'll spray some high temp clear on them and they wont flake or rust and they look awsome. I'll sold a set that I did 3 years ago to a friend of mine, and they still look like I just did them.

XxApollynxX

iTrader: (2)

Then again Pacesetter's Ceramic or "armor coating" only lasted me 5 months before flaking/pealing at the collectors, and working its way up the primaries.

ksk1980

iTrader: (33)

dont bother with the high temp paint i tried that route and it started bubbling up after about 30seconds after the car was started . the only place the paint stayed was on the collector. my LT's looked like crap for about 2 weeks until all of the paint i had sprayed on them flaked off.

therealcreeper

iTrader: (37)

hahah. glad i didn't go through the effort of painting em then. they have break-in directions, but i'm sure if it baked in 30 seconds it wouldn't stay on anyway.

Ice78Transam

iTrader: (1)

Haha, I actually laughed when I read this. Like everyone else has been saying, he's a moron. Black headers are fine, but stainless or a good ceramic coat are just that much better for longevity.

wht01ws6ta

iTrader: (45)

I used VHT header paint on the bottom of mine a couple months ago where they started to rust a little and it's worked out great so far. Mine are the Pacesetter armor coated ones. They look great up top but the bottom had started to rust.

DownSouthWS6

iTrader: (1)

so basically just get VHT header paint when they start to rust? oh and the same guy told me right after that i should be careful on this website because "everyones an idiot on ls1tech."

CodeRed2000SS

headers are headers are headers....

haha some people are amazing....

CodeRed2000SS

QUOTE=DownSouthWS6;11014184]so basically just get VHT header paint when they start to rust? oh and the same guy told me right after that i should be careful on this website because "everyones an idiot on ls1tech."[/QUOTE]

idiots?

-LS1-

iTrader: (4)

Is he an ls1.com member?

ls1tech.com is the only ls1-based forum i trust for tech info.

wht01ws6ta

iTrader: (45)

The VHT header paint worked for me but I just painted the bottom of mine silver/chrome/aluminum color to somewhat match the pacesetter "armor" coat. You can't see my paint from the top though. It might be difficult for you to spraypaint the whole primary black a year from now while they are still on the car. You might have everything in your engine bay painted black by the time you're done Painting them now beforehand like someone suggested might be your best bet.