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Headers need a sticky thread.


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I have been noticing allot of guys lately asking questions about exhaust bolt on's cat backs headers..

 

There is a new flow of people to this forum with the SS trucks getting cheaper you have whole new group of guys coming in.

 

So let’s get some info up here about the most popular mod to our trucks.

 

Headers.

 

Who makes em, Feedback,Prices,Quality.

 

I will start the thread and throw in my two cents but being an active vendor I do not want to seem too bias so please guys chime in with your experience.

 

These are known companies so far off the top of my head

 

Top of the list

Belanger

ASM

TOG (The other guys)

Dynatech

Edelbrock

SLP

JBA

Pacesetter

Bansai

OBX

 

Products I have had personal experience with, Include Belanger,ASM,Dynatech and Pacesetter.

 

I listed them in order of what I feel is product quality and durability.

 

Off the top of my head again things to consider from headers I have personally dealt with.

 

Belanger is a set of headers only. True Try-y design creates the most low end torque out of any of the headers I have ever seen while maintains excellent clearance properties. You do need to fab your own head pipes. The headers also come jet coated with traditional 3 bolt flanges. Bar none in my personal opinion the best performing and designed header hands down.

 

ASM again requires you to either mod your head pipes or fab your own. However. A very well designed and durable product and more affordable than the Belanger for average Joe.

 

Dynatech is the king of the hill for advertisement and direct bolt on from engine to cat back boasting stainless steel construction and high flow cats for the price, if you are worried about emissions and just want the grunt and power of a long tube this is where you need to be. Biggest Pet peeve with the Dynatechs is with the stainless your heat transfer is about 100 times faster than a mild steel header that’s uncoated. Stainless is a metal that wicks the heat as fast as it looses it. Problem is with no coating on the header and no additional under hood protection you have yourself a whole lot of hot air under that hood. If you buy them best advice have them coated. Just about everyone that sells them they offer coating.

 

 

Pacesetter, I have not only installed and worked on several sets of these. But the honest truth is I would never put these on my truck. Pacesetter by far is the least expensive but as far as I am concerned the design and quality reflect that. Especially with the SS trucks the cats are fairly important as to where you are in the country with emissions. The pacesetters not only terminate longer than any of the other headers I have mentioned but they offer no flanges and only a slip connection. They retail anywhere between 250-400 bucks with coating.. sure that’s a budget deal but I compare them to the 79.99 dynomax and black jack headers you could get at super shops back in the 70's and 80's that fit just about anything if you use a sawzall and a hammer and some muffler clamps. The key seller about the pacesetters is the price. They are cheap. I have stated many times you get what you pay for especially true with automotive. One last thing to say about pacesetter.. They do manufacture a huge line of headers.. but if you actually look.. they are mostly for imports.. that to me was the last thing to turn me away.

 

 

There is allot to be said about headers and their flaws and their good points. I wanted to get a thread going that everyone can reply to and put in their .02 I felt this was important to do with the new influx of members to the forum.

 

On a final note I think everyone should remember when you mod your truck No matter if it is an air filter different oil or just a better wax. There is usually a fairly good reason things cost allot of money. Mostly because they are paying for the extensive work that went into the product.

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Glad someone else is seeing the light of every new person not using the search button.

 

I think this should turn out to be a great post as long as people share their experiances of both headaches, and praise of the makers of the headers they chose and why.

 

I think there should also be something said about gains, with and without mods, on top of just adding headers.

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ill throw in my .02 ,

 

Pacesetter,

I am runnign these curretnly and i had to do some work to them to make them work properly. Their coating they come with sucks ass and mine is very dull from reachign high temps. their primary tubes dont line up perfectly with the flanges. I would change them but they are working good so far. so i am not going to change them. the flanges are not to bad and they dont leak which is nice. for the money they can not be beat. they have 3 inch collectors which made them a better choice for me , i used v band clamps on them and they are very easy to take apart. the other thing i didnt like is the passenger side header requires jackin gthe body off of the frame to install/uninstall.

 

The other guys,

 

I have had 3 sets fo these and they all leaked a little(where the primaries meet the collectors). they were pretty nicely built . the flanges were nice and thick. they come with the 2 bolt ball flange with donut gaskets that are pretty nice and work well. install was easy both gop in from on top pretty easily.they are now out of business so customer service and availabilty are not available. they are nice becasue its about the best headers you can get for california emissions(carb legal).

 

another two nice headers not mentioned is bassani and thorley , which i beleive are both mid legnths and carb legal.

Edited by 04CHASE (see edit history)
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Great post. Thanks for doing it. :thumbs: I was going to go with TOGs, but they went under. So, now I think I'm going to use Dynatech Supermaxx. I want to be emissions legal since this is my daily driver.

 

I've also heard that Thorley makes a good header. Don't know if they have any for our trucks.

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I would like to put a set on my truck but am concerned about the clearences. I've heard about Long tubes hitting during agressive shifts, ect... Anyone have feed back on good fitting brands?

 

mine hit just above the drivers side body by the front cab area. small tweak and no more hitting.

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I've only had the dynatechs but so far so good. The install wasn't bad at all as this was my first major DIY install. They fit good and I didn't run into any problems with how they fit. I've got the old design. The new design got rid of the crazy driver-side header bend. I would recommend this to anybody as they are a direct bolt on header and can be installed by most people. Cost is a little high but wait for a GP buy and the price will be a lot better. I would say I noticed the gains at the mid RPM level. Good mod :thumbs:

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My Take on Pacesetter

 

I got them for my SS bc I am on a budget. I could not be happier. I was planning on taking my cats out anyway, so the pacestters and cats being in the way of each other was no big deal. I just cut the cats and connected the pipes. Sounds great and has no leaks. I did not have to jack anything up, I did have trouble getting the passenger side in, took about 20 minutes but finally got it. The driver side was simple. I have no new updates yet on tracktimes but I will next weekend. Other than that passenger side being a b*tch to get in, I Coulnt be happier!

Some people say their coatings suck, but the engine is going to get dirty anyway, well thats how I feel.

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  • 1 month later...

Lets keep this a "header info only" topic and start a new one for any group buys and such. or post in rev race works sub forum or pm frank.

 

i'll go ahead and make this a sticky.

 

My experience is only with Dynatech coated by Jet Hot.

 

3 words,....i love them.

 

fit and finish is awesome, perfect bolt on with no problems.

 

power increase was very noticeable, best mod i ever made besides the blower.

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I have only had ASM (4 years now). Fantastic fit, no leaks, noticeable gains. My only concern is that the tranny cooling lines run extremely close to the pass side headder. The line actually touched until I carefully bent it away and cable tied them away. The coating is starting to bubble away now but I have yet to own a headder that can last 4 years and 40k+ miles without some kind of bubbling / discoloration especially with the cfm I push through them. I wish they came with 3" collectors though. All in all, fit and finish was a 10, very pleased.

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  • 3 weeks later...

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