Best headers that are emission legal for best price?
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 240
From: Nashville, TN USA
Best headers that are emission legal for best price?
I'm looking at getting some headers and a ypipe around christmas. I want long tubes. So far the hooker long tubes look like the best deal but they only sell an off road y pipe. Is that emissions legal or no cats can be put on? What's the best long tube header for the best price if I'm going emissions legal? Thanks for your help.
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J.J. (Nashville, TN)
2001 Camaro Z28 M6
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J.J. (Nashville, TN)
2001 Camaro Z28 M6
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 43
From: St. Louis, MO USA
Find a couple of local "car" forums for the Nashville area and post this question.
We cant tell you what the emissions inspections are like in Nashville, or at least I cant. It varies from state to county to city.
It is illegal to move or replace a functioning catalytic converter. And longtubes do this, they have to. It's just that its *more* illegal in some areas than others. Some places do visual inspections for this, and you *will* fail with longtubes, whether you pass the sniffer test or not. Other places do neither a visual nor a sniffer test - this is especially common in rural areas of the midwest and west. LTs and ORPs are easy in those areas, licensing the car is a non-issue. However, LTs and ORPs can get you locked up and your car towed in California!
And just remember, it might be ok to put LTs and ORPs on your car this year, but a year from now they may fail you due to stricter enforcement or new testing procedures.
Talk to gear heads in your area... thats your best bet!
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'02 Z28 : MTI lid, TTS headers, Corsa exaust, ASP pulley, Pro5.0 w/Lou's ShortStick, Konis (front) Bilsteins (rear), 35mm ST swaybar, SS wheels, SLP SFCs, disabled DRLs, *all* the free mods! :NEXT: ported TB?, NAAAAWZ?? LS1edit???
We cant tell you what the emissions inspections are like in Nashville, or at least I cant. It varies from state to county to city.
It is illegal to move or replace a functioning catalytic converter. And longtubes do this, they have to. It's just that its *more* illegal in some areas than others. Some places do visual inspections for this, and you *will* fail with longtubes, whether you pass the sniffer test or not. Other places do neither a visual nor a sniffer test - this is especially common in rural areas of the midwest and west. LTs and ORPs are easy in those areas, licensing the car is a non-issue. However, LTs and ORPs can get you locked up and your car towed in California!
And just remember, it might be ok to put LTs and ORPs on your car this year, but a year from now they may fail you due to stricter enforcement or new testing procedures.
Talk to gear heads in your area... thats your best bet!
------------------
'02 Z28 : MTI lid, TTS headers, Corsa exaust, ASP pulley, Pro5.0 w/Lou's ShortStick, Konis (front) Bilsteins (rear), 35mm ST swaybar, SS wheels, SLP SFCs, disabled DRLs, *all* the free mods! :NEXT: ported TB?, NAAAAWZ?? LS1edit???
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 240
From: Nashville, TN USA
I just have to pass the sniffer test and the visual inspection is a joke. So if my cats are moved they won't care.
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J.J. (Nashville, TN)
2001 Camaro Z28 M6
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J.J. (Nashville, TN)
2001 Camaro Z28 M6
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 43
From: St. Louis, MO USA
The headers I see most often praised are MAC, Hooker and FLP. MACs are mid length I believe, Hookers are cheap LTs, and FLP are expensive but likely worth it.
FLP does not have 02 sensors, you have to use simulators, which can effect legality and tuning. TTS is a competitor to FLP and they do have the 02 sensor bungs and have similar performance. They are in the same price range as FLP, but show higher quality in manufacturering, at least to my eyes as well as several others in my local club. You give up ORPs with TTS. About half a dozen of us in our local club went with them instead of FLP or someone elses.
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'02 Z28 : MTI lid, TTS headers, Corsa exaust, ASP pulley, Pro5.0 w/Lou's ShortStick, Konis (front) Bilsteins (rear), 35mm ST swaybar, SS wheels, SLP SFCs, disabled DRLs, *all* the free mods! :NEXT: ported TB?, NAAAAWZ?? LS1edit???
FLP does not have 02 sensors, you have to use simulators, which can effect legality and tuning. TTS is a competitor to FLP and they do have the 02 sensor bungs and have similar performance. They are in the same price range as FLP, but show higher quality in manufacturering, at least to my eyes as well as several others in my local club. You give up ORPs with TTS. About half a dozen of us in our local club went with them instead of FLP or someone elses.
------------------
'02 Z28 : MTI lid, TTS headers, Corsa exaust, ASP pulley, Pro5.0 w/Lou's ShortStick, Konis (front) Bilsteins (rear), 35mm ST swaybar, SS wheels, SLP SFCs, disabled DRLs, *all* the free mods! :NEXT: ported TB?, NAAAAWZ?? LS1edit???
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 43
From: St. Louis, MO USA
you'll need catalytic converters to pass emissions. And a Ypipe to bolt/weld them to.
That may be the biggest part of the price difference you are seeing with the Hookers and the FLPs, but I dont know, I am not real familiar with either of them.
I have been told, and witnessed, that trying to save money on headers will cost you in the long run. Step back and look at what you need. You want to stay emissions legal, so make sure whatever exaust setup you get does not disable parts of the emissions system. That means you'll want catalystic converters, EGR and 02 sensors. That is the EXACT reason that I selected TTS headers. They have the performance of the FLP, but just have the cats (no ORPs) but also have O2 sensor bungs so you dont cripple your emissions system either.
[This message has been edited by SpikeLS1 (edited August 29, 2002).]
That may be the biggest part of the price difference you are seeing with the Hookers and the FLPs, but I dont know, I am not real familiar with either of them.
I have been told, and witnessed, that trying to save money on headers will cost you in the long run. Step back and look at what you need. You want to stay emissions legal, so make sure whatever exaust setup you get does not disable parts of the emissions system. That means you'll want catalystic converters, EGR and 02 sensors. That is the EXACT reason that I selected TTS headers. They have the performance of the FLP, but just have the cats (no ORPs) but also have O2 sensor bungs so you dont cripple your emissions system either.
[This message has been edited by SpikeLS1 (edited August 29, 2002).]
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 511
From: Soon to be Pensacola
SLPs will be your best bet. They are in between Hooker and FLP in price and have far fewer quality issues than FLP.
If you could pull it off, getting the Hookers with cats custom installed would be best. SLP's biggest issue is ground clearance, they can scrape in some instances.
Hookers have by far the fewest issues, other than no cats available.
FLPs have had ALOT of issues, I won't even try to list them all... but I will tell you one that is new to me that is very scary. A guy on LS1 Tech.com ( http://www.ls1tech.com/ubb/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi ) just posted a thread/pics on how FLPs run so close to the oil filter that his AC filter was 'melted' (clearly burnt and distorted). It's scary how hot his engine oil might have gotten!
Just a heads up.
Good luck
Dave
Edit: Btw, I know nothing about TTS except I heard that installation was very complex and requires alot of mods to your car/engine block.
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[This message has been edited by ratio411 (edited August 29, 2002).]
If you could pull it off, getting the Hookers with cats custom installed would be best. SLP's biggest issue is ground clearance, they can scrape in some instances.
Hookers have by far the fewest issues, other than no cats available.
FLPs have had ALOT of issues, I won't even try to list them all... but I will tell you one that is new to me that is very scary. A guy on LS1 Tech.com ( http://www.ls1tech.com/ubb/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi ) just posted a thread/pics on how FLPs run so close to the oil filter that his AC filter was 'melted' (clearly burnt and distorted). It's scary how hot his engine oil might have gotten!
Just a heads up.
Good luck
Dave
Edit: Btw, I know nothing about TTS except I heard that installation was very complex and requires alot of mods to your car/engine block.
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[This message has been edited by ratio411 (edited August 29, 2002).]
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 747
From: Charleston,SC
Any competent exhaust shop can make you a Y-pipe with cats.I don't really think moving the cats 6" will make a big difference to an inspector unless you live in a communist country like Kalinfornia.How many yahoos do you think actually know where the cats are stock?They just know if they're there or not.Also,don't long-tubes put the cat back under the passenger hump where it was meant to be?
Kevin
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1998 Black Z28 A4
-------1/8-------
8.548 @ 83.64 MPH
Pics
Camaro/Firebird Birthday Bash
Kevin
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1998 Black Z28 A4
-------1/8-------
8.548 @ 83.64 MPH
Pics
Camaro/Firebird Birthday Bash
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 43
From: St. Louis, MO USA
>Edit: Btw, I know nothing about TTS
>except I heard that installation was
>very complex and requires alot of mods
>to your car/engine block
Sorry dude, you heard wrong. You may be thinking about that "grotts" header. They arent the same. The Grotts are REALLY hard to install, you have to have the car on a lift because the header has to be inserted collector-down or something, jackstands wont give you near enough clearance.
I just installed TTS and they were EXTREMELY easy to install. My first header install in about 15 years, no problems! No mods to the engine block or whatever. The install is about on par with the FLP install, which is widely considered to be the easiest LT header install available. You do have to take a ball peen hammer and reshape a protruding corner very low on the firewall. Takes about a minute or two and a few good whacks, maybe thats what you mis-heard? Think of it as a thereaputic exercise, WHACK WHACK WHACK!
But thats nothing like an SLP LT install where ya gotta unbolt the tranny and jack it up to get them in there ;-) or was it removing an engine mount!? Sheesh, either way, that wold give me hives! NO WAY!
:-)
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'02 Z28 : MTI lid, TTS headers, Corsa exaust, ASP pulley, Pro5.0 w/Lou's ShortStick, Konis (front) Bilsteins (rear), 35mm ST swaybar, SS wheels, SLP SFCs, disabled DRLs, *all* the free mods! :NEXT: ported TB?, NAAAAWZ?? LS1edit???
[This message has been edited by SpikeLS1 (edited August 29, 2002).]
>except I heard that installation was
>very complex and requires alot of mods
>to your car/engine block
Sorry dude, you heard wrong. You may be thinking about that "grotts" header. They arent the same. The Grotts are REALLY hard to install, you have to have the car on a lift because the header has to be inserted collector-down or something, jackstands wont give you near enough clearance.
I just installed TTS and they were EXTREMELY easy to install. My first header install in about 15 years, no problems! No mods to the engine block or whatever. The install is about on par with the FLP install, which is widely considered to be the easiest LT header install available. You do have to take a ball peen hammer and reshape a protruding corner very low on the firewall. Takes about a minute or two and a few good whacks, maybe thats what you mis-heard? Think of it as a thereaputic exercise, WHACK WHACK WHACK!
But thats nothing like an SLP LT install where ya gotta unbolt the tranny and jack it up to get them in there ;-) or was it removing an engine mount!? Sheesh, either way, that wold give me hives! NO WAY!
:-)
------------------
'02 Z28 : MTI lid, TTS headers, Corsa exaust, ASP pulley, Pro5.0 w/Lou's ShortStick, Konis (front) Bilsteins (rear), 35mm ST swaybar, SS wheels, SLP SFCs, disabled DRLs, *all* the free mods! :NEXT: ported TB?, NAAAAWZ?? LS1edit???
[This message has been edited by SpikeLS1 (edited August 29, 2002).]
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 240
From: Nashville, TN USA
Here's what I think I'm going to do. I'll order the Hooker LTs then have my exaust shop fabricate a y pipe with the stock cats. Is that possible? Would hi flow cats be worth it? I've heard they're not worth the cash.
BTW: It's either a SS style hood/custom paint or headers. Now after reading your posts you've got me swayed into getting headers. I'm mostly worried about the install and getting engine lights that I read about often on here. I'm confused about O2 simms and what not. I think I'm getting the picture now though.
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J.J. (Nashville, TN)
2001 Camaro Z28 M6
BTW: It's either a SS style hood/custom paint or headers. Now after reading your posts you've got me swayed into getting headers. I'm mostly worried about the install and getting engine lights that I read about often on here. I'm confused about O2 simms and what not. I think I'm getting the picture now though.
------------------
J.J. (Nashville, TN)
2001 Camaro Z28 M6
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 511
From: Soon to be Pensacola
SpikeLS1:
I wasn't flaming TTS headers. Just passing along what I have heard posting on several of the LS1 sites the past few years. Usually folks say the install was very difficult, with cutting/grinding on the engine block and snipping/pounding the floor pan as well as a couple of posts I saw where the authors had to re-drill some of the header bolt holes.
Here is by far the most detailed I have seen:
http://www.ls1.com/forums/showthread...&highlight=tts
No, flaming. Just do some searching and see what other people are writing on different sites before you decide.
Dave
I wasn't flaming TTS headers. Just passing along what I have heard posting on several of the LS1 sites the past few years. Usually folks say the install was very difficult, with cutting/grinding on the engine block and snipping/pounding the floor pan as well as a couple of posts I saw where the authors had to re-drill some of the header bolt holes.
Here is by far the most detailed I have seen:
http://www.ls1.com/forums/showthread...&highlight=tts
No, flaming. Just do some searching and see what other people are writing on different sites before you decide.
Dave
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 240
From: Nashville, TN USA
Ok let me run this by you and you tell me what you guys think. This is just an idea and I don't know THAT much about engines but here goes.
Could I order the Hooker LT's, use the stock cats (I here they flow just fine), and run a pipe from each header to a side exuast. No muffler just header, cat, to pipe, out the side. Do this for both sides. What would that sound like? Is it even feasable? Thanks for listing to the ideas of an idiot
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J.J. (Nashville, TN)
2001 Camaro Z28 M6
Could I order the Hooker LT's, use the stock cats (I here they flow just fine), and run a pipe from each header to a side exuast. No muffler just header, cat, to pipe, out the side. Do this for both sides. What would that sound like? Is it even feasable? Thanks for listing to the ideas of an idiot
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J.J. (Nashville, TN)
2001 Camaro Z28 M6
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