how much money would LT headers cost in general including installation fees, and which brand makes the most HP, what kind of gains am i looking at? i heard SLP makes good power, but there are ground clearance issues. any other LTs that make the most power?

 

Most headers are fairly equal as far a hp gains. Costs well that can vary a ton, you can get coated Pacesetters or Flowtech's for around $500 and Kooks or PPC headers can run in the $800 range....then you need a y-pipe, cats(high flow cats are pricey) or off road pipes then add the install costs and you could be looking at about $1500- $2500 it just depends on what brand you buy. Check out sponcers for prices.....

 

so with headers and y pipe, about how much HP am i looking at? basically i should base my decision on sound and price?

 

QTP and Kooks are probably the highest quality F-body LS1 longtube headers available at this point. Don't worry about sound quality with the headers. The quality of the exhaust's note is based on the cat-back system you have. You can listen to various header/catback set-ups on the net but they don't sound exactly like the real deal in person. Your best bet is to find cars locally and listen to their set-ups. I personally would go with either QTPs or KOOKS headers and true duals or a custom y-pipe with a SLP Performance Parts Dual Dual exhaust. If you choose not to run cats then you have a lot of RASP and you'll need a good muffler to eliminate it. I have a SLP Loudmouth and it has A LOT of RASP that I plan to eliminate with a DD.

 

The main difference between brands is the fit and finish. The more you pay, the better quality the welds will be and the better the finish. I got the coated Flowtechs. They were $520 shipped with the Y-pipe, gaskets, bolts, and O2 extensions. I did the install myself in about 5 hours. There were no fitment issues with the headers and only a minor tweak on the y-pipe to fit. The headers went in easier then the set of Hookers I did about a month ago and they had some other issues. They are the same basic design , being made by Holley.

So it comes down to what you want. The best bang for the buck or high quality lookin stuff with the same basic power.

Bang for the buck, Pacesetter or Flowtech.

Quality and cash, FLP or QTP.

 

yup darkangels right. it was my hookers he was talking bout. flowtechs and pacesetters are the cheaper ones. and the qtp, kooks, are the expensive ones. the hookers arent that bad either.