Hey, I've heard all kinds of things about the effects of putting headers on the LS1s, good and bad. Some have told me that they really don't make much of a difference and are a waste of $$ because our manifolds are so good (I'm assuming they're thinking of bolting on short tubes). I've also headers can add about 15 hp (long tubes?). Is it worth it for me to spend mucho $$ on headers, or just stick to other exhaust modifications (which is going to happen sooner then planned because I drove over someone's tranny on the fwy and badly dented my exhaust...).

btw: has anyone dynoed their car before and after headers to see an actual difference? and if so, how much?

 

I need info on how good specifically the SLP long tube headers are too if anyone has them..while were on the subject of headers.

 

I am putting on a set of TTS long tubes in about 2 weeks, and will probably get it dynoed at the end of Oct. Hopefully it will be worth the money, but it may not yeild much of a difference on a stock motor. When you get into heads/cam set ups then headers are a must for max power. Look at this thread for some interesting reading about headers on new LS1's:
http://www.ls1.com/forums/showthrea...314#post1458314

 

I put SLP lt's and a loudmouth on my car and dynoed 30 hp more than stock. Headers don't really pay off until you start to upgrade your engine, then they shine.

 

A good set of longtube headers will gain you upwards of 30hp at the wheels. Also, considering that after you have replaced the rest of the exhaust system, your stock manifolds are now the bottleneck of the system and need to be upgraded.

You may run rich after the install so it is a good idea to have a MAFT or LS1 Edit to tune to get the most out of them.

 

is 15 rwhp worth it for prolly over $1,000? its your car. i have SEEN the hooker/mufflex LT setup and the FLP setup before and after on the dyno and they both did 16 rwhp solidly across the range, both on 01 WS6's M6, with no substantial 'peak' increase at any particular RPM. they did the SLP setup in PHR and saw similar results. thats a damn lot of money for 15 rwhp or so. for those who saw 30 or so, post your dyno sheet will ya, and what do you have for mods or what did you dyno with in addition to the headers, those seem to me to be way overstated on a bolt on car (from what i have seen). on a heads/cam car, you are right, they will compliment them VERY nicely. if ya got the money though, seems like a good way to get ahead....
brian

 

Headers will cost anywhere from $300-800...dunno where you are getting this $1,000 from, it should NOT cost you that much for headers.

And yes, 20-30 rwhp has been achieved with a header install and tuning.

 

He's probably including the cost for installation. I couldn't imagine installing headers myself without a car-lift.

Maybe some more experienced people on this board could put in a set of headers....but I probably couldn't.

 

yea like whats a rough estimate for installation of FLP Headers into a 99 SS?

Jose

 

where did i get that number? check out how much a set of FLP's costs. you cant get em without cats/ypipe/etc. try $1300+ and what are hookers with the mufflex ypipe with cats and or offroad pipes and you are over a grand. make sense? add installation on top of that and you can be easily over $1500 depending on the route, the cost of o2 simms, etc. ive been there and done that with FLPs. $1290 to my door, $90 for simms, $250 for install, $30 for better header gaskets cuz FLP's suck, $25 for stage 8 bolts instead of crappy FLP's. looks like ~$1650 to do up my LT1. now you know where im getting my numbers from?
brian

 

Last time I check the headers were worth it...Who ever said that the mainifolds were as good as headers they were refering to a shorty type of header which is true....Long tubes are a different story...Better sound more power....and about 580 bucks. I like my hookers.... Then again like it was mentioned above engine work does help

Seth

 

Looks like you are adding up the cost of everything, when I was only talking about just headers which was the topic of this discussion. That's the difference.

I'll quote myself again.

 

blackhawk-go and try and get the FLP long tubes alone, you cant, and that was my point. i believe that TTS headers also come in a kit costing ~$1300. so yes, you can get just the hookers alone for that quoted price, but then the ypipie (i believe) will require modification, which is why i pointed out the mufflex. you can get shorties for teh price you quoted, and while you are correct in saying you can get certain LT's alone for that price, thats not thereal picture now is it. so ill reiterate my point, its gonna cost ya much more than $3-800 to get the headers and what you need to actually make them functional, which i think was what he was getting at, not just how much a pair will cost.
brian

 

We're not talking 83 Monte Carlos ... If you plan on running open at the collecter - then you might get away with $400 to $500.

Sorry, but the LS1 has a Y-pipe exhaust and it's going to cost you at least $800 to get back to the I-pipe, over a $1000 if you're going to go with hi-flow cats.

As far as gains, typically you will see 15 to 20 rwhp with tuning on a stock internal engine and you keep the cats. You may see 30, if you're pulling the cats at the same time or you're installing headers on an engine that's already been cammed and is choking on the stock exhaust.

Pesronally I got 15, but I was already running an ORP with shorties and sans cats.

As for the question is it worth it ... that's something only you can answer. Some people buy $75 pairs of socks ... other people wash and resuse styrafoam plates.

 

Well Kooks sells headers for the LT1 for $1014.90 and the LS1 $800.00 to over $1000.00. Kooks and HPE and PPerformace say that Kooks headers produce the most power and are hand made and hand ported