Jay-mak

I'm ready to finally put some headers on my Z, but I need some answers/opinions first.

1.) Does it really matter which brand (SLP, MAC, Hooker, etc.) other than price?

2.) What are the clearance issues I may have to deal with?

3.) If I also want to remove the CATS, what extras will I need.

4.) Will I need O2 sensors?

5.) Will I need a new Y-pipe no matter which headers I decide to get?

I know it's a lot of questions, but I want to make sure I do it right.

Thanks!!!!

teke184

#1:
it depends...there are shorties, midlength, and longtubes. for each category, brand will have nothing to do with performance +/- 1hp. shorties have the least gains, are emmissions legal and reuse the stock Ypipe. mids are good gains, if equiped with cats would pass sniff test emissions but not visual, and they come with a specially designed ypipe for the application. longtubes give the most gains (recently dyno proven nearly identical to mids though), again when equiped with cats should pass emissions, and also require a specific ypipe. i will assume you are thinking mids or longtubes, and besides cost and material, ie stainless or aluminized, and then ceramic coated (highly reccomended) or not, they are all pretty much the same. SLP are said to have the worst ground clearance.

#2:
as stated, you will lose some clearance with almost all headers, either the header itself or the larger dia. ypipe. other clearance issues are the header hitting the crossmember, seems to be case specific...some brands do it on one car but not the next. and another issue is ypipe clearance with the frame, not hard to remedy, adjustment in the ypipe or use of poly motor mounts to limit engine movement.

#3:
to remove cats, you don't "need" anything. by doing so you will be triggering an SES light from the rear o2 sensors. to fix this you can program the code out, custome tune or hand-held programmer, or you can get o2 simulators that trick the computer into thinking there are cats in place ($90).

#4:
shouldn't need sensors, can reuse old ones, but may want to put new ones in for "preventative maintenance". you will need o2 extension wires for the long tubes, since the placement of the sensor is farther back and the stock wires aren't long enough. flowtech i beleive is selling the extensions WITH their headers. they are readily available if not included.

#5:
pretty much answered that in #1. for every header except shorties, you'lll need a special ypipe. most brands sell a corresponding pipe separate, some are included (mids). there are debates as to which brands fit well and which don't.

anything else?

nikkev

Those are different types of headers.The SLP and Hookers are long-tubes and the MACs are mid-lengths.There is not a huge difference in power but the long-tubes require a lot of ground clearance.But other than that,no a long-tube is a long-tube

See above post.If you get the long-tubes you may not want to lower the car too much,but niether should pose a big problem if you are on stock springs.

You will need O2 simms or have the computer re-programmed to get rid of the codes in the computer.

Yes,because the headers move where the stock y-pipe bolts up.

No problem!

nikkev

Looks like I was a little late!

Jay-mak

Thanks a ton for the posts guys....It REALLY helped a lot. I thought there would be things that I didn't know about or wouldn't expect.

BUT.......


As far as headers and clearance, I'm going to go with long tubes and if SLP gives the least ground clearance, what would be an equal alternative?

Could you guys shoot me some "name brand" header choices and web sites where I can take a look at them?

Thanks again!!!!

Florida_Z28_Boy

Well I see everyone has pretty much already answered all your questions.

If you're gonna get long tubes, me and many others would suggest Pacesetters. They're pretty low priced and my friends cousin has used them on his 2001 Z/28 for awhile and loves them.

Jay-mak

Where could I look at the Pacesetters on the web?

Florida_Z28_Boy

Right here

teke184

pacesetter, flowtech, hookers and Jet-hot are the best low priced headers.

just look around the exhaust section of these places:
www.thunderracing.com
www.tbyrne.com
www.texas-speed.com

StealthZ28

When installing headers (of any brand), is a re-tune needed? Also thinking about headers in the future of my '98Z.

Florida_Z28_Boy

A re-tune is needed to optimize the gains. It shouldn't be much of a hassle to have a shop do.

StealthZ28

Would a Hypertech P.P. work to re-tune for headers or would I need LS1 Edit and a laptop? Also, I talked to some guys I know in my area who have headers on their cars and trucks and they talk about always having to change their gaskets every 6 months or so. And they tell me that they leak terriable. I just want to make sure it would all be worth getting. I don't need any problem of leakage and the constent changing of gaskets

teke184

a retune is NOT NECCESSARY after headers.

the gains would be minimal, cause what are you really changing? nothing internal.

probably 75% of the gain that you WOULD get from a retune after headers would be seen if you tuned the car without headers.

so no you don't need to retune, although you'l need some way to get rid of the SES light that will be triggered if you take off the cats. this can be done in a retune, hpp+ or by buying $90 O2 simulators.

the HPP+ will do more harm than good on a modified engine. most of the gains designed into that unit are for stock cars. once you start putting mods on, the programming is no longer valuable

StealthZ28

I'm glad you explained that Teke. When it comes to that stuff, I get kinda leary. I plan on keeping cats...NY is getting tough on emissions now. I had questions in my last post about gasket leaks from the headers and the fear of changing them all the time. Also, I just recently installed a GMMG cat-back and I was wondering about suggestions of headers and ORY that would fit along with it.

On another note, thanks Teke for all the advice. I like your web page and it is really well detailed. Very nice job

99snkklr

1) I would go one of these headers: QTP(Quick Time Performance), Kooks, Thunder Racing, or Hooker. The Hookers should be the last choice though. Roger Grotyohann made the best headers for the LS1 f-body but he ran his business like crap and doesn't sell headers anymore that I know of. Grotyohann's header design is still sold by QTP and Thunder Racing(I think the header Thunder Racing sells is the Grott design but I am not sure...the QTP definetly is though). The SLP headers are decent but have the worst ground clearance of all the headers. The MAC headers are not full length(long tube) but rather mid-length. They will offer power gains but most likely not as much as longtubes. The FLP headers are also good but I have seen A LOT of issues with their flanges where the cat/bypass pipes are.
2) You will lose a little ground clearance with any long tube header but the loss will be minimal unless you go with the SLPs or some of the cheaper headers out there.
3) If you don't want cats then you will have to get an off-road y-pipe or H/X-pipe for true duals if you want them. You will also need to get 2 O2 simms for the rear oxygen sensors; to fool the PCM into thinking there are cats equipped. The other option is to have the rear O2s deleted from the PCM via LS1 Edit; I would advise this over using O2 Simms.
4) You can re-use the existing O2s. If you have a ton of miles you may want to replace them with new OEM ones; since you have to take them out anyway.
5) Whatever header you choose requires a new y-pipe, except for the JBA shorty headers(I think); which by the way are a joke and a waste of cash. If you were considering the JBA shorties just send me the $600.00 instead, cause they are useless!