tryin to decide on headers for my 95 Z. i have stock exhaust except for putting a test pipe in place of the cat. i'm getting ready to do a 383 stroker rebuild and need some help deciding on headers. im going to keep my stock catback setup for now, so just need to decide on headers. i was pretty much set on LT's until talking to a friend of mine who warned me of clearance issue with some of the LT's. I put some new Eibach springs and new shocks on a while back and the literature said it would drop the car 1" so it's already a little lower than stock. This is my daily driver and I certainly don't want to be worried about bottoming out on speed bumps, etc. Is the clearance definately worse with LT's vs. shorties? If so, I would love some recommendations and links for shorties. I'd like to stay in the $500-600 price range for ceramic coated if possible. lastly, do i sacrifice much performance with shorties vs. LT's?

 

Plenty of info on this site, but for a quick summary.

Longtubes normally hang lower. My y pipe is actually my low point right now. With new mounts it should not be a major problem.

Peak hp/tq on the 2 are not a big difference, but most see that longtubes give better gains all the way through the power band.

My recommendation is to buy some cheap used ones. Like I did for $200 including y pipe.

I drag over LARGE speedbumps,everyonce in a while on the highway if I have 3 people in the car. But my rear shocks are the factory origionals with 120k on them. Clearance is not a huge issue, just have to be mindful of the road.

 

Another suggestion is going with mid-length headers. Something like Mac's or AS&M. I am installing the AS&M's right now and i have the lowered the car around 2". I won't have any clearance issues once i'm finished.

 

I was deciding same for my 95. when you say you're gonna keep it stock from cat back, I believe that would eliminate the choice for Long Tubes. They are too far back in the car to maintain that setup. I believe you would havw to move the cat towards the rear of the car.

 

anybody know AS&M's website address or links to good vendors for their mid's?

 

I have AS&M's and a Pro-Kit. Here is a picture of the ground clearance that I have with my setup. Not too bad at all: Picture

 

RedRyder....

Looks nice. Do you still find that the headers are now your low point whereas they weren't before? Or are they still not your low point?

 

I've got stock shocks/springs with Jet Hot Long Tubes. I have to be a little bit careful in certain places... normal speed bumps don't provide problems usually. If you drive carefully, I doubt you will have any problems with LT's. I've hit mine several times on huge speed bumps in my friend's old apartment complex, but I figured out a way to go over them without problems.

 

You know, the funny thing is that the y-pipe is not the lowest point. It seems the 3-bolt flange that connects my y-pipe to my ORP is the lowest point. Even then, that isn't what scrapes sometimes, I think it is my crossbrace that scrapes usually.

 

The flange on mine is the low point as well, and is what hits.

 

In my experience- if you are buying parts and spending the time to go faster- DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME.

Long tubes are the ONLY way to go. If I had gone shorties, I'd be kickin myself in the *** right now.

My car is lowered a few inches, and I NEVER scrape.

S.

 

I have LT's on my stock wheels/tires/height and I hit speed bumps on my cutout ALL the time.

 

He's right. I had mac mid's and had to get long tubes. Do it right the first time.

 

Cutout flanges, and longtubes are two different things.

 

Well yeah....the point I tried to make is that both are low enough to hit. On big speed bumps my headers barely scrape. The rear of my car tends to scrape more