Hey guys, I have been reading a few threads on headers and just was wondering why most feel that Edelbrock TES headers are no good. I've had them on my car for 10 years, 1994 Z28, and have not had one problem. I've made about 70 passes down the strip through out the years and am very satisfied w/my results. I am basically a bolt on A4 car w/bolt ons and 3.73 gears and I went 13.006 at 107+. No stall converter or 1.66 rr at that time.

Just wondering if guys have had bad experiences with them or are comparing them to the long tubes which will make more power.

Thanks for your repsonses.

 

I've wondered the same thing, I put the TES headers on my car about 3 years ago (I picked them because I had a cracked manifold and my daughter worked at summit, and got me a killer deal on them, and I needed smog legal)

The exhaust note change and power increase were very obvious, and that was bone stock car, not even cat back.

maybe others are better yet, don't know

 

im interested in this also. what have been some of the problems people have had with them?

 

I had the TES headers on my car for a couple years, and i definatly got lots of **** from people about them. I had one guy claim he lost 1hp on the dyno going from stock manifolds to the edelbrocks!

I personally think that they are a fairly decent header (although probably not the best shorty you could get. they werent coated, so they also fried the paint job on my hood.)

My car is a '97 t/a and in addition to the edelbrocks i had the following power mods at the time:
Borla Catback (medium plate)
LT4 knock module
K&N air filter

This was good for 290rwhp, 315rwtq. and a best of 13.87@101.8 at the track
I dont have before dyno#s, but I would say that a typical catback-only lt1 would have about 270-275rwhp, so I believe these headers gave me somewhere around 15-20 extra hp.

If you compare these numbers to what most bolt-on guys get with midlengths/longtubes, youll notice the (peak) hp numbers are about the same, and the track times are a little worse. The longtubes seem to make a little more peak torque and they end up making it higher in the rpm range than the shorties, which translates into a better track time.

In summary -- i think they are fine header if you get a good deal on them, otherwise step up to some coated slps shorties or midlengths. (1-3/4 primaries have advantages)

 

i loved mine, cheap, not bad to put on, plug access is about as crappy as all the other ones. lol


dynoed 344 356 with them bolt ons, and hot cam
put on some long tube flp dynoed 344 356... lol well worth the 1k

 

There is nothing really wrong with them, they're just a small header. Of course that's also why they're the easiest to install.

 

thanks for the replies!

 

Yes, thank you for all of your replies.

 

That sucks. Were the 2 tests on the same dyno, similar conditions, etc.?

 

yep.


ran the same at the track also

 

I had uncoated ones. Hated them. Very thin pipes. Sold them on e-bay and after that guy, who got it found that heatshield were so badly welded, that it fell off and had a huge hole under it. Gave him full refund
Hooker super-comps are way to go.

 

I must respectfuly ask how a bolt on LT1 A4 without RR's and a converter can run a 13.00 ET @ 107MPH.
If this is the case then the rest of the bolt ons should get into the 12's.

Please dont think I am raising th BS flag but that is a bold statement when you see ported and cammed cas cars going slower. There must be another explanation for this number IE: Very skilled driver, super tuned engine , weight reduction or 50 MPH tailwind.

Maybe its just me and my simple mind!!!

 

that really not that hard to belive. my car went 12.9s @ 106-107 with headers, cold air, 4.10s pulley and bfgs

hell a friend of mine went 110-111 with same bolt ons, plus a electric water pump and 1.6 rock arms

 

In that case I applaud him on the numbers.

 

Of course, all I have is my word and the time slips. But.... I swear to you that I am telling the truth. I use DR's, get about 1.89-1.92 60ft times and run at ATCO raceway. ATCO is at sea level as well, so that helps. I do have video of the car running at the track. I'm not sure if it is any of the 13.0-13.1 runs but I'll check. I usually run 13.0-13.1 every times at 106.5-107.5.

My goal was to get into the 12's w/o a stall converter. The closest I came was the 13.0006. That's pretty close.

I could scan the slips in the comptuer if you wish. Of course, you'd still be going on my word because the slips could be anyones. I'll try to find the video.

Only weight reduction is the spare tire is out. I do have about 100 runs under my belt at the track but honestly all I do is leave the trans in "D" and go. MOst of my runs are in Setp, OCT and Spring time. It was anywhere from 40-70 degrees.

I do own a shop and do all the work myself. The car has about 70k on it now and I have owned it since it was new. It is well taken care of.