My car is stock. Headers and exhaust will be the only signficant mods, at least for awhile. I was really only planning to change my mounts if it were necessary to undo them in order to get the headers in. Whether or not that's necessary seems to depend on who you ask. I know I wouldn't want my headers banging on the floorboard of my car.

 

If you are going with long tubes you will undoubtably have to raise the motor some to get them in unless you are Houdini

 

I didn't have to raise the motor.

 

So, if I can place the bottom of my right foot on the small of my back I should be good to go?

Sounds like I just need to decide which mounts to get. I know the OEM mounts were between 70-80 bucks each and that was over a month ago. I doubt they've gotten cheaper. Considering that my car is over 13 years old and has 100+K miles on it, if the mounts have to be undone I may as well go ahead and replace them.

 

As far as cost, I really have no idea what OEM mounts cost, but be sure you are getting them from either Dal or Jason http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech2.html#Dal_and_Jason and not at your local dealer. They will be much cheaper compared to the dealer here.
As far as not raising the motor to install headers, maybe it has to do with what brand, there was no way the Kooks were going on without rotating the motor up on the driver side due to the steering coupler and the AC compressor tube being in the way on the pass side.

 

I've been getting all of my GM stuff from Jason. I've seen a lot of posts claiming that uncoupling the motor mounts and raising the engine on each side makes a header install much easier. It just sounds difficult to me because I've never done it. I'm also not sure I have access to an engine hoist, but we do have several floor jacks. I hope that's all I need.

And when people refer to raising the engine, are they generally referring to lifting the side where the header is being installed, ie lift the drivers side when installing the driver's side header?

 

To lift it, all thats required is removing the center bolt in each mount, very easy, takes about 1 minute on each side if you have a boxed end wrench on the nut, and a ratchet with extension on the front bolt.
Lift the motor with a floor jack and a piece of wood against the front of the crank on the dampener. Usually about 2-3 inches gives you enough room. In some cases you may have to roll the motor a tad by lifting it, then placing some blocks under the mounts and then lowering the jack causing one side to sit higher and making the motor a little lopsided.

 

The first time I installed my headers the car had OEM motor mounts and had all kinds of fit problems, and they would bang the underside of the car. I replaced the motor mounts with the Energy Suspension brand and the headers dropped wright into place from the top of the motor, and no more headers banging the underside of the car. I did not notice much change in vibs but it change the feel of the car, it is alittle hard to explain the car just feels crisper and tight.