Hey Guys,

Well, the 94 Z28 I just picked up has a wicked exhaust leak due to a missing/broken bolt on the driver's manifold. So I'm trying to decide if I want to "upgrade" to headers or just fix the bolt.

Headers with y-pipes can be had in the $500 range, but even that is a bit more than I want to spend at this point.

Instead of looking at performance gains, I am more concerned with fit and finish and ease of installation. Which headers are the easiest to install? Which have the best plug access. Are LT's really that difficult to install? I'm assuming they would be worth the gains. Do you really need OTC wires on the LT's? Are there any 1 5/8" LT's? They all tend to be 1 3/4". I'm concerned with bolt access with the bigger pipes. Do you really have to pull the motor mounts for header installs on these cars? Does anyone have a walk through or pictures page? Or could you point me to a comparison thread that I missed?

I have been researching for a few days, but didn't really get any difinitive answers. I am sorta leaning towards the Pacesetter LT's with ORY from a forum vendor via a GP. The price is great for them, but I'm not sure I want to spend 500 bucks to fix an exhaust leak. My plan for the car was to drive it as is and AutoX and drag race it til I break something, then upgrade. I modified the heck out of my last couple cars, this one I just wanted to get in and drive... *sigh*

And then there's all the "while I'm in there" stuff. Plugs, wires, opti, water pump, etc, etc...

TIA!

 

I started a thread called 1.6 rr's-worth it?
In that thread is a lot talked about headers as well.
People in here talk highly on LT's like from Pacesetter. LT's in general definitely have their gains but one must consider emissions (if thats a problem for you), and long term goals.
Shorties are good as well and in the price range you are looking at. Im on the same page you are, exhaust leak, just fix the gasket or upgrade, hmm?
BBK shorties, since they are chromed from Summit Racing will not go bad easily or fast. Pacesetters from what this board says are great.
Header install on our cars is not fun period.
BBK's are a decent price, include a Y, and will support good hp from what I've read. Edelbrocks...stay away from. They are not chrome.
I am not saying get BBK's as you must research and take everything into consideration.
LT's are always the better choice, but it comes down to budget, long term goals, and of course, practicality. I live Cali, so emissions are tough, BBK's will do everything I need them to do, including passing smog.
Hope this helps, I can rattle on...
Daniel
94Z28 A4
14.3's @ 99mph.
12.7@ 107 on DR's, 75 wet fogger shot.
Bunch of small mods done, the usual.

 

I'm kind of in the same boat myself. I don't have a problem to fix, i'm just looking to upgrade. I've been doing my research and i'm finding that the only major downside to LT's are the emissions. You'll get much better performance, more HP, but you'll need to reposition the cat(s). I was looking into either Hooker or Hedman for my headers, but prices are reaching the $500.00 range without the y-pipe. Then of course you need to purchase your new muffler/pipes/tips etc.

It's a costly bolt-on endevor but i've been told that the HP/performance gain is well worth it for the LT1. Plus the sound

 

Do headers. It will be such a pain to fix that broken bolt. When you try to take the y-pipe off the stock manifolds you will break a lot of studs on the manifolds too so you'll have to replace all of them too. Depending upon which manifold bolt is broke you might not even have to mess with it when you put headers on. I say when it comes to deciding headers you have to ask two main concerns. 1. Do you have emissions? 2. Will you ever lower the car? If you have emissions LT's are probably out. If you want to lower your car i would stay away from LT's in my opinion. My buddy's Hooker LT's drag every once in a while as it is. He put some lowering springs on and only had 1.5" of clearance between his exhaust and the ground. So he had to take the lowering springs off.

 

Thanks for the replies guys.

Does anyone have any pics of the Pacesetter LT's installed?

I don't have to worry about emissions in NH. They just adopted emissions testing this year, but it's a plug-in only for OBD2 cars. OBD1 cars are exempt.

As far as ground clearance, pics would be nice there, too. I was planning on eventually changing the springs to something more suited to AutoX. They will most likely lower the car, whatever I end up with. As it is now, I only have about 2" of ground clearance under the cat. And I've already hit it a couple times in the 350 miles I've put on the car the past 2 days... I had planned to leave the drivetrain fairly stock and do suspension mods til something broke (springs, sways, SFC's, etc).

This car is going to need to be completely gone through. One of the PO's really hacked it up...

I may just have my mechanic give me an estimate to fix it. If it's gonna be about 100 bucks (for labor) I may just have him do it. It'll save me a ton of aggravation. Any more than that and I'll have to go with headers. That I'll do myself.

Soooo about those pics...?

 

Long tubes are a pain to install, but I would imagine so are shorties and mid-lengths. I took my time on my install, two weeks off and on, and the first week was spent spraying every bolt with PB Blaster 3 times a day. It worked to because every bolt came out with out a fight. And I would like to say I live in the state of Illinois which is pretty strict on emissions and I just passed today, so LTs and emissions is possible! I have emissions legal headers w/ AIR and EGR and went through the effort to modify my y-pipe with a pair of cats. Also, tuning played a big part as well, props to Madz28. Good luck with what you decide.

 

I would have to disagree. The header installation for me wasn't hard, just give yourself time. It's easy, just have the tools before hand. OTVC plug wires aren't required, but they sure are great to have.

Here is a walkthrough of FLP LT header installation. I would get a new set of motor mounts because they do a great job, do those while doing the header installation.

 

if you can wait like an hour and a half ill take a pic of mine when i get home from work (pacesetters) if you have AIM mines DonSSuperslo ill just file transfer you the picks.

 

blind527... AWESOME! Thanks for the link. I'll have to check it out and bookmark it when I get home. (surfin from work now)

And 97SS0594, I'm not on AIM (well, I have an ID but am never on). You can email them to me at toomanytoyz@uniquekind.net though. If you're gonna take pics, can I make a few requests? I'd like one from the top on each side, close on each side showing strut tower clearance, looking underneath from each side of the car showing ground clearance, the y-pipe (both ends), and up each header towards the heads from the bottom... That would kick major a$$.

Thanks guys!!!

 

Not saying they are hard, they are just a pain if you have to meet emissions requirements. It is a whole different ball game installing headers with no AIR,EGR,and cats. And just because they are easy for one person doesn't mean they will be easy for the next. Bolts seize and break, mistakes happen, and things dont always go as planned. Headers can be a one day job, or a one month job.

 

It took me a month to do mine because things happened. I stripped the threads in the heads and had to use a tap and dye kit. My y-pipe was also delayed and things were a mess, but it was not difficult.

 

I guessing mine will take ten minutes or so...then again they will be installed right before i put the engine back in the car

 

as promised. http://community.webshots.com/album/...79grTskIoMuG/3

sorry about the low quality, i just grabbed the cheap camera and snapped them real quick. but you get the point.

 

So what about the Pacesetter shorties for a car that won't ever go heads/cam? How's the quality/fitment/plug access on those? They're cheap at $389 ceramic coated from Summit...

 

Plug access on shorties is horrible, well at least for the people I have seen with them. Not sure about Pacesetters, but a lot of times the plug access isn't the greatest on shorties.