So im in the market for some headers. Its been a year since I did some mods. Its time again! Anyone have any experience with SLP Headers? Or know of a really good set? I dont care what it costs. If Im doing this I want to do it right!

Will I notice a diffrence in power? From what I understand the car will be a little louder too. Will it be that much louder? I dont want the neighbors complaining to me Will it improve gas mileage? Whats the diffrence between long and short? How long will it take to install? Thanx in advance!

 

Hello,

If you've already decided against longtubes, i'd say you made a good choice! To my understanding the 93-95 style SLP shorties flow better than most shorties, if not the best. Plus they have 1 3/4" primaries and most shorties have 1 5/8. They're also stainless so coating isnt essential if you dont live in a rust area, but it is a wise idea if you can afford it to keep underhood temps down. They will make your exhaust slightly louder and a bit deeper(even louder if you dont have a cat), but it isnt extremely dramatic where your neighbors will complain. The most audible difference i noticed is when downshifting, which now sounds super badass compared to stock manifolds(especially if you have a catback or even just a muffler.)

Installation was pretty simple when i did these on my car. But i did the dual cat version so all i had to do was bolt them in and i belive you have to have a little cutting/welding done. My most stongest advice when putting these in: take your time, be patient, and dont do anything halfassed. I got them in and battled leaks for about 6 months. First where they meet the head, then at the collectors. Just make sure you use quality gaskets and do what i forgot to do: DO A GOOD JOB CLEANING AND PREPARING THE MATING SURFACES. Clean both surfaces with a steel brush or something similar(dont be too rough on the aluminum heads though) and use an RTV sealant on the gaskets.

One last word, if you can't afford to get them coated, use header wrap. Most uncoated steel headers will rust from the inside out when using wrap since they can trap a little moisture. But these are stainless, lifetime warranty, and i think i remember a board member doing this on these headers. Please correct me if im wrong.

Sorry to write you a book, but i was bored and hope i helped!

 

Thanx for the info. Its a good thing u were bored so I could read that book of ures seemed to me u didnt leave a detail out! So it looks like ill be leaning towards the shorties. Thanx!

 

Why is going against longtubes a good choice???? It all depends on what you are looking for. You can spout all sorts of stuff about long vs short vs mid length vs larger primaries all day long, but it all depends on the engine combo.

Price you say isn't a consideration, so there are a lot of choices out there. People have had both good and bad experiences with ALL of them. The SLP's are usually rated as one of the best, so I'm not trying to bash here. But I have seen people trade their SLP shorties for stock manifolds and make more average power... as I said it's all about the engine combo.

Typically, and I know this isn't 100% of the case... mid length headers are a good compromise between high rpm flow and low rpm backpressure. That is to say, on your typical mostly stock engine combo, you would MOST LIKELY see the best average gain. Long tubes will squeeze out those higher rpms ponies, and the shorties will typically fatten up the low end some more.

You will definitely from what I've seen notice a difference in power. The exhaust tone will change, but usually not the loudness (read dB level) as long as the components downstream are not changed. Typically the tone becomes deeper, with a slight echo to it.

Install times vary depending on your skill level and the problems you run into. Some people are very methodical and can take up to about 8 hrs, some can do it in two if they are lucky. Prices vary depending on what you want. There are all sorts, emissions equipped, emissions delete, bare (no O2 holes, no emissions), some come with a y-pipe, some do not.

Personally I will be going with a set of Pacesetter long tubes that are emissions delete. If you want to know more about them, feel free to ask. They are going for $275, and since price is one of my issues, they are the best for me. They also have a matching Y-pipe. Shorties usually run you around 350, and long tubes between 400 and 800.

Good luck

Jonota

 

So let me get this stragiht: depending on where and when you want the power- you either go with short or long tube?


Will long tube scrape the bottom on bumps?

 

I have SLP 94-95 single cat headers. I'm pretty happy with them. I would say they are probably the best flowing shortie/mid length header for our cars. I was sold on them when Dr. Mudge put down 414rwhp with just AI heads and cam on a stock short block with them. I actually bought his old set when he sold them. They are probably a little tougher to install because you have to pull the motor mount bolt and jack up the motor on the drivers side. Some people will come in and say you don't have to remove the bolt and jack it up but me and a buddy both had to. I don't think headers make the car louder they just make it smoother. The only reason people say adding headers makes the car a lot louder is that because they ditch the cat at the same time. I would get the SLP's coated, it will keep them looking nice and lower the under hood temps a lot. Headers will give you a good increase in power. I noticed that my car my car pulled a lot harder, didn't choke up and fall on its face at about 5k anymore.

 

I would say 8hrs is probably a good figure. There is no way anyone has done it in 2 hrs or they did it very half azz'ed. There are a lot of things that have to be done. You have to get the old rusty stuff out, scrape the gasket surfaces, get the dipstick removed, bent, reninstalled, install the headers, run the plug wires and hook up or remove the AIR system. I think 4-5 hrs would be about the fastest someone could install them on a car thats never had them before.

 

No, where you live should be the determining factor. If emission testing is strict where you live, IMO SLP is your best option. I had a set of coated single cat SLPs. I was very happy with sound and performance increase. I got @ 12-14 rwhp (gtech -- so not entirely accurate ).

And yes, LTs can scrape going over bumps.

 

Emissions is definitely a big deal, make sure you know what your up against there. Any state inspection place should be able to tell you what is allowed/not allowed.

LT's have been known to scrape sometimes, going over speedbumps and the like, although most people with stock ride height don't have a problem with that. Lowered cars WILL have problems though.

Yes, where you want the power is a big thing. Shorties from what I have seen and been told give you a bit more low end, so they will FEEL much better than the mid-long tubes... depending on the setup. If you just keep the stock cat back and put on headers, you won't see much of a gain. A good setup for peak power would be long tubes, x pipe, twin cats(if you want emissions), straight through style mufflers and your choice of tips. To gain a little bit of low end back, some people try using H pipes.

As far as install times.. it all depends. Before, people would never believe you could get an engine out in 2-3 hours... but now most people know you can. I have personally been involved in a long tube header install (Pacesetter) that took about 2 hours and 15 minutes. It went very well, no leaks, no problems as of yet (8 months ago). We didn't take ANY breaks, didn't really run into problems.... although keep in mind we kept it open header until the next day for the muffler shop... so we didn't have the headache of trying to hook all that up. I can definitely see where you can have hang ups... especially if it's your first time. When I did my 6 speed conversion, it initially took me and 2 buddies about 13 hours of work... now i can pull the tranny and do a clutch job start to finish in about an hour and a half....

Jonota

 

looks like Ill be ordering short tubes. I cant get long simply becasue new york city has too many potholes

emission wise Im good. My best friend has his own mechanic shop. So im sure everything will work out just fine there This guy has a 2000 Ws6 with a Z06 engine and nos in it. So Im slowly buidling up so I can beat him one day

Thanx for all the info! This board is great!!!

J A Y

 

always glad to provide info...

Jonota

 

http://cardomain.com/id/fullslp

best mod iv'e done . i have the dual cat slp headers. i coated them myself . take my advise run your headers through cats and PULL OFF YOUR MUFFLER!! the cats muffle the sound so much that at idle it just sounds more agressive but when you get on it all hell breaks loose. i work at 4am and have no neighbor complaints.. just pull the muffler for a day and you will never put it back on..

 

I have a set of SLP shorties w/ypipe and a high flow cat welded on if you're interested PM me.

Rich

 

i have a set of 96-97 style SLP headers on my 94. i like them. i got them used. i couldnt run a longtube because i needed something that pass emissions, but i wanted a 1 3/4 header. ive also got a random tech 96-97 y pipe. from the dyno tesing ive seen, for a given pipe diameter, the shorter pipe works a little better up top and the longer pipe works a little better down low. the only thing that sucks about the SLP headers is changing plugs and wires. if you can, get the hookers. if you cant, the SLPs are a good alternative.