headers

slim84maro · #1 11-03-2004, 08:41 PM

ok im getting a pair of headers soon. im going to put them on my car also as soon as i get them. what kind of header gaskets should i use? i have no idea what is good.
also, should i get some header collectors for them? i was just going to drive it around open headers for now, will i get more or less power with collectors?

Genopsyde · #2 11-03-2004, 08:42 PM

copper gaskets i've heard are good.

slim84maro · #3 11-03-2004, 09:27 PM

ok thanx what about the collectors. should i put some in or just leave it open headers. will i gain power with the collectors or loose some or stay the same?

Genopsyde · #4 11-03-2004, 09:28 PM

depends on your motor, you'd need backpressure for your setup, just get a set with a y-pipe.

slim84maro · #5 11-03-2004, 09:44 PM

i have headers on the way to my house already. waiting for the mail. im looking in jegs right now and looking at the bolt on reducers. would that work for back pressure? im not looking for a y pipe set up just something to keep it straight headers and give me that extra power that im looking for by going with headers instead of my stock exhaust manifold and y pipes.
EDIT:here is a link to a picture of the headers im getting http://www.fbody.com/cgi-bin/3gen/read.cgi?msgid=52342

GTStang · #6 11-03-2004, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Genopsyde

copper gaskets i've heard are good.

Copper header gaskets are good and bad, they are tougher to get to seal than a regular header gasket but they will not burn through and blow out like the paper style gasket.

89IROC&RS · #7 11-04-2004, 12:30 PM

is this a race only car??? cant imagine open headers being legal on the road anywhere. not to mentin it would get real old real fast driving a car like that for any period of time.

slim84maro · #8 11-04-2004, 01:33 PM

no its not race only car. im just going to put the headers on and off alot just for the hell of it. like if i feel like driving with headers for a week then ill do that if not put back on the stock exhaust manifold. i have flowmasters on the car right now just one proplem. i lost my cat and the piece of pipe that is just before it coming off the y pipe. no right now ive been driving around with just stock exhaust manifold and y pipe. havent heard my almost new flowmasters in about 2 months. and i bought the car in july started driving it in aug. and the problem with open headers not being legal. easy just let off the gas when going past a cop. and try not to drive it around alot. like me right now i drivve my car about once a week so its not a problem but could someone please answer my question

4onFloor · #9 11-04-2004, 02:30 PM

switching back and forth from headers to manifolds is not only going to be a real pain in the ass for you, but it's not very good for the header flange to be bolting and un-bolting it all the time.

like 89 said, the noise is going to get very old very fast. it always sounds cool while your sitting in the driveway, but once the engine is under a load, it gets alot louder.

after i rebuilt my engine last year, i was anxious to drive it to school and didn't have exhaust on it yet. i thought it'd be cool to drive around with open headers and by the time i got to school i was half deaf caughing from exhaust fumes

slim84maro · #10 11-04-2004, 03:38 PM

ok but one thing. you guys cant see my engine bay i dont have pics yet. but trust me it will be easy to do prolly not much longer then 30 mins to switch from one to the other. i want something loud when on a load so that when some idiot ricer pull up next to me with his coffee can and goes vin vin i can go VHAROOOM VHAOOM. and leteraly shake his car. also i will prolly get either reducers and collectors or mabey just one or the other. i dont know which one will be best. i will prolly also get header turndowns to go with them. but til i get a little more money i will drive open headers like a couple times a week for the hell of it and then switch back to the stock until i get enough money for the parts. what should i go with, bolt on reducers or collector extensions with turndowns?

4onFloor · #11 11-04-2004, 08:39 PM

you'll definitaly need reducers because you engine does need some back pressure, and probly some extensions to get the exhaust to dump out a little more towards the rear of the car because it's not very healthy to breath exhaust fumes. but you do realize you'll probly end up buying new header gaskets quite often. the composite gaskets will become some what glued in place after the engine is run a while, and copper gaskets dont un-crunch

89IROC&RS · #12 11-04-2004, 10:08 PM

um.... dude, swapping headers is a pain in the ass on third gens, granted it looks easy, thats what i thought, but having done it already, i can GUARANTEE it will take a helluva lot longer than 30 min. unless you have a complete one of a kind engine bay, that is stripped, cut, hammered and modified. I think you are being slightly unrealistic when it comes to doing this job multiple times a day, as easy as someone might jack up the rear of their car and swap out the stock tires for a set of slicks to go play for the night, and then swap back again when they came home, its a much more pain inducing process. but ill let you figure that out.

slim84maro · #13 11-05-2004, 05:59 AM

ok ill just get pics. cause really i dont see it as a problem. by engine bay is not like any other third gen ive seen. its pretty gutted to me. no air to heat stuff no windshield wiper fluid tanks bolts are fine because they where removed a couple times by the last owner not even a year ago and used to have long tube headers on it. did i say long tube? yes long tube headers used to be on it. and yes 30mins job maybe 1 hour since its my first time.

4onFloor · #14 11-05-2004, 11:31 AM

i wont try to stop you man, if you wanna do this it's totally up to you. but i will tell you that my truck engine bay is most definitaly bigger than your camaro engine bay, and it took me longer than 30 minutes to install headers, and i'm far from unexperienced

slim84maro · #15 11-05-2004, 11:42 AM

yeah i havent seen the headers yet so im not sure but almost positive it will be a sinch. i mean i can take my y pipes off and on in like 10 mins. but saying i just take them off it'll take prolly,saying the car is in the air already, 7mins then the exhaust manifold. another 7 mins. then clean it off 5mins, then the headers and gaskets, slip then up in there and tighten them on 12 mins. ok we'll maybe 31mins to do this switch. wow. but i'll find out soon like next weekend. and ill let you guys know how it goes. im going to go with reducers 2.5" and straight pipes 3" for exhaust. maybe hook up my mufflers but maybe not.

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