I have an 06 ss/sc with GM stage II, AEM CAI, and the GM stage 3 pulley (76mm). I have recently purchased the GMPP cat-back exhaust sytem and am looking for a quality header. I am not interested in the GMPP one since it is an exhaust manifold, not a header. Who here can recommend a quality header. I am not concerned about price, I just want something high quality. Thanks.

 

Pacesetter header is good not expencive but the only down side is you need to custom fab a down pipe with a cat. Get the armor coat.

The cobalt addtion is also a good header that will bolt right up. Stainless steel but paint falls off from heat.

 

I believe Hahn Racecraft has a nice header. Also, talk to Jim from TAG Racecraft. If he doesn't have a good header yet, he probably will real soon.

 

I do not want to have to do any fab work, I want a direct bolt on. I honestly was thinking of a ceramic coated one so i don't have to worry about paint flake issues. I hated that on my 87 mustang GT w/ T-tops. Paint flaked in under a week.

 

Vibrant Header (Group Buy right now too) or JBP has a sick one, Hahn has one.

 

ceramic coating isnt for visual beauty. i mean, yes. it looks pretty, but thats not why its used.

Headers are a part of the exhaust system(so to speak), exhaust is hot.

Headers without ceramic coating work the same way, do the same thing as ones with. the only difference is, ceramic coated headers keep the heat inside the tubing, and away from your engine.

its a tiny bit of added performance. nothing really to brag about..but it helps.

and, this goes with the old saying: "every little bit helps".

 

What about the header from ZZ performance? Is that any good?

 

Ceramic coating is to both contain the heat in the header and prevent the material from rusting out. Just about every header is made from mild steel and it has a large content of Iron in it (Even most "stainless steel" headers by way of china have Iron - contrary to claims and will rust) Ceramic coating mainly is used to prevent rust from destroying the header and when you have both heat and condensation (in the exhaust) it's a perfect place for eating up mild steel. When you add salt on the road and wet weather it doesn't take long for a mild steel header to fail when it's not coated.

Yea, Joe Shmo in so-cali had a header that was uncoated and it lasted for years. If you are lucky enough to live in the desert it may look fine, but where the real problem lives is inside the header. Condensation forms rust, it breaks loose and either goes in the engine or out to the cat. Either way it's screwing something up.

Either find a header that is ceramic coated or made from 304 stainless steel otherwise it will rust and mess things up. 304 is steel that a magnet DOES NOT stick to - otherwise it is 409 at best, has iron and will rust. "Stainless Steel" is like "All Natural" it sounds good, but there isn't a consortium of people who prosecute those who misuse the term.

He who is banned from this site has a header listed on eBay again. Its ceramic coated mild steel and you might be able to snag it for a few hunde.

 

So far the only two headers I've seen so far that are worth buying are the Pacesetter (longer than stock manifold w/ large tubes), and the CTI header (longer than stock with larger tubes but insanly expencive)

 

CTI? link please

 

my opinion go with the hahn racecraft shorty headers

 

http://www.customtubesinc.com/catalo...57cc45675d6dde

 

I say go with the Pacesetter ArmorCoated header. Great performance gains, quality, and price. I have it and love it.

 

X2!!! Only I have the ceramic coating so its shinny

 

What are the performace gains assosciated with this set-up. What about their cat-back exhaust system. Is that any good. I could not find much info on the website. Cost is irrelevant to me. I want the absolute best exhaust set-up that is available for my car with my current mods. I do not want something that sounds like a wet fart though. I am looking for a subtle low tone growl. Kind of like the way a 350Z sounds. Agains 06 ss/sc, AEM CAI, GM stage 3 pulley (76mm). I do not plan to do any other power upgrades beyond that. I will move on to suspension and brakes eventually though.

 

I know I am going to get flamed for this but I think all SS/SC 4 Cylinder Exhaust systems sound the same. One is just going to flow better over the other one. My exhaust sounds the same as someone with a 3' inch header back hahn system and it's not a full exhaust system.

 

Vibrant!

 

check out the JBP equal length header WOW

 

If money was no issue I would go Hahn Racecraft too.

 

Links please.

 

CTI has my vote and my money already.

 

Here is the link to their header and exhaust system.

http://hahnracecraft.com/auto/New%20Products/index.htm

 

Is ceramic coating available with Hahn's header? What is the price? Does not show up on the website. What about CTI I did not see ceramic coating as an option for them either.

 

This thread has got me thinkin.... we need a header and/or downpipe install how-to

 

Yea, one that includes a dyno shoot-out of each header too. It's about time we see if the headers make more power than the GMPP manifold.

Shorty vs. Shorty (DC Sports, jason eBay , Hahn, JPB, SCdyne, ZZ performance, TOG, GMPP manifold)
Mid vs. Mid (CTI, Vibrant, SMS, Pacesetter) I guess Clear Image Auto stopped making them?
Long vs Long (Weapon-R ... ?? Tsudo )