LT question

[yellowv]

Wrapping headers holds moisture and will cause headers to rust faster.

[JEFFLS1Z28]

Yes I have jet hot long tubes, installed them in December by March i noticed some pitting on the collectors then notified jet hot and they said to send then back and they would recoat them under warranty. Not wanting to take them off again I decided to to use a high quality 1200 degree silver engine paint to touch them up . I also found out that jet hot offers more durable higher temp coatins for an additional cost,had I known when i order my headers I think I would have invested in it. but other than that the fit and finish was much better than pacesetter or some of the other bargain brands.

[Johns00Z28]

What did you pay for the jet hots you have?

[Castle]

What did you pay for the jet hots you have?

$499.00 for the Headers
$475.00 for the Y w/Hi-Flow Cats

[Johns00Z28]

Damn that's an expensive ass y-pipe!! lol

[Firebirdjones]

Wrapping headers,,,,not a good idea in my opinion. I had that done on my monza,,,,the wrapping traps so much heat within the headers the metal starts to deteriorate and gets weak. After having wrap on for only six months the headers were junk. Not to mention that crap soaks up any oil or gas spill/leakage and is a fire hazard in my opinion,,,and once you spill something on them they are stained for life.

Coating headers,,,,they look good at first,,,and they do help retain some heat,,,not enough to warrant the expense and hassle though. In all honesty, the small amount of heat they trap does nothing for underhood temps if thats what you are trying to accomplish,,,and they will still pit in 2-3 years,,,it's not a full proof header coating. You would accomplish more reducing underhood heat by simply installing a cooler thermostat, program the fans to come on sooner and run the fans after the engine is shut off,,,there is an adjustment for that. I have tried both Jet Hot coatings, Hookers coatings too,,,with the same results. Shit is as hard as nails and hard to weld too, problem is,,,it's so hard that even if you decided to paint the headers afterwards it's a lost cause, they are very hard to scuff with sandpaper enough for paint to stick. Once I coated my headers I was pretty much stuck with re-coating every 2-3 years.

Painting headers,,,,like I said before, good quality paint will last 2-3 years even with everyday driving. Paint that comes on the headers isn't worth anything. You must sand or blast that off and use good quality paint. From there it's cheap and easy to respray after 2-3 years. It sure beats coating them every 2-3 years,,,,,$200 verses $20 and I get the same life out of the headers than if I were to coat them anyway,,,so it's a no brainer in my opinion.

Stainless headers,,,,are the way to go if you can spring for the cash. depending on the type of stainless used they can last a lifetime. But expect to pay more than $1,000 for a nice set.

[Firebirdjones]

Damn that's an expensive ass y-pipe!! lol

Thats because it comes with high flow cats

[mbrownin]

Thats because it comes with high flow cats

It's still kinda pricey. TSP has their catted Y (w/Magnaflow cats) on sale for $300.

[Johns00Z28]

Stainless headers,,,,are the way to go if you can spring for the cash. depending on the type of stainless used they can last a lifetime. But expect to pay more than $1,000 for a nice set.

Well, I'm really not trying to pay that much just for the headers though. That wouldn't leave me with much left for anything else. So the $500 set of stainless jet hot headers aren't that great then?

[xzaero0]

Wrapping headers,,,,not a good idea in my opinion. I had that done on my monza,,,,the wrapping traps so much heat within the headers the metal starts to deteriorate and gets weak. After having wrap on for only six months the headers were junk. Not to mention that crap soaks up any oil or gas spill/leakage and is a fire hazard in my opinion,,,and once you spill something on them they are stained for life.

Coating headers,,,,they look good at first,,,and they do help retain some heat,,,not enough to warrant the expense and hassle though. In all honesty, the small amount of heat they trap does nothing for underhood temps if thats what you are trying to accomplish,,,and they will still pit in 2-3 years,,,it's not a full proof header coating. You would accomplish more reducing underhood heat by simply installing a cooler thermostat, program the fans to come on sooner and run the fans after the engine is shut off,,,there is an adjustment for that. I have tried both Jet Hot coatings, Hookers coatings too,,,with the same results. Shit is as hard as nails and hard to weld too, problem is,,,it's so hard that even if you decided to paint the headers afterwards it's a lost cause, they are very hard to scuff with sandpaper enough for paint to stick. Once I coated my headers I was pretty much stuck with re-coating every 2-3 years.

Painting headers,,,,like I said before, good quality paint will last 2-3 years even with everyday driving. Paint that comes on the headers isn't worth anything. You must sand or blast that off and use good quality paint. From there it's cheap and easy to respray after 2-3 years. It sure beats coating them every 2-3 years,,,,,$200 verses $20 and I get the same life out of the headers than if I were to coat them anyway,,,so it's a no brainer in my opinion.

Stainless headers,,,,are the way to go if you can spring for the cash. depending on the type of stainless used they can last a lifetime. But expect to pay more than $1,000 for a nice set.

Awsome this is exactly what I wanted to know. Trying to reduce under hood temps is one of my main goals. Heat extractor hood, mizierre electric water pump, 180 thermo and predator tuned the fans to 180 also. Was thinking of ceramic coating the headers but if it dosent help that much I wont worry about it, I'll just paint them instead. The American Racing Headers they are are supposed to be better then the ceramic coated shortys I have, witch suck. They are stainless steel, they werent $1,000 but close and I hope that they perform up to there price.

[yellowv]

Yes I have jet hot long tubes, installed them in December by March i noticed some pitting on the collectors then notified jet hot and they said to send then back and they would recoat them under warranty. Not wanting to take them off again I decided to to use a high quality 1200 degree silver engine paint to touch them up . I also found out that jet hot offers more durable higher temp coatins for an additional cost,had I known when i order my headers I think I would have invested in it. but other than that the fit and finish was much better than pacesetter or some of the other bargain brands.

I have had plenty of Hooker headers in my time and my Pacesetters are as good or better in fit and finish than any of them. Pacesetter is no more a bargain brand than Hooker. They are at the same level IMO. Only Kooks, Dynatech, ARH, etc. are at a higher level. Have you ever seen or installed a set of pacesetters? Mine have been on for about 6 months now with no pitting.

[mbrownin]

Awsome this is exactly what I wanted to know. Trying to reduce under hood temps is one of my main goals. Heat extractor hood, mizierre electric water pump, 180 thermo and predator tuned the fans to 180 also. Was thinking of ceramic coating the headers but if it dosent help that much I wont worry about it, I'll just paint them instead. The American Racing Headers they are are supposed to be better then the ceramic coated shortys I have, witch suck. They are stainless steel, they werent $1,000 but close and I hope that they perform up to there price.

I'm pretty sure the thermo in your '00 TA is already a 180.

[xzaero0]

I know that the temp gage always read 200 before the electric pump. The pump itself came with a 180 degree themo, then it read slightly below 200 on the gage.

[splitfinger09]

Long tubes are by far the most popular headers. To a certain extent, the old adage of "You get what you pay for" rings true. Here is some info on a few of the more popular choices. It by no means covers all of the long tubes available:

Pacesetters: Extremely popular due to their price, they can be bought coated for under $400. Quality is very good for the price, and the welds and collector are good. If you’re on a budget and want LT's then Pacesetters should be at the top of your list.

Jet Hot/Hookers: The Hooker and Jet Hot long tubes are of the same design. Jet Hot took the Hooker design and improved upon it a bit by moving the O2 bungs to the inside of the headers, plus they use a thicker tubing and have thicker flanges. Both are great long tubes and will run you $500-600.

QTP/Kooks: Both Kooks and QTP are stainless steel headers, and are generally regarded as the cream of the crop. Quality is top notch and they can be polished for that bling look if you'd like. Their only draw back is the price: at $700+ they are not for everyone. If you have the money or are the kind of person who wants the best, then Kooks or QTP is the way to go. As far as Kooks vs. QTP; get whichever one is cheaper.

SLP: SLP's are the long tube that usually sparks some debate. A lot of newbies are drawn into them because of the HP claims made by SLP. But as already stated all LT's dyno within the same range so SLP's claims are moot. From a quality stand point they are a great header; stainless steel and are ceramic coated. Their major drawback is installation and lack of ground clearance. If you plan to lower your car then pass on the SLP's or learn to change your driving style or else you'll endure a lot of scrapping. Another drawback is the price as they are $700+. If you’re going to spend $700+ on headers, be sure to give the Kooks/QTP headers VERY serious consideration.

[Jays00ss]

Buy the pacesetter ceramics, Kooks are nice but save your money for the cam install

[Castle]

If you’re going to spend $700+ on headers, be sure to give the Kooks/QTP headers VERY serious consideration.

I almost ordered QTP's & realized they would still need to be sent out for coating.... Who wants to do that when Jet Hot's product is easily just as good, same performance & comes 1300+ Sterling coated for less money. I had no limit on what I wanted to spend on my headers & felt the decision was rather easy to make.

Just my $.02 though.

P.S. If I am throwing in my 2 cents & it's a penny for your thoughts, who the hell is getting the other penny?

[Firebirdjones]

Just a word of caution on the Pacesetter headers.

I have a set for my 02 SS and found they needed some work before install.

The welds where the tubes connect to the flange/gasket area are inside the tubes, and were rather thick. So thick in fact that they were all actually in the airflow stream. I had to get out the grinder and do some mild porting on mine and clean this up a bit,,,,

And if you go with the matching pacesetter off road Y-pipe it will need some work as well.
Mine needed extensive work. Where the joint is made for both pipes to merge together. The opening was more than 1/2 covered by the passenger side pipe. Pacesetter did not take alot of time to make sure this junction was a nice fit. There was not enough of a hole cut into the passenger side pipe and it would have killed the flow from the driver side.

I had to cut open the joint and remove the excess material, clean up the slag and reweld back together. This took considerable time and is something to consider if you are trying to save a few bucks with pacesetters.
I am a picky bastard though.

You get what you pay for, although pacesetters are cheap and "okay" quality, they needed some work to reach my level of standards.

Just something to keep in mind. Larry.

[mbrownin]

I almost ordered QTP's & realized they would still need to be sent out for coating.... Who wants to do that when Jet Hot's product is easily just as good, same performance & comes 1300+ Sterling coated for less money. I had no limit on what I wanted to spend on my headers & felt the decision was rather easy to make.

Just my $.02 though.

P.S. If I am throwing in my 2 cents & it's a penny for your thoughts, who the hell is getting the other penny?

Most people who get stainless headers do not get them coated.

[SSwt00SS]

you can always go for the XS stainless headers. they're a pretty good bargain, alot of people have them and like them pretty well.

EBAY...find SSAutoChrome (seller)...

[secondgearscratch]

in my findings, which arent very substantial, id get QTPs.

why?

i believe the hype for some reason or another.

but id get kooks too.

stainless for the win if youre never gonna sell your f body (like yours truly)