what headers to get??

[mike3]

im thing about getting headers instead of a new manifold. ive narrowed it down to these ones. im looking to spend somewhere around $200 plus shipping if you have any other suggestions that would be great.

stainless steel
http://got-jdm.com/JDM/8895-chevy-gm...u6uqios8nvuum1

chrome
http://cgi.ebay.ca/Chevy-88-95-Truck...1%7C240%3A1318

ceramic coated
http://cgi.ebay.ca/Chevy-88-95-Truck...1%7C240%3A1318

stainless steel
http://cgi.ebay.ca/88-97-92-93-94-95...1%7C240%3A1318

[Tweaks]

I'm not a fan of ebay. I recommend a direct-fit set of Edelbrocks if you want to keep the costs down.

[mike3]

what is best, longest lasting finish?

stainless steel
chrome
ceramic coated
painted

im thinking of getting stainless steel

[Tweaks]

Ceramic is good if you are worried about underhood temps or frying spark plug wires. I went with Edelbrock's Ti-tech coated headers and if I had to do it over again I would opt for stainless steel. Sure they might discolor a bit, but at least they won't rust.

[mike3]

so the ss ones are the best?

[mike3]

i ordered the ss ones off ebay. i hope there good.

[Toadz]

Let us know how they look and fit. What truck are they for?

[Underpowered]

i had teh stainless ones on my OBS. they were ok, but not a good quality stainless, as to be expected. they corroded easily, looking almost as if they had rust on them. you get what you pay for with them off ebay.

my current headers are ebay stainless headers, but by a decent company, so far they are holding up great

[Toclcl]

Underpowered did you notice a difference with those obx headers? And are they long tube or shorties? Sorry to thread jack as well but if you ordered a ceramic coated from a good company (thorley, edelbrock, etc) would you have any problems with discoloring and or burning plug wires?

[Pauly]

You can still burn a plug wire on ceramic headers. These things get hot. Ideally uses some sort of jacketing over the plug wires. But I havent. I just keep the wires loomed away from teh headers best I can.

Cheap quality stainless steel will rust.
I run the Hooker ceramic coating, I have had them on for over 8 years daily driving thru the salty winters. There is some surface rust on parts of them, but I used to go through 1 set of painted headers every single year for 3 years straight. So the extra $200 I paid for the ceramic coating has paid for itself 8 times over.

You often get what you pay for. No one wants to shell out $400 plus for headers, but to get good ones, you just may have to. But of course there are exceptions to every rule.

If I was wealthy, I would have a pair of $800 2806-1hkr ceramic coat 1 3/4"x3" 18 ga Hooker Supercomps on my truck, but I went for the $400 thicker 16ga and more budget 2462 1hkr ceramic coated 1 5/8"x 2 1/2" Comps instead.

peace
PAuly

[mike3]

ya im just getting these ones for now, they are goin on a 1995 sierra z71. they still havent came in yet but ill let you guys know how they fit, sound and the quality of them once they're on

[TEE]

I have the TiTechs and after 4 years...so far so good.
And our winters are pretty harsh.

[TigerEyz3]

Ceramic coated Thorley Tri-Ys... no discoloration or rust after 4yrs - still look the same as the day I installed them.

[mike3]

i got the ss ones off ebay and the look and sound so much better ill take some pictures of them today if i get a chance. im pleased with them

[Toclcl]

Thanks, I wi have to check into those. I had heard from the main owner of the exhaust shop that I go to that your better off to not put headers on due to the fact that you always be tightrning header bolts, and that the fitment isn't good enough to warrant performance. That's just what I heard from the owner, they don't do headers. And the other two shops I went to the one won't touch em, the other might. But assuming its a direct fit I'd just tackle it with some buddieS

[TigerEyz3]

I haven't HAD to touch my headers since I installed them. I checked them, but no loosening had/has occurred. Fit/finish have been top notch, too.

[Toclcl]

Oh okay gotcha, you did them yourself then, did you use those stage 8 locking header bolts or no? And I would imagine In the future I'd either put on the tri-ys or some hooker longtubes, just not too sure. I want as close to a tuned header as possible for performance.

[TigerEyz3]

Yes, I installed them myself.

No, I did not use Stage 8 (locking) header bolts. I used the hardware that came with the headers.

The Tri-Ys are as close to tuned headers as you're gonna get unless you fab them yourself (NASCAR style). The Tri-Ys are tuned to optimize the low-/mid-range torque (what your vehicle sees on a daily basis and/or when towing) and are more tunable than LTs. Here's some good reading on header design:

Link #1
Link #2

[Toclcl]

Wow!! Thanks for that read on headers, very good read!!!! I will definitely be purchasing those tri-ys hands down in ceramic!! I have the part number handy on my computer, so I don't need that but where is the best place to go order from, shipped to canada? Maybe summit?

[TigerEyz3]

Summit's where I ordered mine.