Headers
epepple
11-30-2009, 10:01 PM
How hard is it to install headers on my 94 z28. do I need shorties or longtubes. And will it be hard to connect the headers to my borla exhuast.
poormillionaire2
11-30-2009, 11:28 PM
If you have some common sense and basic hand tools, its not too difficult. I did it with a friend and some jack stands. A lift would have been much easier though. You need to get the front end pretty high to slip the passenger side in though. I think I wound up cherry picking it from the top, and lifting the motor off the mount and dropped it in from the top.
You'll need to remove the alternator, steering knuckle, intake, plugs, O2 sensors, and obviously, the exhaust manifolds and y-pipe. This will also be a good time to change the plugs and wires if you haven't done it in awhile. There might be a few other things that may need to be removed, I don't remember everything, its been awhile.
Shorties or longtubes...depends on a lot of things. You can do either, its just preference and desire. Longtubes give more horsepower, but CAN (but NOT all do) decrease some ground clearance, release a better exhaust note, and are not all are street legal. Shorties are the easiest to install, but don't provide that much horsepower. They also come in race and street legal packages (so do some longtubes).
And connecting them to your cat-back is easy too. Just need the right Y-pipe for either set up and a saw to cut the cat-back to the proper length to clamp it to the end of the Y-pipe.
Note: Make sure to get stainless steel (most expensive) or cermanic coated headers so they last longer. (stainless last forever pretty much).
You'll need to remove the alternator, steering knuckle, intake, plugs, O2 sensors, and obviously, the exhaust manifolds and y-pipe. This will also be a good time to change the plugs and wires if you haven't done it in awhile. There might be a few other things that may need to be removed, I don't remember everything, its been awhile.
Shorties or longtubes...depends on a lot of things. You can do either, its just preference and desire. Longtubes give more horsepower, but CAN (but NOT all do) decrease some ground clearance, release a better exhaust note, and are not all are street legal. Shorties are the easiest to install, but don't provide that much horsepower. They also come in race and street legal packages (so do some longtubes).
And connecting them to your cat-back is easy too. Just need the right Y-pipe for either set up and a saw to cut the cat-back to the proper length to clamp it to the end of the Y-pipe.
Note: Make sure to get stainless steel (most expensive) or cermanic coated headers so they last longer. (stainless last forever pretty much).
MrPbody
12-01-2009, 12:47 PM
Agreed on the long-tube version. Makes power. "Shorties" are for ease of installation and "bragging rights". I put a pair (long tube) on a '98 Camaro a couple years ago (Hookers), and they were relatively easy to install.
Stainless are better, but rather pricey. If you buy plain steel, buy them UNCOATED, and have a professional coating shop put a thermal barrier on them. The ceramic coatings from companies like Hooker and Doug's won't last. The thermal barrier will protect them for many years. We use Thermal Tech in Hopewell, Virginia. Jet Hot and Swain are two others that come to mind.
Jim
Stainless are better, but rather pricey. If you buy plain steel, buy them UNCOATED, and have a professional coating shop put a thermal barrier on them. The ceramic coatings from companies like Hooker and Doug's won't last. The thermal barrier will protect them for many years. We use Thermal Tech in Hopewell, Virginia. Jet Hot and Swain are two others that come to mind.
Jim
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