Quote:
Originally Posted by charger1213
Anybody have headers along with their exhaust / CAI? I was told this is where you are going to see a very noticable gain....is having all three. My friend suggested JBA's headers to go along with my system. He recommends shorty headers to get more Torque, as this will improve my speed more than long headers....to get all that weight off the line faster.
Anybody have any other thoughts?
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In my opinion, shorty headers are a complete waste of money as far as dollar per horsepower is concerned. The exhaust manifolds on these trucks are fairly close to a shorty header anyway, so I can't see paying $700 for a set of JBA's for 5-10 rwhp being worth it.
As far as performance, nothing beats longtube headers. Nothing. Not mid-length headers or shorties. The problem with LT's is that they force the movement of catalytic converters (or some people remove them entirely). This is against the law. Plus, until tuning software is available for our trucks, you will throw codes with the relocation of 02 sensors. But if performance is your goal, wait for a company to design some longtubes. As a point of reference, on my 2001 LS1 Camaro, I gained 18 rwhp and 24 ft/lbs of torque after installing a set of Pacesetter LT's - and that was shown on a dyno. The headers themselves cost $525.
If shorties aren't worth it and LT's pose too many problems, get some mid-length ones. I don't think any are out yet, but they bridge the gap between shorties and longtubes. I've seen some offered for other trucks that keep the stock placement of cats and O2 sensors in place, yet provide nice HP and torque gains.
And you are right, to see the biggest gains, you need to have an improved air intake, set of good, highflowing headers and a free-flowing exhaust.
Most people get cat back exhausts because they want sound and their cheap. Then, they get an air intake because it's only a few hundred bucks. But doing so - without upgrading the headers - leaves a lot of power still untapped. Header installs are less common because they cost money, and the labor can get pricey.
But if you want to do it right, do the following:
1) Air intake
2) Headers (mid or longtubes)
3) Cat back exhaust
You can do them in any order that you like, but until you do all three, the power gains will not be considerable. Only when they are done in conjunction can you get the maximum power increases.