I had absolutely no clearance issues with my SLP's. As you can see from the link I provided, a lot of people went on about having to dent the primaries, or jack up the motor on one side etc. etc. but mine fit without having to do any of that and you can see from the pictures that I provided, there's plenty of steering shaft clearance.
As far as bending the brake lines, yes, I did bend one slightly (about 1/4 -1/2 ") (not for clearance mind you, it already had plenty, but I just didn't want my brake line to be too close to the heat being put out by the closest primary) I moved out the brake line a bit but didn't have to use any tools or go out of my way to do it either. I just bent them away a bit with my bare hands and that was enough. Took about 2 seconds. It was no big deal.
Now for something that's a little off topic, but something I really have to say,
I think one of the reasons SLP get's such a bad rap on this forum, is because they're simply not very popular. Not too many people have them. Let's face it, they're an expensive set of headers and most third gen guy's are usually on a budget and either A) can't afford them, or B) simply aren't willing to spend top dollar on something like a set of shorties.
They'll go for what they can afford. There's nothing wrong with that. But more often than not, rather than just being happy with their choice, they feel the urge to put down and degrade the part they couldn't afford/didn't want to spend so much money on, in order to justify their choice for going with the cheaper brand.
Comments like "They're over-priced.....They're not worth it....quality sucks....they won't give you any more hp than brand X, etc.etc.... What's funny is that they're making these comments about a product they've never used or have any experience with.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm sure at one time or another, some people actually
HAVE had clearance issues with the SLP's but it's almost 100% likely, it had more to do with the warn out motor-mounts they have on their car than the design of the headers themselves. If they just spent a few bucks to replace their old motor mounts, they would no longer have any clearance issues and wouldn't have to hammer dents in the headers for more clearance
So while they may be some people who have had problem's, the vast majority of responses
NOT recommending SLP's are being made by people who've never owned them to begin with, and are just going of the comments they heard somebody else say.
Being that this is an internet forum, hundreds, if not thousands of people will read these negative remarks and just simply "believe" everything they read. They too will avoid buying (in this case, the SLP's) based on the bad review somebody else gave. So will the next guy that reads those comments... and the next guy.... and the next guy.
Before you know it, you'll have 1000 people all putting down SLP's (or whatever brand) all calling it over-priced and badly made and going on (in great detail, mind you) about how
awful the fit and finish is but
NONE of them, have ever had any personal experience with them. That's the funny part. They're all going off what they read on the internet.
I don't understand why people cant just be happy with what they have. Why they feel the need to bad mouth and spread FUD about other products to justify their purchase is beyond me.
You'll see this same attitude for the SLP's headers, Borla's adjustable exhaust, AFR's cylider heads etc. etc.
Guy's will always recommend the cheaper stuff and say it performs "just as good".
Or, "the quality is better for less money..." etc. etc.
There's a reason why some products are more expensive than others guy's. You get what you pay for in most cases and the SLP's are truly a great header. 1 3/4" primaries. Stainless steel construction (they'll never rust out) PERFECT welds, the option for deleting emissions provisions, a super high quality ceramic coating. I could go on.
Sure, I was a bit hesitant to get the SLP's myself after reading about all the "modifications" that had to be done, but I really wanted a set of stainless steel headers and liked the fact they were 1/34" so I didn't have any other choice. You know what? I'm glad I went with the SLP's. They fit like a glove. The ceramic coating still looks brand new, and the power increase was easily apparent after installing them.
Basically, none of the "issues" everybody warned me about were true. So the moral of this story is don't always believe what you read on the internet. If someone's going to bad mouth a product, check and see if they actually have had experience with it and not just going off of something they heard somebody else say. The usual, "a friend of a friend said....."
Only listen to those who are in the know and can tell you first hand. Guy's like me
89 Formula 350
