Ok, so I was looking through the JC Whitney online catalog and the best I could find for headers and catback was the following...

Pacesetter shorty header kit 387.95

Hooker SUPER COMPETITION CAT BACK EXHAUST SYSTEM $267.95

I am confident in both of these companies (and not very picky) and I have two questions...

Is it a bad Idea to run headers that have a 2.5" y pipe and run them to a 3" catback?

I am not concerned about the 2.5" hurting performance... as this is an LG4 but would it really be holding anything back with say a 350?

My second question... how much better are the ceramic coated headers vs the black painted ones which retail for $120 less?

 

For a 350 you really should get a 3" y-pipe, nice choice for the cat-back by the way.

 

So these are good prices... this will be after a couple summer paychecks... come june I should be makin' a little more noise I may even include a cam in my list for this summer...

How about that ceramic coating on the headers... is it worth it? I want something that isn't just gonna rust off...

I'm planning to get about 200 - 230 Hp this summer and 300 Hp out of the engine (with the LG4) eventually... so would I want headers with a 3" collector/y-pipe at the 300 Hp point?

 

Is Jegs part number 520-16822 a 3 inch Hooker Catback? I remember I didn't get that one because I wanted it to fit my stock converter, I wish I had got it now and had a shop make it fit, it's only $199.

 

If you want 300HP get the 3" y-pipe.
I'd get coating if I had the money, helps reduce under hood temps, protects from rust and looks a lot better.