i am getting some headers for my t/a. it has a stock 350 from an old truck with the exception of an edelbrock carb. i can get flowtech headers and y pipe for 149.90 or i can get hedman headers and y pipe for 208.90. the flowtechs have 1 1/2 primary's and 2 1/2 collectors adn the hedmans have 1 5/8 primary's and 3in collector. i will be removing the cat now and installing a cat back system in the future so i was wondering what i should do? is the $50 difference worth it? i dont know anything about the y pipes but i have read on here that the flowtech's arent much better than the stock y. iv been searching all over the message boards trying to decide what i should do.

 

hedman over flowtech, edelbrock over hedman, slp over edelbrock. just my .02

 

Based on what? From what I've heard, most people would say hooker/hedman over edelbrock... Anyways, I would get the Hedmans if I was you. Don't use the Hedman y either - they both suck. If you're looking for a "package deal", go with Hooker.

 

so is the hooker y pipe any good? how much do they cost do you know?

 

Well, Flowtech headers have 1 1/2 primaries, which would not do too well on a 350.

 

I have an Edelbrock set still in the box unopened. I hope I made a good buy. But for you guys choosing Headman over Edelbrock, can you give some reasons plz? Just wanna make sure I didn't waste my money.

 

Hedman - better headers than Edelbrock.
Edelbrock - better y-pipe than Hedman.
Hooker - better headers and y-pipe than Hedman or Edelbrock.
Flowtech - :sillylol:

(no, you can't mix-and-match their pieces)

FWIW, latest edition of Chevy High Performance mag, in their "My Generation Camaro" series, dyno tested their emissions-friendly 350 build-up with Edelbrock TES (w/o cat cat, w/y-pipe and 3" muffler). It pulled 380 HP.

Not too shabby.

 

Yea...... And a few years ago Car Craft pulled 412HP out of a 350 with Dynomax shorties with 1.5" primaries and a 2.5" collectors. Then they got 411 HP with Hedman 1 5/8" longtubes with 3" collectors.

Granted these were tests done with open headers, but it gives you an idea of what really happens when comparing tube sizes..... not much.

What you 'think' works, and what actually works are two different things.

 

IMHO, on any SBC putting out under 450 HP or so, header primary size is not such a big issue.

BUT, testing headers , OPEN , on a dyno, is a big difference between them installed with an exhaust system behind them. Shorty headers will almost always make more power when "open", for the simple fact that there's less pipe length for the exhaust gas to travel, than say longtubes.

Tuning is also a HUGE issue when it comes to magazine dyno tests, not to mention the actual dyno itself.

IF it's PRIMARILY a STREET car, you main consideration should be FIT, QUALITY, and spark plug access.

Edlebrock's SUCK for plug access....they did on a Monte SS, they do on a 3rd gen, and they did on a full size Chevy truck. The TES also don't truly have 1 5/8" primaries, the tubes are actually 'stepped' in size.

Flowtech's are okay, never used them in a 3rd gen....but I've installed the shorty's in a G-Body SBC, and they had to be massaged PRETTY HEAVILY to fit CORRECTLY. Hell, I had to grind a part of the collector damn near flat to clearance the frame. Plug access was so-so. As far as long tubes for more 'popular' cars, they fit okay. Be careful of the quality of the metal though...they seem to use a thinner gauge metal than alot of headers I've seen.

Hooker headers, I've had good luck with. Never installed them in a 3rd gen though. Plug access seemed to depend ALOT on what car they were going in.

I installed the smog legal Hedman's on my IROC. ( AIR tubes mysteriously disappeared ) with the matching Y-pipe. First, I got a smokin' deal on 'em. They installed with VERY LITTLE trouble at all, and the flanges are nice and thick, NO leaks whatsoever.


As for the "crappy" Y-pipe... again, I want to see a dyno of the difference between the "crappy" hedman pipe and a custom, or high dollar mandrel bent 3" pipe...NOT MUCH. The exhaust system in ANY car is limited by it's weakest link.

Again, we're talking STREET cars....I guarantee I could use a 2.5" y-pipe vs. a 3" y-pipe and the driver wouldn't know the difference.

Case in point....my old 67 Chevelle, which at the time had a built 427 BBC was running consistent 11.90's. This was a DAILY DRIVER , back when leaded gas was less than a buck a gallon. I switched from a true dual 2.5" setup, and went to a 3" setup, thinking I was holding my combo back.

Did I gain any power? Well, it did gain a solid tenth in the 1/4, but MPH was only bettered by less than 1 MPH. And this was with a stout BBC, I see LESS difference on a SBC.

I see these arguments all the time, and it makes me wonder how everyone else in the world has so much money to sink in their car. I'm by no means poor, but I've also got a mortgage, bills, wife, kid, etc etc, so spending $$$$$ for a couple of HP blows chunks IMHO.

And please don't be swayed by magazine dyno or product tests...remember most all are on the West Coast...this totally changes the power output when sea level is factored in etc. Also, the MAIN purpose of a magazine is to ADVERTISE products. I've still never seen a mag review a product and say it sucks. I don't recall many articles or tests where the install LOST power either.

And if we're talking any kind of FI, beyond a single plane setup, the motor will make a VERY different power curve. On the street, torque is where it's at. In my book, any gains beyond 5500 RPM on a STREET car are pretty pointless, unless you built a stout motor that needs to rev that high...and if you did, I bet it's a DOG on the street...unless it's got low gears, then it feels great planning your route from gas station to gas station.

I've built / owned a 10 second STREET car ( above Chevelle w/ a transplanted 454 ), and it was fun. But 7-10 mpg SUCKS, and crusing at 3500 RPM on the highway SUCKS. Again, IMHO...

I'm shooting for a budget built, EVERYDAY driver that can drive to the track ( with the AC on, and the tunes jamming ), breeze through tech, go straight to the staging lanes and run a low 12, high 11 on STREET tires ( NOT drag radials ), without unloading the jack, the spare, the tools etc. It will also get GOOD gas mileage, dependable enough to drive EVERYDAY rain or shine, and I can go cross country if I feel the need to.

I'm not a power adder type of guy, but again, I'm a cheapskate by nature. I've been down the nitrous route, and it can get ADDICTIVE



Sorry for the meandering post....but in the long run, unless you're planning on 10 second ET's, any of the above headers will WORK, POWER wise....to ME at least, it would come down to a cost vs. ease of use / tuning deal.

And remember, it's all about tuning, no matter what you're talking about. That's why there are always guys who can build IDENTICAL cars, and one will ALWAYS be faster than the other with the SAME mods, because that owner eeks every bit of performance out of their EXISTING combo, BEFORE adding more mods.


Just my highly inflated 2 cents.


HTH

 

So what do you think guys should I get an exchange while I still can or stay with the Edelbrocks? I mean my car is a daily driver right now and I don't see myself getting anywhere near 400 HP with this engine. Maybe several years down the road if I can afford it. For now though I like driving my car everyday and modding it without going too crazy ya know. But I don't want crappy quality and want my headers to last me a while. After all they're not cheap. I don't care much about plug access. I just wanna decide it on longevity and performance gains on a mildly modded 350 TPI.

 

I used the Flowtech's and was quite impressed with their quality. I had them installed in my IROC and running in about 1/2 hour (no A/C). I now own a set of Edelbrock's which I will be running shortly and so far I'm more impressed with the manufacturing quality on the Flowtech's.....

 

If plug access isn't a problem, why not just install the Edelbrocks. The one benefit they do have is ease of installation. Go for it.


HTH

Chris
85 IROC
A few mods

 

I haven't installed them cuz ever since I bought 'em I felt like I didn't do enough research and now I feel like there are better sets out there that I could've gotten. I don't want to spend $$ on a set now and then have to buy another set later and sell my old ones. A lot of people on here think Hedmans are good but before I bought the Edelbrocks I didn't know much about Hedmans. For example Hedmans have a 3 inch collector for my car whereas Edelbrocks come with 2.5, which probably will cut down on the performance. I dunno. I can't install 'em yet anyways cuz I gotta fix some things on it first.

Sorry for all the posting but when spending 400 bucks on a pair of headers I wanna make sure I got my money's worth.

 

I'd get the Hedman's and y-pipe($220). Then get'em coated ($175)....Affordable.. Well made...longer 1 5/8" primarys than other shortys...3" collectors.....true y-pipe.... Can use angle plug heads...

 

with the flowtechs do you have to get different plug wires?

 

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