I am in the market for a set of headers. But I'm really not too sure on which brand to choose. My l98 is basically all stock and it would also be nice to remove the a.i.r lines and clean up the engine bay a bit. But my main concern is fit and ease of installation because I am gonna pay to have them installed. I really dont wanna have to pay a ridiculous amount to have them installed obviously. I wish I could do the work myself but time and my living situation will not permit me to do so. Any suggestions on a quality brand that will hopefully slip right in without costing me an arm and a leg on a repair bill? Thanks....

 

Check the sticky at the top of the page for more info. After hanging around this board for some time, the general feeling seems to be that the Hooker 2055's are the product of choice.

JamesC

 

I'm more than happy with my SLP's. Stainless steel construction, 1 3/4" primaries, no air tubes. They look and work mint. Did a small review a while back when I first got them. This might help you out.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/exha...p-1-3-4-a.html

(By the way, there are "installed" pic's towards the bottom of the thread)

Hope that helps. Let us know what route you end up taking

 

LT1, that you're content with your choice is great, but, frankly, after perusing the link you provide, I'd have serious reservations, so much so that I wouldn't go that route--no such problem with the Hookers, for example.

JamesC

 

Well, I read the sticky about the Hooker's and the link about the SLP's. But it seems like both have their own set of issues with installation and fitting. Reading both kind of discourages me when it comes to adding headers. I mean come on, "cutting the steering shaft" , "denting the primaries" , "raising the motor and installing spacers"! and then when all is said and done I here people talking about bending brake lines and notching cross members to get rid of vibrations. I mean, how much would an average performance shop charge me for all this?! And would it really be worth the hassle for 10-25 horsepower? Damn this is killing me!!!

 

No such problems with my Hooker 2055's. As far as I can recall, the only mod was to the AC brace (compressor on driver's side). Everything else was straightforward.

JamesC

 

I just read that slp thread and in my case it's alot of bullshit. I just installed a set this summer when i rebuilt my motor. they are non-air 1 3/4" and no rubbing issues at all. fit very nice. i did change my engine mounts i don't know if this is why everyone is having problems. i did have a clearance issue with my holley stealth ram which if you own a camaro you shouldn't have so maybe the new mounts make differance.

 

I have hedman shorties on my camaro, I had no problem at all installing them. Slightly had to bend a brake line out of the way(just so I knew it would be ok) they installed perfectly. Driver side slipped right in from the top, and the passenger went in through the bottom with the starter off. It takes a while to do yourself, but its really easy.

 

I have a set of Edelcrocks and a set of Hooker 2055's both sitting in my garage right now and I can tell you without a doubt the difference in quality is night and day. The Hookers are heavier, have better welds, and the ball flange collector seals up great with no gasket required. The Edelcrocks have a donut gasket which is prone to blowing out. You don't have to dent or notch anything to install the Hookers either. You won't even have to worry about notching the A/C bracket either since that only applies to 87 and older accessory belt setups. The full serpentine setup on 88 and newer doesn't require the A/C bracket mod. The instructions for the Hooker headers say you have to undo the passenger side motor mount and jack up the motor a few inches to get the header in on that side, but I've read in posts on here that you don't even have to do that if you unbolt the A/C compressor (don't undo the lines!) and just lay it aside, and it'll slip right in from the top. You will have to remove the oil dipstick and the starter motor though.

 

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

 

Went with Hooker 2460's here, but not installed yet. They are cheap, no y-pipe included, and no AIR so no holes to weld or anything. Ordered the y-pipe with it for like $200, getting installed in a week or so.

 

I also have the 2460's which are similar to the 2055's. They dropped in with no issues at all on my old LG4. Didn't have to remove the starter or anything.