so i got my tax return, and id like to put the money towards headers. ive been looking and im interested in hedmans or hooker short tubes, mostly because ive heard long tubes are a pain with clearence and mouting on 91s. id really like to get stainless or ceramic, but the extra cash isnt there. just wondering if anyone has regular steel painted ones and how they hold up with rust and the like. ive been searching mostly on summit racing and i see the ypipe they recommend with hedmans looks a little short to reach the cat...thats just my opinion. also with shortys, what mods have to be done to stuff in the engine bay like the a/c or those stupid air tubes going to the cat, do i have to keep those?..or should i be getting headers with the a.i.r tubes? one last thing, are flowtechs any good? there headers are cheaper and they have a good buy with the y pipe. just didnt know if there too good to be true. feedback would be nice...thanks.

 

I do not have a personal opinion on Flowtechs. The consensus I have gathered is that they are crap. I just bought Hooker 2055s and Y-pipe which the consensus says is good. I will have an opinion on it soon. The air tubes are not needed. I bought Summitracing headers for my Bronco (Pacesetter) uncoated. I wrapped them and they never rusted even in Nebraska climate and the humid climate of Arkansas. Had them on a car for a year...
*Shrugs*

 

Anything non-coated will rust no matter what paint you put on it to make it look good. Even the supposedly frame proof VHT paints burn off over time. As far as air tubes you can pass emissions with out them so if you dont want them dont get em lol. I passed without them.

My advise to you is to wait for a set of ceramic ones to pop up in the for sale section if your worried about how they will look under your hood. Otherwise if you can get by that...hooker 2055s or hooker 2460s are both decent flowing headers. Havent really heard anything one way or the other about flowtechs. I have edelbrock tes headers on my car and they are so so. The two that i would really be after are a set of SLP stainless headers which have been out of production for a good deal of time or a set of dyno don headers. Both are pretty much the most expensive options but also the best options for all out best quality headers.

 

thanks both of you. hedmans any good? there a little cheaper than hookers..and know anything about the mods to the engine bay?

 

http://www.jegs.com/i/Hedman/500/68481/10002/-1

ive also been looking at these hedmans, but the uncoated finish concerns me and the ypipe doesnt look like it would reach the cat...

 

first things first. you will always hear "they are good" and "they are crap". then later in the day you will hear "they are good" and then 10 minutes later, "they are crap". This type of "good" and "crap" is everyones personal opinion. The problem is that people assume and state what they hear from word of mouth, or what they think. The REAL answers are those who experiement various headers on a DYNO. Problem is that there aint very many people out there who can provide us with those anwsers. Even the companies who sell thier products dont always tell the truth. I had one guy tell me that he had the same track times with a set of K&N air filter on and off. So if he had the same track times with or without, then there wasnt much of a difference in performance. Point is that K&N didnt really tell the truth or was just throwing out unverified HP numbers. You can find a good set of Hedman headers that are used and have a bit of surface rust. All you gotta do is bead blast the headers and buy some ceramic paint if your on a budget. The MAJOR problem is that you will have to do the baking in an oven that is outside because of the fumes. Here is a link that Im considering doing to my Edelbrock headers..... http://www.fordmuscleforums.com/exha...mic-paint.html

 

thanks for the link. do you know where id be able to buy that cermaic paint can? looks like his came out good and that would save alot of money to do it myself

 

Yeah I thought I could get by last year and cheap out on the uncoated 2055's. I put about 10 coats of VHT paint on and cured with a torch flame by burning it inside to heat the metal. It looked beautiful and I was sure it would last and I beat the system. Take a look at these before and after pics and decide for yourself. It has only been 7 months.

Before




After

 

I would try summit racing first. The products that they sell are of quality. Summit has a reputation to protect so I believe thy they sell the best of the best. Or the best of the cheapest.