So after much research and thread posting I finished up installing my Hooker 2055 headers. After the heads I decided to run 3" striahgt pipes and as a muffler I went with the Flowmaster 40, and I LOVE THE SOUND of this car! its just right......
H
ere are some piks of it, I still need to order the correct wires becuase my stock wires are gettign burned up...but what do you think should be my next upgrade??thanks!

I can finally check off my exhaust of my Long TO DO LIST for this car...

 

Nice, how long was the install, and hows the power difference?

 

the install wasnt all that bad except for the passengers side in which the header didnt wanna go in but finally after trial and error it went in...as for power difference its noticeable but nothing too major, and also the sound is also a big difference compared to stock..

 

How much of a performance difference with headers? Well, I can't tell you exactly, but I will tell you my headers/tune only 305 TPI has gone 9.30 1/8th mile. That roughly converts to 14.50 1/4 mile. Of course the tune has a lot to do with it, as does the air quality, but headers have a LOT of potential.

 

yep that true...but my next question is what should my next upgrade be...?

 

Inspection

Quick, before you get in any deeper

 

If you didn't open up the header at the ball connection, you wasted your time and money.
That hole is the same size as the stock manifold.

 

what do you mean don? what would you have to do?

 

I would imagine just trimming it down, there's a lot of meat left before the flange.

 

was thinking the same or opening it a bit

 

Like this....

 

....damn...

 

so let be the same diameter throughout.....not choke it up at end

 

Please take into account that Don makes and sells his own headers and the Hookers are his primary competition. Hookers are still some of the best available for our cars, but no header is perfect. Every one has some achilles' heel. Thats still going to be a huge improvement over stock and there are tons of guys with 2055s that go very quickly with them.

Don's headers are better, though, but they're not cheap either. They're priced at about market value for them.

 

yes thank you. I was just curious as to what he meant, i just got 2055 headers from a friend, dont hurt to learn a bit you know?
Also i have a few a friends with Dons headers and have heard nothing but good things as well

 

Why does he need to take that into account, I was just trying to help.
The Hookers are very nice for some situations but they need help in that area.

Now that he is armed with some good advice, he can go back and make his install better.

 

He can fix it without removing the headers. Put it up on jack stands, remove the Y-Pipe and you can easily get to the flanges to open them up.

A nice bit, and a plug-in power drill or air grinder, and a set of glasses to protect the eyes.

When the Y-pipe is still up I'd use a marker and mark the flanges so you know how much they can be opened up.

I do agree though that why the opening is so small i can't fathom. It boggles my mind on that one.

 

so opening them up a bit i guess is the way to go

 

How far do these headers need to be opened up to really make a difference??

I am about to install my own set of 2055's and I really need to know

 

As they are factory, they are only 2 1/4 inches, see dyno-don's picture above. Opening them up lets them flow 2.5' each or more, depending on how far you want to go with it.

 

Get rid of the AC dryer canister, you're only one bolt away.

 

Unrelated to topic...just thought I would quote this good advice that a lot of people over look.

 

That's surprising that hooker would make a piece that's that restrictive. I've always ran hooker super comp long tubes and they're always awesome looking and performing.

I'm thinking it has something to do with the fact that the 2055s aren't really made for max performance.

 

The 2055's are a huge upgrade over the factory manifolds, so they really don't need to make them larger. Besides, it's a small thing to enlarge them yourself. A couple of hours on a saturday...hardest part is removing/reinstalling them.

 

Easily done in the car. Remove Y-pipe is 4 bolts plus however you have it slipfit to the cat.

Measure it up and start grinding away. Remove the O2 if you are worried about damaging it somehow.