Hey Guys!

I swapped my Firebird´s Motor from LG4 to L69 in Summer.

The L69 and the Quadrajet were overhauled.
The L69 has also an other cam inside. Dont know wich one at the moment.
Porting and polishing wasnt done yet, I´m thinking about doing this now..
The Rest of the car is stock - even the old exhaust system from the 1987´ LG4, except a flowmaster 80 in the rear.


So, now I am looking for a Header and read some articles here and listened to some sound files.. but I cant find a real difference in for example these two here:

Hooker 2210 - 519$
and
Hedman Street Hedders 68460 - 163$

can the power gain be that much, that it is worth to spend so much more?

And some ppl. write that the long / full tube is better.
Is this a noticable difference ?


Would be great if someone can clear this a little up for me
Thanks!

PS:
I think I will go with a single pipe 3" back.
So I´ll need to weld something or just buy the fitting Y-Pipe too.

 

That's not what makes headers cost different.

The things that you pay extra for, are that they FIT THE CAR, don't leak, and last more than a month.

There are few things in this hobby that are more disappointing than cheap headers.

You get, AT BEST, what you pay for. Meaning, if you deliberately and carefully go out of your way to pay THE LEAST, you get, AT BEST, .... I'll let you fill in the blank.

 

I've heard many stories of Hedmans that don't fit worth a damn. Hooker or Edelbrock is where I'd put my money.

Any kind of header would be a huge step up from your current exhaust, but the difference between the long tubes and the shorties will probably be negligible. If you're concerned about ground clearance, go with the shorties. On certain sets, they include a Y-pipe as well, so you don't have to have a custom one made as you would for long tubes.

 

I agree, I'm on page 69 reading the archives and wouldn't spend the time of day on Headmans. Not to mention the set I tried to put on one of my trucks, Had to dremel half the flange holes to get them bolted up only to have the right aim up at the floor and to the left, They met their demise via a 8 lb. sledge......

I'm looking at Patriot right now for my GTA but haven't found much (good/bad) about them yet.

 

I cant argue about price.. (I got mines free) But the Headman L/T fit great.. Pain in the a** to get in,
Had to notch the suspension a bit.. And like stated above.. custom exhaust work needed (expected w/ L/T's) and ground clearance isn't to bad..

The only thing i hate about my Hedmans is the finish.. And in that sense, you get what u pay for..

 

I have the Hedman cheapies for wifey's Z, the 17740s I think? Anyway, before install I stripped them and gave them a high heat paintjob, and a year later they still look good. Fitment was no issue at all, popped right on, the hedman Y fit great too.

 

hmmm ok that gave me something to think about.
thanks for the input guys! think I will save up my money for a better one. Ill spend my money on hookers, or an exhaust from hookers *haha*

theres another problem that comes up to me: shipping to the country I live in, is around 200$ ... shipping costs me more than the hedman itself *lol*..

 

MAterials also play a role.

The hookers you posted have a larger diameter tube, and its probably thinker material as well.

 

Look at the difference in flange thickness(the part that bolts to the head) cheap headers are gonna have a 1/4" thick flange where as a quality(read $$$) header is gonna be 3/8". The tubes will also be made out of heavier gauge material. Usually but not always they'll also be ceramic coated which makes them last compared to the black $0.98 wal-mart spray paint they apply to the cheap ones. If you read the fine print they'll even state it's not a high temp paint!

 

Dyno Don headers are better than either of them and are the best shorty headers for our cars. They have 1 3/4" primaries and 2 1/2" collectors. You get what you pay for.

 

ya get what ya pay for... my first set of headers for my camaro was the
SS slp's.
back in 92 at $750 even then. 1 3/4 tube and smallish y pipe, only good to about 5500 rpm.