Hello, I've been looking for headers recently, seeing what's out there, and I don't see any shorty headers that bolt up in place of the factory manifolds. Does anyone know if there is one out there? I don't have to worry about the smog stuff, just a header that would be able to bolt onto the exhaust that was connected to the manifold. It's a 3" exhaust and sounds really nice, so I just want to know if I could find headers that could go on without modification or replacement of what I have.

Thanks for reading!

Most Thirdgen headers either come with a Y-pipe, or have an optional Y-pipe available. Can't recall anyone ever offering headers for a thirdgen that use the stock Y pipe, probably because the stock Y is more of a T, and accounts for about 50% or more of the improvement headers will provide on a thirdgen.

That's what I figured, I'll have to look at my exhaust and figure out what would require the least modification.

I agree with Drew. But there are some systems where an exhaust shop might be able to adapt the existing system to the new shorty headers. I know that Heddman have specific y pipes to match their headers. At least with shorties you stand a small chance of having them mate with little to no changes to the y pipe. It's still a craps shot though.

Also, don't settle for cheap shorty headers as some of the primaries are restrictive and would be a waste of money. If you read a lot of the threads about headers, people will tell you that for a little more money, you will get a lot better flowing exhaust.

How about a set of shorties and y pipe that will bolt up after the stock y-pipe? I haven't seen any yet, So I guess I'll have to look into it.

Stay away from flowtek headers and their Y pipe the design could barely be worse. The T junction on the Y pipe is so bad it is basically a 1.5" hole with a 2.5" pipe welded around it. Just sad.

I got Hedman shorty headers part #68470 and y pipe 17478. The headers were from another person on here for $120 (Thanks beths91camaro!!) and the Y pipe from Jegs for $115.

Not true. Also stay away from bad advice. He was asking about a direct bolt on. They are a direct bolt on and would be easy to go to a 3" pipe from 2.5 outlet. King midas must be the muffler god. Explain to me how they can be worse than stock. Can u also tell me the inlet/outlet diameter of a crack ****** ***?

Wow you got butthurt fast and obviously don't know anything about proper header / exhaust design. Also your reading comprehension skills need a little work. So let me help you and hopefully keep the OP away from the flowtech trap.

1. I never claimed they were worse than stock. Just the worst of the aftermarket. Actually tied with summit house brand which are the same thing.

2. The OP was looking for bolt on to the factory Y pipe not just bolt on. Just because something fits does not mean it is good.

3. You can call me king if you want but it is Midias not Midas and yes I do know more about exhaust than most people here and diameter does matter.

Why flowtech are the worst? We start with their primary design besides having that one really long pipe that curls around they are only 1 1/2" you really want 1 5/8 minimum for a V8 build 1 3/4 would be better for most modified cars on here. This is not a problem that can be fixed without building new headers. Their 2.5" collector is fine but damn are their flanges thin, weak and prone to leaks.

The Y pipe as previously stated has a terrible merger coming off the passenger header where they drill the hole in the pipe much smaller than the pipe going onto it. At least this is the case in the 4 systems I have removed from thirdgens and replaced.

But before you start getting all hot sweaty and ready to keyboard warrior some "facts" don't worry hooker, dougs and edelbrock also unnecessarily neck down on the pipe size right at the merger. There are various threads here about those issues and how to fix them.

Here is specifically one for dougs (D901) Y pipe see post 18

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/exha...ml#post5775725


Fixing those issues leads to the next problem with the flowtech system. The merger design. While every other company making headers uses a Y merger to aid in a smooth transition and has the unintentional but awesome bonus of making them ez to mod with a 3" pipe flowtech uses a T merger shown in this picture
http://static.summitracing.com/globa...g-11102y_w.jpg

That is just lazy manufacturing showing a desire for profit over performance engineering.


So to summarize flowtech is the worse performing header we can buy they do bolt on with their Y pipe but go somewhere else

x2 go with an nice set of shorties from Hedman or hooker, I'd also go for ceramic coated

I see the Headman's, and I found some sets on Ebay, Jegs, and Summit. Thanks, Go Blue! How did they fit, and how hard was it to get them in? I've put headers on trucks before, but I assume a F body requires more maneuvering.

The T junction on the Y pipe is so bad it is basically a 1.5" hole with a 2.5" pipe welded around it. Just sad.

That is the biggest bottleneck to any exhaust system for our cars, the factory design included.
Look for a system with a nice "Y" transition. It makes a HUGE difference. Like this.

That's a nice Y pipe there. Nice bends and great transition going to the 3 inch pipe.