is its worth the extra $125-ish to buy the ceramic coated ones? im a little strapped for cash because of college and the large list of things to do to my car, so the 125 bucks could be the difference between me getting new shocks or not, or new tires, etc. im lookin at about 1200-1500 spending money by the end of summer, but i need 3.4 stuff, the headers, and preferably shocks and tires, in addition to maybe $200 in general maintenance also.

so if anyone wants to convice me one way or the other on the header issue, id love some input. thanks

 

i would buy the shocks and struts over spending the extra $$$ on ceramic coating any day. You NEED shocks and struts. You DON'T NEED ceramic coating on your headers.

 

Let me answer this way & it'll make sense
YOU ARE IN CALIFORNIA
YOU ARE NOT IN RUST BELT
YOU NEED NOT WORRY ABOUT THE DAMGE FROM ELEMENT TO THE PIPES
THAT SAID
I can probably say that it'll be COOLER UNDER THE CAR HOOD & THAT HELPS OTHER STUFF LAST LONGER
AND
AS LONG AS
The shocks don't leak
AND it ain't raining, the tires & shocks can hang on!
ME
At Pep Boys I got the rear shocks installed for free.
Front shock I paid like $40-60 for install (CHEAP!)
Tires ya can get by until December in time to save more money for new tires for rain season.
So I DO suggest the ceramic coating if only to keep other stuff from the extra heat generated by headers!
AND IF ya wanna
fgerle@pacesetterexhaust.com
is the man to say hi, for asking the benefits of the coating in better detail than perhaps my response.
AND IF YA CAN I'd worry more about alignment then do the tires.
When they do front struts they "do require ya" to re-align car cause "stuff can move". I got lucky, they put my stuff back in right spots, no alignment change spent.
IF Tire wear good then go for struts first anyway!

 

I just have to say, I wouldn't trust Pep Boys to change my air filter, much less my struts/shocks!

 

A mechanic is a mechanic
A faciliy is run only as well as the manager who ya know!
THAT SAID
They screwed up "lifting my car" (don't ya just love it when they re-align fenders using lifts!!!!) and got my front struts for free install!
I was there checking up on the work. That's how I caught my panel alignment (after the work was done I bitched). Because they knew they screwed up (I caught them) they were kind to mention how worn was my center link & Idler arm.
Even with the screw up I was out in a few hours & drove away happy as I could & I did re-align my fender.
The strut install has held up perfect. When car was aligned, they said no problems. Soon after this strut install, I replaced with friend the center link & idler arm ($80 in parts & $40 for the tools to remove parts) which anyone reading is GONNA BE MADATORY to keep good front end aligned (read as why buy new tires yet?). I haven't touched original tie rod ends, but just lubed them.
Gotta work options offered ya.
Let someone tear apart what happened to me, but sheet metal panel alignment is easier than strut/suspension work anyday!
Find shop specials for some work to be done and use best judgement. Auto chain Free labor promotion store specials is fine by me! Use best judgement in any mechanics shop & work.

 

i woould just buy the cheaper ones, and if you're concerned about the heat, then wrap them.

 

No to the wrap & here's why
AT ONE TIME
IT WAS THE HOT TICKET TO WRAP THE PIPES
Then came JET HOT COATING (ceramic coating)
Why the coating?
Same thing as wrapping (heat retention)
and also
things that don't happen with wrapping
RUST ON PIPES (water retention of this wrap is a big downside)
Fuel fires or oil fires on the wrapping (due to engine drips).
These things happened which is why wrapping fell outta favor & ceramic coating alternative was so much less hazardous to the car....

 

winterize the car & COAT them.

It will keep teh heat in the pipes, not the engine bay. Also, it will aid in the operation of the cat. Heat seems to be a key factor in it working correctly

 

Yep, I agree with KED, don't use a wrap. A guy from my old online car club wrapped his 3.8 headers (a 4th gen guy) and the motor caught fire.

I plan on JetHotting my headers... whenever I buy them...

 

alright, thanks for the input. it seems like its gonna work out that i will have to wait until fall/winter to do the 3.4 stuff, so if i can fx my exhaust leak for smog ill just get the headers then, and if i cant i should have enough $$ to get them coated and still get struts/shocks & tires.(just no 3.4 yet).

 

A muffler shop would charge ya $30-ish to find the leak.
Go to a chain store for that price.
Then if their option no good for "repair" find other choices now that ya know the problem.
Where does it exhaust leak?
It can't mess up smog that bad.
Like I said shop around for the sales of the shocks/struts & install. Good parts & free installations or low price can't be beat. JUST WATCH THEM DO THE WORK. I insisted, that's how I saw damage to my car while it was in air. And they were nice enough to compensate, immediatly. Fenders bend back on the point they damaged.
As long as ya don't leak fluid from shock/strut assembly, ya don't "need" them, immediatly.
As long as engine runs fix foundation (drivetrain/chassis), as everything swaps right over to the 3.4 upgrade.
To pass smog I had to change oil, Cat convertor & Oxy Sensor.
Worth the extra to keep the ride right now.
THANKS 2point8boy! He did my smog check the right way!

 

i was going to wrap. but after reading this i think i will go ahead and get them coated. i hate fire and i do have under hood leaks.

note: if i ever get headers

 

Hey, I still have a set of those $150 headers from way back I'll sell cheap ........................

 

heres some long tube headers
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...985569276&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...986068622&rd=1

 

wow, that second set of headers is already over retail . . .
somone should start buying sets from summit and selling them one by one on ebay. with 3 days left on a 5 day auction there appears to be a lucrative profit margin. wierd.

 

thats half of what ud pay from summit for those. good deal.

 

I won these off of e-bay for $105.00 shipped. I am hoping to do before and after pictures of the install.

 

I couldn't believe I was the only one that bid on them.

 

The real danger from wrapping headers is metal fatigue, not rust. Almost all header companies refuse to warranty their products against failure if they are wrapped. Besides, its not much cheaper than ceramic coating...it has come down a lot since more places are offering it. If you can't afford ceramic right now, the stainless steel paint from Eastwood, Year One, etc works very well for the $, far better than any header paint I have ever used.

 

cc_hotrod. You didnt win THEM. That is MY picture, of MY headers, taken on MY deck.

someone f-ing jacked my picture. Time to logo them ****** I see.

 

Hopefully he just used your picture b/c he said that they are still in the box. If not I guess I will contact e-bay concerning some false advertising.

 

i would have already done that, cchotrod.

jay, talking about someone steppin on your toes, they didn't just step on yours, they jumped on them!