Good exhaust header alternative

[Heavy Z]

Want a manifold with good balance of efficiency and reliability? This guy Brzezinski has been doing lots of racing mods for circle track over the years, and has some interesting mods for freeing the flow on rams horn exhaust manifolds, good 2 into 1 exhaust products, heads, intakes. The 2 1/2" rams horn mod really opens them up and may be a good daily-driver alternative to headers if you don't want to deal with leaks.

 

Brzezinski Racing Products

 

Definitely worth looking at - scroll down to rams horn info & 2-1 stuff.

 

Brett

[grumpyvette]

GOOD QUALITY HEADERS WON,T LEAK, if your used to leaks I bet your used to buying cheap headers! a good set will have a 3/8" thick header flange and it will be ground perfectly flat. heres some suppliers if you choose to build your own headers

 

http://www.headersbyed.com/chevsbv8.htm

 

http://www.schoenfeldheaders.com/sbflanges.htm

 

http://www.ssheaders.com/Collectors.htm

 

http://www.secureperformanceorder.com/dynatechdragstore/getclasses.cfm?CategoryID=29

 

http://www.secureperformanceorder.com/dynatechdragstore/getsubclasses.cfm?ClassID=281&CategoryID=33

 

http://www.drgas.com/street-cat.html

[Mike C]

Yea, but even good headers will never be quiet like the manifolds. About 5 years ago there was a 79 Corvette in Hot Rod Mag that ran 9's with a Q-jet and ported (maybe extrude honed) 2 1/2" rams horns. I replaced the 1 5/8 Heddmans on my Jimmy with 2 1/2" rams horns. At the same time I went from 2 1/4" exhasut to 2 1/2" with Dynomax Hemi Turbos. I ran the headers for 10 years, until the collector flanges rusted out. I had no troubles with flange gaskets, but I used long header bolts with the small OD split washers. This is the solution to 90 % of header leaks IMO. My butt-o-meter says no loss in top end power and a BIG increase in torque below 3000 rpm. (I do have a little cam, 210/210 @ .050 and .440 lift, max rpm about 4500), but the big difference is noise. Underhood noise decreased dramatically. The loudest thing there is the alternator bearing now! I will do the ported (probably myself) 2 1/2's on my 'vette with the 425 hp 355 currently in my Camaro. The Camaro will keep its headers, but I have plans for 500+ hp for its next motor and above 400, even the ported manifolds will hurt output. I wish the manifolds would fit the Camaro and Chevelle chassis! I hate giving up power, but even cooler do be fast and QUIET!

[Heavy Z]

Yes cheap headers are usually cheap for a good reason, grumpy, and I'm sure all headers also don't leak every time. I've got ceramic coated hookers on my 383 and they just started leaking through the gasket after 1 1/2 years in my blazer. I'll try that fix solution Mike C spoke of, or any others that fellow hybrid Z'rs have to share. Headers surely have a place, I just thought this info might be interesting to those looking for options if they run a moderate engine.

 

Heavy Z

[DavyZ]

I actually like the look of rams-horn manifolds (someone slap me) and I even saw a pair of polished ones on a street rod. They looked cool! These guys have been having some success with their products, and the 2 into 1 collector (Y-pipe) looks pretty good. I wonder how it stacks up against the Flowmaster Y-pipe in terms of cost vs flow??

 

Davy

[Guest Anonymous]

I'd have to agree with Mike, cheap headers are just that, but the thinwall pipe just plain clicks and makes noises that I personally don't like (sounds like a exhaust leak or a bad tappet even when they're well sealed, at least the ones I've heard and had experience with). If I build another Z someday and its not some insane hp beast, it'll have cast manifolds.

 

That said, there was a post on the net that I can't at the moment find, but they claimed that merely cutting through the flange between the front and back pipes will keep them from leaking as the flange can move a bit more.

Another guy showed making the bolt holes larger towards the front exhaust ports likewise allowing movement and things to expand without causing a leak.

 

Anyway, whether those things work or not, cast manifolds are still without question much quieter.

 

Regards,

 

Lone

[Guest Anonymous]

Will the 2 1/2 inch ramhorns fit the Zee? Has anyone ever put the larger Corvette Ramhorns on the Zee? Does the drivers side Corvette Ramhorns come with the the up swept center dump. I have the smaller machined ramhorns which is a snug fit.

[Heavy Z]

The "leak fix" that Lone mentioned I heard from an old chevy hotrodder who swears that no matter how flat the header flange is, it wants to bend into a slight U-shape when hot. He suggested cutting the flange between the pipes (4 cuts total) to prevent this from happening. He says this has stopped his header leak problems for many years, so maybe there is something to it.

 

Heavy Z

[Mike C]

The best set of headers I ever had was a set of Blackjack AK5000 aluminum coated headers. The flanges came separated as you describe. It costs a little more and requires a more complicated jig. These headers were large tube, equal length, quite nice. Sold them on a car I never should have sold (69 Camaro Z10 RS hardtop with pace car accents. 1~100 DOH!) I regret parting with both... I bought another set of Blackjack AK5000 not a month later, and they were smaller tube, single flange, and not even CLOSE to equal length. This was circa 1985.Only good thing about that was in 1996, Dynomax had bought blackjack and they swapped me a set of coated headers to replace the rusty Blackjacks (honoring BJ lifetime warranty) FWIW, the coating looks like $h!t now, and part of the deal is they would not replace them since they were a replacement to begin with.

[Mudge]

Headers do resonate, yes. I remember reading an article on most headers' natural frequency, probably a David Vizard thing.