I am looking to potentially get Pacesetter Headers or the Summit Racing Downpipe.

I'm looking for the most power, I will probably be going with ported upper and lower intake manifolds with a larger throttle body in the future also, which one of these would be best for what I am looking to do?

Thanks

 

I always thought getting headers gave you more power which is why I was gonna get them but idk there are prob other people out there who know more about it all

 

they do in most applications like the 3800 but im not sure how back my exhaust manifolds are to begin with lol

 

You know most are gonna tell ya headers, lol

 

Headers will give you more because they come with a downpipe.

 

yeah i figured i just didnt know how much more power i would get lol

 

Pacesetters have been known to be ,how should I say it nicely, not the greatest quality. However, Milzy is working on a set of headers for the 3400 N and W body cars. Just fair warning...read if you want to. Fitment issues and leaks are the biggest problems.
Pacesetter headers - Grand Am Owners Club Forums
As you read as person called the Pacesh**ters LOL
And you can see the issues this guy had with them
pacesetter headers - GrandAmGT.com Forum
Some people with GP's that have mixed feelings some good some bad.
Pacesetter headers experience? - 3.8L V6 Supercharged (L67)(L32)

There is tons of info on these. I would research more on them before pulling the trigger on them. Check wot-tech.com, both grand am forums, 60degreev6.com, fullthrottlev6.com/forums, and I know your a member of naioa.com so check what people have said over there as well. for more information. Its out there. I almost bought them back in 05 and people gave me the same info. I wasn't brave enough to pay that amount for a product that I was going to have issues with. Grant it they have have revised versions of there product but be careful.

 

thanks for the info, i had done some research on 60degreev6 but i feel that ben kind of just wanted me to start spending some money.

I wonder what pricing will be with Milzy, but i have heard some not so great things about his stuff also, hmm...

Anyone know how much more power i would get from headers compared to a downpipe?

 

I'm not sure about how much power you gain. I think milzy is claiming around 15/20hp with the dp; don't qoute me on that though. Downpipe alone probably 5-10hp I would guess with other mods. Yes I agree I remember hearing some not so good things about Milzy years ago. The price I've read os going to be about $850 but there supposed to be really nice quality. Gotta pay to play. To me thats more than most people are willing to pay. There are some people that feel thats a good price. Compared to what they're going to be by the end of the year I would also say that that's not a bad price kind of high but compared to other vehicles that's cheaper than most cars out there.

If your thinking of skipping the headers right now. I would look at ZZP's 2.5 stainless DP and look into finding someone to port and polish your manifolds.This might turn out to be more expensive...maybe? Aluminized DP starts at $159 and goes up for stainless and cat. If I was sticking with the 3400 personally this is the route I would go with. But if you look at the 3800 headers they're cheaper because they have a few different people offering headers. Where as for us 3400 guys there is milzy or there is the custom route. Doug Thorley I believe is another company that has built only a couple sets of 3400 headers.
ZZ Performance

 

I always like to figure hp numbers conservatively (that way I'm happy when I make more ), but I honestly think that with a d/p you would gain around 2-5whp(depending on what other mods you have, or 10-15whp with headers (also depends on other mods). So if you made more then that, I would say you're doing pretty good.

Also, I would expect a stock 3400 to make something around 135whp just for a reference.