Exhaust Build: Need recommendations for headers/exhaust system
#1
01-19-2018, 09:13 PM
Need recommendations for headers/exhaust system
Need help and recommendations for full exhaus from headers all the way to the muffler I currently own a 2001 ss Carlo was looking to going to3.5 but not sure on what to do plz help.
#2
01-19-2018, 09:52 PM
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Mountains of Utah
Posts: 4,903
Hello and welcome to the MCF! 
These eBay headers will be one of your less spendy systems. there are a few different sellers offering headers similar to these.
Trying to go all the way up to 3.5 will be way to much exhaust for your engine, losing the beneficial back pressure. Stay down to the 2.25 or 2.50 max. I run 3.o on my turbo system.
You can have an exhaust shop custom bend you the pipes and install your headers for you if you want to save a few hours of frustration. It is worth it to me, that is what they do for a living.
These eBay headers will be one of your less spendy systems. there are a few different sellers offering headers similar to these.
Trying to go all the way up to 3.5 will be way to much exhaust for your engine, losing the beneficial back pressure. Stay down to the 2.25 or 2.50 max. I run 3.o on my turbo system.
You can have an exhaust shop custom bend you the pipes and install your headers for you if you want to save a few hours of frustration. It is worth it to me, that is what they do for a living.
#3
01-20-2018, 07:59 AM
Yea, pretty much what he said ^^.. The ebay headers are pretty simple to install. Just need a little time and be prepared for the unexpected..
The speed daddy and (cant remember the other ebay "brand" headers) come with headers, crossover, and downpipe..
Dont go over 2.5 on an N/A engine. If this (and maybe an CAI) is all you plan on doing, id stick with 2.25..
The speed daddy and (cant remember the other ebay "brand" headers) come with headers, crossover, and downpipe..
Dont go over 2.5 on an N/A engine. If this (and maybe an CAI) is all you plan on doing, id stick with 2.25..
#4
01-20-2018, 08:19 AM
Well it’s all ideas right now but I’m looking for like a hand full of mods to do becaus I wanna just take a week off and do it looking at ideas right now if you got any more suggestions I’d greatly appreciate it
#5
01-20-2018, 05:36 PM
I think the first question is what you're looking to accomplish, and second is how much are you looking to spend?
If you're just looking for better sound, perhaps modifications to the existing catback would get you where you want? If you're looking for more power (assuming you have an NA 3800) a full head to tailpipe exhaust is going to be an incredibly expensive way to gain a small amount of power. The bad thing is, the catback itself isn't particularly restrictive for a stock or near stock engine, so the gains are near zero there. If you get a quality stainless, mandrel bent system, you would be spending hundreds of dollars for near zero gains there.
One downside is that the majority of 3800 headers out there are sized for the supercharged applications. Certainly they can work on an NA setup, but they're not ideal.
I would agree with the above that 3.5" is way overkill unless you have one of the highest power 3800s in the country. It's going to be heavier and more expensive than 3" or 2.5" with no real benefit to power. I also run 3" on my monte as well on a pretty heavily modded setup.
EDIT - from your other post where you're looking for a turbo kit, don't buy headers at all. No aftermarket headers will work with turbo kits, theyre designed to work with stock manifolds or power logs only.
If you're just looking for better sound, perhaps modifications to the existing catback would get you where you want? If you're looking for more power (assuming you have an NA 3800) a full head to tailpipe exhaust is going to be an incredibly expensive way to gain a small amount of power. The bad thing is, the catback itself isn't particularly restrictive for a stock or near stock engine, so the gains are near zero there. If you get a quality stainless, mandrel bent system, you would be spending hundreds of dollars for near zero gains there.
One downside is that the majority of 3800 headers out there are sized for the supercharged applications. Certainly they can work on an NA setup, but they're not ideal.
I would agree with the above that 3.5" is way overkill unless you have one of the highest power 3800s in the country. It's going to be heavier and more expensive than 3" or 2.5" with no real benefit to power. I also run 3" on my monte as well on a pretty heavily modded setup.
EDIT - from your other post where you're looking for a turbo kit, don't buy headers at all. No aftermarket headers will work with turbo kits, theyre designed to work with stock manifolds or power logs only.
Last edited by bumpin96monte; 01-20-2018 at 05:42 PM.
#6
01-20-2018, 05:57 PM
I think the first question is what you're looking to accomplish, and second is how much are you looking to spend?
If you're just looking for better sound, perhaps modifications to the existing catback would get you where you want? If you're looking for more power (assuming you have an NA 3800) a full head to tailpipe exhaust is going to be an incredibly expensive way to gain a small amount of power. The bad thing is, the catback itself isn't particularly restrictive for a stock or near stock engine, so the gains are near zero there. If you get a quality stainless, mandrel bent system, you would be spending hundreds of dollars for near zero gains there.
One downside is that the majority of 3800 headers out there are sized for the supercharged applications. Certainly they can work on an NA setup, but they're not ideal.
I would agree with the above that 3.5" is way overkill unless you have one of the highest power 3800s in the country. It's going to be heavier and more expensive than 3" or 2.5" with no real benefit to power. I also run 3" on my monte as well on a pretty heavily modded setup.
EDIT - from your other post where you're looking for a turbo kit, don't buy headers at all. No aftermarket headers will work with turbo kits, theyre designed to work with stock manifolds or power logs only.
If you're just looking for better sound, perhaps modifications to the existing catback would get you where you want? If you're looking for more power (assuming you have an NA 3800) a full head to tailpipe exhaust is going to be an incredibly expensive way to gain a small amount of power. The bad thing is, the catback itself isn't particularly restrictive for a stock or near stock engine, so the gains are near zero there. If you get a quality stainless, mandrel bent system, you would be spending hundreds of dollars for near zero gains there.
One downside is that the majority of 3800 headers out there are sized for the supercharged applications. Certainly they can work on an NA setup, but they're not ideal.
I would agree with the above that 3.5" is way overkill unless you have one of the highest power 3800s in the country. It's going to be heavier and more expensive than 3" or 2.5" with no real benefit to power. I also run 3" on my monte as well on a pretty heavily modded setup.
EDIT - from your other post where you're looking for a turbo kit, don't buy headers at all. No aftermarket headers will work with turbo kits, theyre designed to work with stock manifolds or power logs only.
#7
01-20-2018, 07:59 PM
3" is fine for a turbo setup at the power level you're looking at. What a lot of people with turbo setups do is add a cutout up front to reduce spool time and add a little power, but without having to listen to the annoying open downpipe sound all the time.
#8
01-20-2018, 10:10 PM
Man, that's an awful lot of money for a single exhaust catback. The ZZP exhaust is about $600 for 3" stainless and the Magnaflow is like $800. No doubt a full custom build from a shop with high end parts could be $1k+, but it's not going to make notably more power than any other 3" setup would.
3" is fine for a turbo setup at the power level you're looking at. What a lot of people with turbo setups do is add a cutout up front to reduce spool time and add a little power, but without having to listen to the annoying open downpipe sound all the time.
3" is fine for a turbo setup at the power level you're looking at. What a lot of people with turbo setups do is add a cutout up front to reduce spool time and add a little power, but without having to listen to the annoying open downpipe sound all the time.