That's a pretty good list vikesfan drafted up for you. Save a few more bones by swapping the Magnaflows out to Xcelarators or something not stainless. Headers would be the bigger performance improvement and would save you the cost of the downpipe. But headers will run you at least $300 (rough number) - cheap headers fit poorly, good ones cost big bucks

 

not true about the cheap headers not fitting.

also, i am not sure why you would want something other than stainless? stainless will not rust out or corrode and is HIGHLY recommended for exhaust setups.


if you want headers and can install them, they come with the downpipe already, so that saves that cost,

if you take the extra precautions during install, you can use these headers and downpipe for $157 shipped....

97 08 Grand Prix GTP 3 8L Supercharge Stainless Steel Header Oxygen Sensor Bung | eBay

or here if those get sold....


97 08 Grand Prix GTP 3 8L Supercharge Stainless Steel Header Oxygen Sensor Bung | eBay



you will want to purchase different band clamps for the crossover



and i have no idea if it will have a drone or not. i have yet to hear one that didnt have some sort of drone to it, but having a 3 chambered muffler and a 24'' glasspack should help reduce it a lot, plus is should help with keeping the rasp away.

 

Unless you're thinking of heavily modding for performance, headers will actually rob some low end torque... The magic number seems to be, under 300hp go with ZZP Powerlog and over 300hp, go with headers... Remember, to get 300+hp out of our 3800, you'll need a good amount of boost in your build... As for rasp, I have yet to hear a 3800 without it, it's just a characteristic of our engines... Good luck and keep us posted...

 

Wow, those headers are cheap for stainless steel! I have doubts, and yet I still may buy a set myself. Even mild steel Pacesetter headers cost more than that and I have read about them leaking many times and some have thown them away because they gave them so much trouble. $150 is worth the role of the dice tho...

 

There are a number of grand prixs and montes that have those headers from my research. the rule of thumb with them is use different band clamps for the connections and use a liberal amount of red rtv in those slip joints. if done properly, no leaks.

they are true stainless headers, though the walls of the tubing is on the thin side, but not thin enough that they wont work.

do a search for speed daddy headers and you should be able to find a lot of info about them. though these on ebay are not sold by speed daddy, but i am certain they are from the same chinese company.

 

Hey vikesfan, would the ZZP down pipe you linked me be better off if I bought the high flow cat that comes with it for $75? I'm going to order it either today or tomorrow

 

Well, yes and no. If you have an N/A engine and put large diameter primary tube headers on it you will notice a significant loss in bottom end torque. This is because the larger primary tubes can't sustain adequate velocity and cylinder scavenging suffers. Small primary tubes on the other hand will increase velocity and aid in cylinder scavenging in turn improving bottom end torque.

A S/C engine (because of the additional flow capability) can utilize a large primary tube header and not lose as much bottom end. Small primary tube headers would restrict flow and decrease performance.

The one thing you have to remember - If you increase low end power you will sacrifice some top end power. If you increase top end power you will decrease bottom end power.

 

i would buy it separate, since the catco i linked to is far cheaper and the exhaust shop wont charge you much to weld it on. you will save yourself about $40.