Knock-Off Headers (Pace Setter, Autochrome, Chinese, eBay, etc.)

Metal exhaust gaskets should be dry IMO.

Use the metal gaskets dry, no RTV required, put them on dry.

Well I'm planning on getting some SSAC's in the future, and I'm rounding up some parts I will need. Anyway I have the chance to acquire a 99 GTP dipstick tube which is apparently necessary to give clearance with the headers. My only question is if it will work with the '96 Riv's 4T60 trans vs the 4T65 for the GTP. Anyone know?

Has anyone purchased SSAC's recently? I was looking on the website and now it says theyre constructed from mild steel. I seem to remember everyone else mentioning that they were made from 409 stainless. Is this a recent change, or does anyone remember it saying that when they purchased them?
http://www.ssautochrome.com/level.itml/icOid/1886

It has always said that but only the flanges are steel the rest is stainless.

Rickw wrote:

It has always said that but only the flanges are steel the rest is stainless.

Thanks.

If you do buy a set, throw away their gaskets and get a good set. preferably some that are sealed around the exhaust hole opening with crimped steel or just get some OEM gaskets that are all steel.
If you use the ones supplied you will be removing the headers soon to replace them due to leaks.

Rickw wrote:

If you do buy a set, throw away their gaskets and get a good set. preferably some that are sealed around the exhaust hole opening with crimped steel or just get some OEM gaskets that are all steel.
If you use the ones supplied you will be removing the headers soon to replace them due to leaks.

Alright will do, did you wrap your flex?

L67 wrote:

Rickw wrote:

If you do buy a set, throw away their gaskets and get a good set. preferably some that are sealed around the exhaust hole opening with crimped steel or just get some OEM gaskets that are all steel.
If you use the ones supplied you will be removing the headers soon to replace them due to leaks.

Alright will do, did you wrap your flex?

I wrapped everything. I got an EBay deal on 100 ft of header wrap with stainless ties and silicone header paint for $50.00 and wrapped all of it.
If you decide to wrap them complete or even just the crossover and flex pipe (recommended minimum), soak the header wrap in a bucket of water and wrap them with it wet and clamp with the stainless tie type clamps and you can use regular hose clamps temporarily until it all dries. Allow to dry for a day or two and the wrap with be very tight and last a lot longer. After every thing dry's spray with the silicone paint in light coats to protect the wrap from oil, moisture and deterioration. it will last a lot longer.
I have done several set's of headers this way over the years with good success.
By wrapping the complete header assy you will not have any noise or tinking like sound you normally get from non-wrapped headers.
They are absolutely quiet. You will not know you have headers on it except for the increase in overall power.

they are made of 321 stainless with a mild steel flange.

Jason wrote:

hey are made of 321 stainless with a mild steel flange.

Ok just wanted to make sure since it says "Mandrel-bent, mild steel tubing".

yeah their website is probably as well built as their headers

Jason wrote:

yeah their website is probably as well built as their headers

Lol ouch, I've heard people say quite good things about them, especially how well the stainless holds up.

Maybe early on they were sloppy with welds and bends but i can say that the pair of headers I got from them were built well and went on relatively easy.
Everyone has trouble fitting the crossover pipe, no matter what brand header you use, but other than that the product was good, welds were good and fit was good.

for 222$ shipped, I can't complain, but the welds on mine were terrible.

Jason, how long ago did you buy yours.?
The price is higher now and as I said they have gotten better with the welds, all of mine were very good.
I did not feel the nead to clean any of the welds up at all. Was able to bolt them on as they came out of the box.
Just tossed the supplied gaskets and re-used the OEM steel ones.
No leaks.

I want to put on headers and fabricate an exhaust system.
Which header to use though???
The slp seem to be the best choice but there are so many other choices! Ssac,t.o.g's,pacesetter and cheapies.Which one to go with?
I want to buy a slightly used set of SLP's if anyone can help me please let me know!thnks

I'm still very satisfied with my SSAC headers.

I doubt very much that you will find a set of slightly used SLP's for sale.
You can get new SSAC's for $350.00 shipped or less if you find a set on Ebay.

I don't expect to find a pair of great used SLP's out there but I was asking for input from others that have been here and done that.I will buy the SSAC's if someone dependable tells me that they are a good option.I actually want to go w/the ssac's but I want the exhaust to come out very solid.just trying to get good solid advice by the members!

If you go back at least one page and read what I had to say about the product and installation you'll get one persons recent experience with them.
BTW, I do recommend them for the price. But read back a little, there are a few things worth mentioning.

Ok thanks man.I did read all of the recent pages re:headers but I wanted to talk to someone personally that installed them recently.I appreciate the help just want to get it right the first time!

You have to remove the old manifolds, crossover pipe and downpipe, plus the oil dipstick needs to come out of the way. The new headers output pipe needs to be welded to your cat, or you'll need a GP or other high flow cat. Much of the installation is written up in previous pages. I installed the SSAC headers over two years ago and am still pleased with them.

There is also debate whether anything but the stock cat is necessary, even for high output motors. Apparently you can run the stock cat to pretty darn high flow levels, so there's no need to change it right away.

I'm still running the stock cat-back.

What else would you like to know?

What are your goals for your car?

edit: you'll also need an O2 wiring harness extension. I made one from my stock wiring with a hunk of flat-4 trailer wire I had laying around and haven't had a problem. I routed it with a zip tie along the heater hoses to keep it away from the header.

Quote :

Apparently you can run the stock cat to pretty darn high flow levels, so there's no need to change it right away.

Only problem I had with OEM cat converter was that it failed and split at about 100k miles. It was one of the reasons I upgraded to headers.

I bought the 3" High Flow Cat from ZZP while I was ordering some other things I needed to do the job, like band clamps, O2 extension harness.
I would recommend getting some stock exhaust manifold gaskets and throw away the ones that come with the headers, they are junk and WILL leak on you shortly after installing them, if choose to use them.
The OEM gasket are stamped metal and are the best for the application. You may even be able to use your original ones, but it won't hurt to have new on hand.
The Magna-Flow 3" Cat Converter from ZZP was inexpensive and just thought it would be time to change it out since I had about 100K on the car at the time.
I had a local shop weld 2 bolt mounting flanges on each end so that after install it can be removed if necessary. But that also meant flanges had to be welded to the headers extension pipe and to my OEM pipe before the resonator.
Also added an extra O2 bung for possible future wideband installation.
All the flange welding really isn't necessary, you can have it welded directly to the existing pieces as the new cat works great and probably will until long after I'm done with the exhaust system. But if you plan on continuing with modifying the exhaust all the way back then it's a worthwhile expense. That's what i originally had planned, but now I'm probably just going to leave all the stock parts from the cat back for now.

Thank you guys very much! That's the stuff that I needed to know.