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Headers????

3501 Views 37 Replies 25 Participants Last post by  PAPARYNO
a question for all the guys wit headers.... i was talkin wit a local xhaust shop about headers and he told me it aint worth it cuz its gonna be plenty maintenece down the road u wont feel any gain in power and my MPGs would drop down crazy. so just askin is it worth it would u feel power and would MPGs drop that bad??? i was gonna go wit JBA ceramic titaniums and i already have a VOLANT CAI W/SCOOP POWERAID TBS and SPINTECH TRUE DUAL XHAUST setup
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That's the thing about most muffler shops, they have no clue what they are saying. They need best stick to bending and welding pipes. Headers will give you power, mostly in the upper rev range. A well designed exhaust system is recommended. Ppl here have used JBA headers and catback with very good results. That's my recommendation. Never heard of Spintech.
Headers rule. I think they produce a noticeable gain in horsepower. I cant wait until my warranty runs out so I can add them.
Headers are a performance modification, and you feel the gain, and likewise you will lose MPG. You would have to baby it to keep good MPG.
But, then why put headers on it??

"Speed cost money, how fast do you want to go?"
J_RoD_808 said:
a question for all the guys wit headers.... i was talkin wit a local xhaust shop about headers and he told me it aint worth it cuz its gonna be plenty maintenece down the road u wont feel any gain in power and my MPGs would drop down crazy. so just askin is it worth it would u feel power and would MPGs drop that bad??? i was gonna go wit JBA ceramic titaniums and i already have a VOLANT CAI W/SCOOP POWERAID TBS and SPINTECH TRUE DUAL XHAUST setup
Exhaust is a system and should be thought of that way, it shouldn't be approached like some random assortment of individual components and the system is only as good as it's weakest link.
As far as headers go, maintenance won't be any more of an issue on a quality, properly coated set of headers than it would be on the stock manifolds and in all likelihood, less maintenance.
The headers I installed were worth about .2 to .25 at the track and you most certainly feel them so I don't know what the guy's talking about there either. If you put the wrong size headers on there, you will feel a loss in the low end power and exhaust sizing is a compromise anyway. Bigger = more power up top, smaller = more power down low so you strive to hit a happy medium for the best usable gains for your application. Ideally, exhaust size would expand and contract through the power band like the new Ferraris do.
Gas mileage? I personally haven't noticed much change if any after all the mods I've done but I always drive it like I stole it so I always get between 13 and 14 per gallon with mixed driving. I think that provided you are tuned properly with UpRev, your mileage should not be much different than what you are getting now and in fact there is a mileage tune being worked on as we speak. A friend of mine ran his Tundra on the Dyno yesterday and it came back at 320 HP with an AFR of 11.5, talk about pig rich from the factory, lol. My point is that the factory settings usually aren't optimal and could stand some adjustment with UpRev to help mileage.
Your spintech muffler is manufactured by a company called Dr Gas and if it is as high a quality as the rest of there piping, it's a good start to a better system provided your pipes are no bigger than 2.25" with duals. I think that 2.5" duals are way too big for our trucks unless you are charged or running NOS.
Just remember that exhaust is as much an art as a science and even the most experienced of exhaust tuners will have to put it on the Dyno to see if they actually gained like they thought they would. Good luck and happy modding.
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Roadrunner said:
Headers rule. I think they produce a noticeable gain in horsepower. I cant wait until my warranty runs out so I can add them.
Yeah, I am just waiting till the warranty is up on mine before doing any major modifications too. It has a little lope at idle with the cams, do you think they'll notice, lol. Headers won't void your warranty, look into the Magnuson Moss warranty act, it puts the smack down on the manufacturers that try and rip us off after we put mods on the vehicles that are unrelated and did not cause the problem we are having.
Headers not gaining power is a pretty obsurd statement to make by a muffler shop, and I would consider changing shops! Like has been stated, a noticable gain, probably a loss in milage as you will like the new power so much that you will use it more, maintenance; I don't have headers, but I haven't heard of a lot of these issues. In general, after market headers will require a retorque of the header bolts after they heat up and cool, and a periodic check, but other than that.....
The best experience you will get out of headers(or any other performance mod) is to compliment it with a custom tune suck as Uprev. If you really want to unleash these trucks, that is the way to go!!
all right guys thanks for the info... yah im no to worried about MPGs if i was i would have bought a civic or sumtin but the way he said it i thought i was gonna get like 4-5MPGs. and another thing i was worried about was the warrnty jus bougt my truck didnt want to void the thing already but i guess it dont void it so! im probably gonna stick wit da JBA's mahaloz guyz
I was also considering JBA headers (installed JBA cat-back a few days ago....very nice) but was worried about headers voiding warranties.

Looks like I found my next mod:cheers:
I just installed JBA Titanium Headers on my 2008 Titan and they had a very hard time installing them. but it seems like the service engine soon light came on, don't why yet? Power wise I think I it has gained a little bet waiting for dyno once I figure out the engine light issue.
Its is possible that one of the O2 sensors came loose from one of the cats when they put in those headers.... if a shop did it for you take it back to the same place and have them check it out for ya....

did you upgrade to some high flow cats when you did the headers? if you didnt, you wont see as much gains with the headers.... now you need to get uprev before you run lean!!!
Headers in Hawaii are great as long as you get the coated ones. The weather hear will kill the non protected ones so go with the JBA coated ones or get the ones you pick out coated... Don't let the shop discourage you, they will make a difference. No problems with mine and had them on for over 2 years now....
TitanPro4x said:
I just installed JBA Titanium Headers on my 2008 Titan and they had a very hard time installing them. but it seems like the service engine soon light came on, don't why yet? Power wise I think I it has gained a little bet waiting for dyno once I figure out the engine light issue.
Mine was a tiny exhaust leak that threw my code. Took it back to the exhaust shop, tightened the header bolts and welded up eveything else and it was fine after that.

On another note, my truck lost power with my JBA shorties. Until I had Uprev tune my truck is was a dog. I was trippin cause i dropped so much $ on mine. So not every person who installs headers has power gains.
Stillen long tubes have been well documented by many forum members on all the different boards to make the most power on the Titan's. Right now they are currently on special...20% off. This is the lowest price EVER.

Headers on the Titan are actually less maintenance than the stock exhaust manifolds. Titan's have been well known to have problems with the catalytic converters inside the manifolds. In fact I have even seen a few members on here that have gone through a few sets of stock manifolds.
Stillen long tubes have been well documented by many forum members on all the different boards to make the most power on the Titan's. Right now they are currently on special...20% off. This is the lowest price EVER.

Headers on the Titan are actually less maintenance than the stock exhaust manifolds. Titan's have been well known to have problems with the catalytic converters inside the manifolds. In fact I have even seen a few members on here that have gone through a few sets of stock manifolds.
They are offering a good price finally on their headers, and if i had it to do over again i would go long tube on my Titan. It's just such a PITA to install.:cheers:
Any idea on how long the sale is going to be Kyle?
Overide said:
Any idea on how long the sale is going to be Kyle?

The sale is going to be this month only...
Stillen long tubes have been well documented by many forum members on all the different boards to make the most power on the Titan's. Right now they are currently on special...20% off. This is the lowest price EVER.

Headers on the Titan are actually less maintenance than the stock exhaust manifolds. Titan's have been well known to have problems with the catalytic converters inside the manifolds. In fact I have even seen a few members on here that have gone through a few sets of stock manifolds.
If I remember correctly, the stillen long tubes make better power for low end performance and headers like the JBA shorties are better for top end power. Is this a true statement or am I way off base?

Just trying to better understand the difference in shorties and long tubes and maybe help others do the same. :cheers:
vipzach said:
If I remember correctly, the stillen long tubes make better power for low end performance and headers like the JBA shorties are better for top end power. Is this a true statement or am I way off base?

Just trying to better understand the difference in shorties and long tubes and maybe help others do the same. :cheers:
There are definite benefits to the shorties for the guys that worry about smog regulations. Realistically power gains on the long tubes are better across the entire power band on the long tubes. If I remember correctly JBA advertises a gain of 18HP with their exhaust and header combination. With the stillen long tubes we've seen an average of 30HP gain with headers and a cat-back.
BlackPro4x08 said:
I was also considering JBA headers (installed JBA cat-back a few days ago....very nice) but was worried about headers voiding warranties.

Looks like I found my next mod:cheers:
JBA Headers will not void your factory warranty

Look up Magnuson Moss act on a google search - should help you guys out greatly regarding factory warranties and aftermarket parts
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