i am going to buy some long tube headers and wanted imput on the differance between the two types.i plan to keep the truck a long time and dont want to buy but one set.

 

No question about it gp--stainless steel all the way. See this post from earlier:

LightningTuner LightningTuner
Member &
Supporting Vendor

Registered: Aug 1999
Location: Sound Beach, NY, US
Posts: 2010
One thing you have to understand is you get what you pay for. MAC owners probably won't be too happy 2-3 years down the road. MAC makes great functioning products, at cheap prices. But with cheap prices come cheap quality. MAC mufflers are steel, like Flowmasters, so they will be rusted in a year. Thier piping is usually aluminized, but that doesn't last either. And with any chrome part, the tailpipes will rust. Thier headers are dirt cheap, but they also have poor flanges, poor welds and thin tubing. The first set of long tubes I had on the 01 were MAC Mustang 2V long tubes, that I modified to fit. They don't hold a candle to the Kooks headers we now run.

I'm not bashing MAC, I've used thier products in the past when money was tight and performance was still required. But realize as everyone is on a crusade for an alternative to the $700 Bassani cat back, that you get what you pay for. The Bassani cat back is ALL stainless steel; mufflers, pipes, X pipe, and polished tips. It will outlast the truck. Same goes for JDMs exhaust. It's not as cheap as the MAC, but it's quality and isn't going to rot off the truck in a few years.

So don't be upset you paid more for what you have Roger. It'll be worth it in the long run.


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Dan

 

thanks lightninrod,i guess that about answers that question.also,thank you sal.

 

I was told that the SS headers cause alot of heat under the hood, and the Jet coated flow better, so I opted for the JetCoated.

I'd like to see tempature measurements of both headers after x amount of time running with each one.

 

SS headers do create a lot of underhood heat. I don't see how Sal's post has much to do with this. It was more of a comparison between regular metal and SS, and how Mac uses them.
The SS headers exhibit more heat, will greatly discolor, lose their shine very quickly, but are cheaper. Ceramic coated headers keep the heat in, won't discolor, keep their finish, but cost more, and are not complete immune to rust, like many people say.

I have SS headers on mine, because of cost, they are Bassani brand. 5 minutes of driving, and it feels like a Sauna if I open the hood, even with my dual electric fans to cool the engine down.

 

I put ceramic coated ones on my truck because they are way too cool looking

--Joe

 

What about the Edelbrocks with the nickel/chrome plating?

 

Does anyone have any experiece with this plating?

 

Lightninrod and GP...it looks as if you have misunderstood eachother.

That post is talking about exhaust pipes (not headers)

The coating is more expensive and can handle more heat. The MAC exhaust is made of steel (which will rust over time) and the bassani is made of higher quality Stainless steel which is a mixture of metals to keep the steel from rusting. The coated headers are stainless steel with an extra coating of protecting to handle intense heat and helps against expanded and contracting due to heating from engine and cooling. If you have the money and are planning on modding the truck...go with the coated headers.

 

I went with the ceramic coated longtubes to try and keep underhood heat down.

 

I coated the SS ones I have noticed up to 150-200 degree drops in coated headers vs. stainless.

 

In theory the coated headers will keep more heat in and produce more power; stainless will last longer.

Mine are coated.

 

Stainless is the way to go BUT you should only coat the INSIDE of the header and not the outside.The reason being you want the heat to stay out of the header and flow down the exhaust pipe.Stainless is good I think that all the heeaders that are being made are of 304 which works great up to being red hot for a long period of time then what makes 304[metal formulation] starts to migrate out and will become brittle.
The WHOLE exhaust system on my truck is a brown rusty color to the tips which means that it has been over 800 degrees for long periods of time[I wonder why?].I am in the process of getting some made out of 321 stainless [JDMs'] which is more resistant to heat fatigue.321 has 5x carbon in it and it also has titanuim too,same stuff the aircraft industry uses and the cart series do.Stan
OH and it becames VERY pricey as you can imagine.

 

Do you guys think the nickel/chrome coated headders from Edelbrock are worth the money at $379? Bassani and some of the others are very expensive and didn't want to drop that much money on a set. How big of a deal is this whole coating thing anways as far as keeping the heat in to help with making power? How do you think this nickel/chrome coating compares to jet hot or what ever it is? I don't have a L so I'm not trying to squeeze out every little bit but I don't want to loose any low end power either.