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Pacesetter headers?

16K views 66 replies 27 participants last post by  odthetruth 
#1 ·
Are they any good? Seems like they're cheap enough to give them a shot. Anyone use them?
 
#33 ·
I'm really having a hard time trying to decide between OBX (stainless) and armor coated pacesetters.

Pacesetter
Pro: price; fitment; American made
Con: steel; will rust down the road

OBX
Pro: price; stainless
Con: not American made; fitment with steering shaft.

If anyone could help me decide, that would be greatly appreciated. By the way, found a site selling OBX for under $500.
 
#39 ·
If anyone could help me decide, that would be greatly appreciated. By the way, found a site selling OBX for under $500.
If you are referring to E-racingzone or any of the other places that sell the OBX NON-catted packages, they are back ordered direct from OBX and unsure as to when OBX is going to do another production run. Not sure on the availability of the catted setups. I would highly recommend Kook's over any of the others. That being said, I just went with armorcoated pacesetters for the simple fact that I didn't want to spend $1K+ on a set of headers that will be removed in a year when the turbos go on.
 
#34 ·
Another difference between the OBX and the Pacesetter is the collector. OBX uses a 2.5 inch collector versus the 3.0 inch collector used by Pace Setter. Although that may not sound like much, the smaller OBX collector will only flow 60% of what the Pace Setter will flow. This reduces relative horsepower produced by the two type of headers on a stock engine and also limits the cam duration that can be used on an OBX-equipped motor without experiencing exhaust gas reversion. (Kooks of course, have equal-length primaries, the 3.0 inch collector, and are stainless steel.)
 
#47 ·
vcaddy06 said:
As stated above, "less then $1,000". All those mentioned are above that mark. Not willing to spend $1k or more on exhaust headers for a car. My original question was to determine a purchase between OBX and Pacesetter headers. I thought this was a forum to get help and info/opinion.
My kooks were 939 coated and shipped. That's under a thousand. Seems like a pretty good deal to me. Unless you're just bent on putting lower quality on your car

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If 939 isn't far enough under your budget of 1000 u can call them and they nock some more off if you don't get them coated
 
#49 ·
Just be careful with how you save your money, there are a few parts you can save money on, and others its just not worth the risk...

If you search all header kits come with horror stories, but its the aftersales support from the manufacture that makes the difference.

I have heard nuttin but bad reviews with Pacesetters, OBX is close, but has a better aftersales support.

Kooks and American racing are the top dogs with the highest prices. However, presently i am pissed at Kooks for they lied about the availability of my last set of headers i want to buy...Tryin to upgrade my tahoe from 1 3/4 to 1 7/8 they said in stock and if i order they will get them coated and ready to ship by Feb 28, today we are the 13th of March and i am waitin on plain none coated headers to be delivered...I hate backorders
 
#51 ·
I realize I'm late to the party on this... I put Pacesetters on my '05 several years ago, ~$450 shipped.

Within ~3 months (winter driving) the coating had bubbled severly on the bottom where they were most exposed to winter slop from the roads. A couple phone calls got me no where with the vendor. I'm still running them headers, aside from looking terrible from the bottom (but how many of us can say we don't....) they function just fine.

Given a do-over, I'd proly save my pennies for another brand. Maybe make my own from a DIY kit. They were great bang for the buck, but cosmetically.... a big fail.

Hammar
maggied 2005 V
 
#52 ·
I don't particularly understand all the hate and discontent directed towards the lower priced headers. There are a helluva lot more cars and trucks on the road with "cheap" headers (Pacesetter, Hedman, whatever) than there are with expensive ones (Kooks, B&B, etc). If they had been available when I was shopping, I probably would've picked up a set of the Pacesetters and gotten them Swain Tech coated (as I did with my Kooks). I had a metallic-ceramic coated mild steel header on my Subaru for years with no issues (including New England winters), so IMO there's absolutely no reason to worry about the Pacesetter headers if you get them coated.

I'm sure the Kooks are "better", but what does that really mean - 5 or 10hp? Meh, it's not a difference I would ever feel.
 
#60 ·
Friend of mine has an '05 GTO with jet black pacesetter headers and he hasn't had one problem in almost a two years. No corrosion (we live on the east coast of south Florida, salty air), no leaks, nothing. To me, exhaust is just an exhaust, I'm looking for a little jump in power, but mostly sound. I don't track my car so going all out on $1000-$1500 exhaust headers is a total waste when $300-$500 headers can get practically the same thing. One last thing, "to each their own". Don't knock the way someone wants to upgrade their car...
 
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