A.R. Headers Pics And Dyno Results!!!

[Am. Racing Headers]

I wanted to thank everyone for their patience. We finally got it done today and we thought these photo’s and dyno results may peak your interest. Like I said on another thread, other than the stock mufflers, (which happen to work really well not to mention sound great), the balance of the factory system is at best really restricted. We expected good gains throughout the rpm range and that’s exactly what we got. The dyno graph represents our 1-7/8” header system installed ONLY. This is with no tune, the stock air box and a 2lb. boost loss.

An important thing to note is we were able to gain back almost a full pound of boost when we installed Hennessey’s Cold Air Kit, which picked the power up to 522 RW and torque to 490 TQ. This brought the overall boost to 8lbs. In stock trim we had 9lbs. Clearly our header system needs a CAI to function at peak efficiency but we expected that. We also expected the boost loss but thanks to Hennessey that’s easily remedied. Note, we did lean it from 10.8 to 11.2 to get the final numbers. That’s the extent of the tuning.

At idle and cruise the drivability and sound are near stock. When you lay into it the sound comes to life as it should. The great news for guys who are very sound conscious is THERE IS NO DRONE! The system is 100% made in the U.S. using 304 S/S throughout. This eliminates any need for coatings. Because the factory system isn’t flanged there’s two easy cuts that need to be made to the factory pipes by the rear axle and our system simply slips over and clamps on. There is no welding necessary. The install is fairly simple and can be accomplished in 5 hours or less. Other than removing the steering shaft, both headers easily slide in. Plug access and ignition wire clearance is excellent. The next step will be adding additional boost. The target is 11lbs. total. What that nets in RWHP remains to be seen but 580-600RW would be nice. Enjoy.

Nick

[Luna.]

Very, very cool. I can see now that it's not just bolting on headers, but a near-complete system.

Very interested, not only in the header system, but also the CAI (on the V1s, CAIs didn't do a whole lot, but it appears different here)

Couple quick questions (from a guy that hasn't had a car with headers since about '94, so bear with me...)

1. Clearance issues. I haven't climbed under my car to compare to the photos, but is there any loss of clearance, say, to the ground? In other words, I used to have that issue with headers before (scraping the ground easily).

2. Do I have to tighten the header bolts (seemingly) every other week? That got old, really fast.

3. Any possible issues throwing codes or anything?

Any thoughts would be great!

Thanks

[aceofblitz]

I really like the workmanship on the headers... top quality stuff right there!
How does the car sound when you do some "spirited driving" that isn't WOT? 1-10 (1 being stock silence - 10 being ear piercing)
So would you strongly suggest that one should add a pulley + intake for if they ever want to take advantage of the headers?
seems like too much of a hassle for me, but seems like that's how forced induction engines operate.
Thanks for the informative post and I look forward to you hitting the 580-600rwhp mark with a proper setup.

BTW my brother owns a Dyno Dynamics, the horsepower outputs always seem to be slightly lower than the Dynojet numbers from what I've seen. If your dyno's load is similar to the one over here, then I'm thoroughly impressed by the numbers.

Cheers

[thebigjimsho]

looks good...

[LV_V]

Now THAT is a slick system. Good job!

I am surprised that you recouped 2 lbs of boost with a CAI. Any more details on why this would happen?

[Luna.]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doing a pulley swap to bring the boost back to where it approximately was before should have basicallly no impact (i.e. no additional stress) on the pistons than as if it was stock, yes?

[REDIMIX]

No stress just horsepower.The boost only gained 1psi with the cai. Stock was 9psi hope to set it at 11psi.

[musclesbmf]

System looks great but disappointed that they still pinched the drivers side pipe down post cat. I love that they got rid of 2 of the 4 cats. That alone is good for some power. Would love to hear some sound clips...

Mark

[RapidRob]

Looks very nice indeed!

Are you planning a crank pully swap to get the boost up to 11?

Rob

[Am. Racing Headers]

Guys, I'm glad you like what you see. To answer a few questions. The ground clearance is excellent. The cats are about even with the bottom of the trans pan. You'll need to destroy the undercarraige to affect the exhaust. Header bolts will not back out. We've never had a single GM based header system we produce (and there's quite a few) need re-torqueing. We highly recommend re-using the factory bolts. With regards to codes, these systems are like every other system we produce, tuning is highly recommended which eliminates the possibility of codes in the process not to mention the added power tuning delivers. The drivers side pipe leading to the X-pipe needs to be ovaled for additional ground clearance but keep in mind that we're ovaling a 3" pipe, not crushing a 2-1/2" pipe like the factory did. We also eliminated the nasty crushed pipes located further back where the cross bracket is located. Our goal was to maintain the same ground clearance as the trans pan.

"Spirited" driving gives you a throatier sound but not obnoxious. When you're rowing through the gears the people around you will know you're packing a punch yet when you're cruising it'll sound almost stock. This of course is with the factory mufflers that I feel are more than up to the task.

Nick

[Am. Racing Headers]

RapidRob, Yes, a pulley swap is next. Stay tuned.

Nick

[Luna.]

Originally Posted by Am. Racing Headers

Guys, I'm glad you like what you see. To answer a few questions. The ground clearance is excellent. The cats are about even with the bottom of the trans pan. You'll need to destroy the undercarraige to affect the exhaust. Header bolts will not back out. We've never had a single GM based header system we produce (and there's quite a few) need re-torqueing. We highly recommend re-using the factory bolts. With regards to codes, these systems are like every other system we produce, tuning is highly recommended which eliminates the possibility of codes in the process not to mention the added power tuning delivers. The drivers side pipe leading to the X-pipe needs to be ovaled for additional ground clearance but keep in mind that we're ovaling a 3" pipe, not crushing a 2-1/2" pipe like the factory did. We also eliminated the nasty crushed pipes located further back where the cross bracket is located. Our goal was to maintain the same ground clearance as the trans pan.

"Spirited" driving gives you a throatier sound but not obnoxious. When you're rowing through the gears the people around you will know you're packing a punch yet when you're cruising it'll sound almost stock. This of course is with the factory mufflers that I feel are more than up to the task.

Nick

Thanks for your thoughts Nick. Very, very interested here.

My only question to the above is...what if we want obnoxious??

Originally Posted by Am. Racing Headers

RapidRob, Yes, a pulley swap is next. Stay tuned.

Nick

Is this a crankpulley swap or a blower pulley swap? I last left off with the idea that the blower pulley swap not being recommended, but I think others have had some success doing that, so I'm a little confused.

Thanks

[CadV]

Originally Posted by Luna.

Thanks for your thoughts Nick. Very, very interested here.

My only question to the above is...what if we want obnoxious??



Is this a crankpulley swap or a blower pulley swap? I last left off with the idea that the blower pulley swap not being recommended, but I think others have had some success doing that, so I'm a little confused.

Thanks

Blower puller requires a press and trust me it is a uber pain in the ass. Crank is a bolt on and easy to do.

[CTS-V-TWIN]

Nick,

HOW MUCH for the complete set with high flow cats????

SG

[musclesbmf]

Originally Posted by AERO1

Nick,

HOW MUCH for the complete set with high flow cats????

SG

Ditto...