Well, during a routine oil change, i looked up to discover a couple broken
exhaust manifold studs... Just the excuse i was looking for!
I want headers, but i also would like to replace the stock y pipe
B.C. its kinda messy from being hacked off and welded back on...

I would like to stay away from cheap shorties and go the route of Banks
Torque Tube headers and y-pipe, but they are pricey.

Hedman makes a cat-forward kit (hedman # 89666) that includes intermediate length headers and a y-pipe...

Anyone have this setup? What do you think?

 

Not sure anyone has those yet. Don't forget the Thorley's. Couple of guys have them and really like them.

 

Hedmans have been around for a very long time... can't speak for theit V10 setup but they were a decent low-priced alternative for many years on older motors.

 

I think the Hedmann headers should be decent on the V10. The Merge point and the Y-pipe looks very similar to the Banks and Thorley's. If memory serves me right the headmanns only have a 1/4" flange which is a little thin, but should be ok. For the price they look good IMO. I don't think anyone here has them so if you pull the trigger on a set let us know how you like them.

 

OK, so i went ahead and purchased the hedman setup, however i opted for the standard painted headers and y-pipe bc the coated are about $200 more and i really didn't see the need. I've always had good luck with painted steel headers, even the thinner flanged ones. I use red RTV w/out gaskets and grade 8 fasteners. No leaks ever...

I'll post back to this thread after installation.

 

I have the ceramic coated Doug Thorley headers for my V10. To cover up chips and any rust marks on the headers I use Duplicolor 1200 deg header paint "Aluminum" color. It costs around $4.50 a can and matches my ceramic coating perfectly.

If I was you I would smooth any weld spatter off your headers, scuff them up with a beartex pad, prep them to take off dust and grease and give the headers a couple coats of the Duplicolor paint. They have several colors. Its ceramic based and fully cures when the headers are used.

Keep us posted how the install, fit/finish and etc goes.

 

I am looking into the header option. So far I am having trouble finding any brand that has them for a truck with a manual transmission. Looks like I could be out of luck.

 

Looks like the Thorleys will fit a Manual (Standard Floorshift) Look in the applications tab.

Link
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...641+4294918680+

I don't see why any set of Shortys would not fit a manual. Shorty headers don't go near the tranny.

http://store.summitracing.com/egnsea...115+4294918680

 

Thanks dkf! I had been to the Thorley site before but must have missed that. I was sure that it said 'NO" for manual transmissions. I have looked at so many sites the past couple of days, I don't recall which said what. I just recall a lot of 'NO' in the manual trans section.

Won't shorty's kill the torque?

 

If you don't mind spending the $$$ on the Thorleys give them a call just to make shure they will fit your application.

There is quite a bit of room around the tranny in my truck with the Thorleys on. Pics in my gallery.

You will get more Torque with the long tubes. The reason I went with the Thorleys is to get rid on the stock Y-pipe setup and they have thicker tubes than any other V10 header. I have no flutter with the Thorleys either, which is a good thing.

 

How close is that 'y' to your oil filter? In the pic, it looks like it's touching. You may have posted what you thought about them but I didn't see it anywhere. How was the install, in difficulty and time? How is the power, both hp and torque over stock? Thanks!

 

Its the angle of the picture. There is plenty of room, about 5" from the bottom of the filter to the Y-pipe.

I had a local shop install them, I didn't have the time or the ambition to do the install. I can't really say how long the install took, they charged me a little under $400 with tax so around 7-8 hours. The guy who did the install didn't take the fenderwell liners out, which I told him he has to but he didn't. I don't know how he got the headers on without removing them. He was a little guy though, about 5'7" 145lbs.

I noticed an improvemnt in low end power the most.(where you need it) As soon as you put the truck in gear it starts pulling harder than it did before, just let off the gas and it crawls up hills. 2k-3k rpm improved quite a bit, I took the truck on a trip up state and really noticed the difference on the hills (steepest grade was 18%) works great. Top end improved as well, however I think my current muffler is hurting the top end some. Overall I'm happy with them. Was it worth the $$$.......it was to me but opinions vary. I still want to regear to 4:30s but that has to wait a couple years.

 

I wonder how the Thorley's would work, with the Banks setup, from the cat back. Or even with no cat at all and Banks behind the Thorley's. That's a thought maybe.

 

They should work great with the Banks cat-back.

I have the Flowmaster 3" cat-back on now with the FM70 muffler. I'm going to be swapping the muffler out with an 18" case length Magnaflow.

 

I think this may be the way I am going to go. If I can get them installed that cheap, I'll do that too. I hope you got a bit of a mileage increase? That is part of the reason I would do this. Banks system claims 7% but the independent tests I have seen written up claim 10 - 11%. That would be GREAT for me. I am yanking my supercharger next weekend and want to replace at least some of the power. I realize there is quite a difference but... some of the power is better than none, especially if there is a fuel savings as a bonus.