Thanks for the gasket pic, that's nice. Hopefully, the set I got comes with the same hardware/gaskets. I'll find out when I get home tonight

One thing I noticed was that I checked the instructions on their website, and they say to use the stock studs. Since I don't have them anymore (thank god), I hope that they do come with bolts long enough to make me happy - the ones that came with the eBay headers were useless, as they didn't go far enough into the aluminum heads to make me use them. I went for longer zinc-plated grade 8's.

 

My daily commute to work is only a 5 mile round trip. So I really don't put a whole lot of miles on my truck. Plus, I've been riding my Shadow every chance I get (54 mpg with the wind in my hair is tough to turn down). I doubt I've even put 250 miles on the truck since the install, including one unloaded 100 mile highway trip to town and a 50 mile run into the mountains with the wheeler in the bed. So, I don't really have much for numbers yet.

I did check the mileage for the trip to town (filled up at the same pump before and after). It was right at 14.5 mpg with 70 miles of it on the highway (68 mph) and 30 miles in town. That's right at or just a little better than before the header install. Of course, one trip really isn't statistically significant. For the rest of it, I'm sure my mileage has gone down some because I can't seem to keep my right foot under control. Plus, I also installed a Transgo Tugger kit since the header install and the truck shifts so much better it's hard to drive like I used to. I keep telling myself I need to drive like I normally do, but that extra throttle response and crisp shifting is just too enjoyable.

I will be pulling my boat 200 miles this weekend. I've made this particular run 4 or 5 times since I bought the truck and typically get between 10.3 and 10.5 mpg. I'll post my mileage numbers when I get back. And, after I finally burn through a couple of tanks driving normally, I'll post those numbers too. But it's gonna take a while.

 

Looks like they placed the o2 sensor bung in the correct location in the pipe after the collector, and not in a single primary tube. This will definitely make them an "acceptable" manufacturer IMO.
JL

 

Any reason you wouldn't just go with the painted headers? If price wasn't a factor I could see getting the coated ones but from what I have found your looking at paying an extra $275.00 for the coating.

Thoughts?

 

First, the non-ceramic coated headers aren't painted, they're just primed. And second, I'm not sure what numbers you're using to get a $275 difference. I paid $577 for the coated headers I got. $577 minus your $275 = $302, then you still have to prep and paint them. Have you seen the primed headers that cheap? The cheapest I found was $439 shipped to Alaska, for a difference of $138. And, even if I thought that was too much to pay for the added benefit of the ceramic coating, the primed set would have taken a couple of months to arrive, which puts me into winter. And I wasn't about to be laying in snow swapping headers just to get the cheapest deal I could find. (Sometimes cheapest isn't best.)

So, for me, there was more to the equation than just price. But, if cost is your biggest factor, I'm sure the primed headers would work just fine.

 

ak-angler, just like you said, my collector bolts loosened up in just three days of driving

 

I don't know why Hedman ceramic coats the collector bolts. But, I haven't had any issues since I put the tension nuts on.

 

Summit has the primed headers for $375. But the coated ones are $606.00

 

I guess that's why I didn't buy them from Summit. Well, that and the $140 they wanted to ship them to Alaska.

 

These exact same Hedman headers for $375?

 

Just checked. Part number 89660 uncoated header lists for $380 at Summit. Still would have cost me $520 with shipping to Alaska. Seems like a pretty good deal for you guys down south if you can get cheap shipping.

They want $610 for the coated ones (89666). That does seem like a pretty steep premium for the ceramic coating.

 

Agreed. I have to find out what coating them would cost.

 

The trick is, the coated ones would be warranteed against rust-through. If you bought uncoated ones and had them coated, who's going to warranty them for you?

 

From what I have been told the non-coated headers are actually painted with high heat paint. I live in socal so rust is not a real issue.

 

This is clipped directly from Hedman's website: