Headers!

[AJzoomerang01]

so ive decided to drop the hammer and order a pair of headers. im driving a 01' camaro 3.8L V6 ( not an 8 ! ) but nonetheless still a camaro and really incredible condition. i put a K&N ram air intake on and a magnaflow catback system. headers for a 6 seem rare so i decided to go with Pace Setters Steel w/ black paint. will these increase my horsepower (and sound?). im sure that they will but my question is how much and is it worth it? also will they still fit on because of the catback? to me it seems worth it, any other ideas to get as much out of this V6 as possible?!

[AHTOXA]

Whether they are worth it or not, is strictly your opinion based on what you wish to see/hear or otherwise gain from this vs cost.

Your gains will probably not be much, I would ballpark it under 15 hp to the wheels.

[eaglecatcher]

If you've got the money, go for it, even if for the sound benefits alone. You'll get some hp, just not a ton. But then again, does any bolton really net much hp besides nitrous...

I'd check around for brands other than pacesetter though. They're kinda on the low end of the quality spectrum from what I read in the mustang realm anyway. I mean any longtubes are better than stock headers, but I'm almost certain that paint will flake off in no time flat.

[AHTOXA]

I've heard the same about pacesetters on the goat forums. They provided the smallest hp gainas well if I remeber well.

[AJzoomerang01]

what are other brands that make a set for a 6? ive only come across pacesetters but i havent looked alot...so it sounds like itll be a little hp gain and some more sound? in addition to the catback

[AHTOXA]

For more specifics regarding gains and products for your car/motor I think you may be better off searching the forum for your car. Those guys are more familiar with the said car.

[vedran]

it's different for every car. try searching on the Camaro forums.

this is the best i could find:
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3059

[gizmo]

I'm not a mechanic, so you'll need to verify the following, but it might be possible that if you pick the wrong headers you'll lack the necessary back pressure and enough lack of bad pressure, I hear, is bad for the engine.

I'm not stating this is fact, it's more like a remote possibility, but I figured I'd atleast mention it, possibly to have it squashed, in hopes that if I'm right I save you from a costly repair.

[Tinton]

You have a RWD L36 V6. I bet if you just look for "Camaro L36 headers" on google or "V6 Camaro headers" you'll find what you want. You'll only get about 15 hp from GOOD long-tube headers, probably less from shorty headers. Headers are actually not THAT hard to find for V6's, I have long-tube headers on the 2.8L V6 in my '88 Fiero. BTW, headers will provide even more HP if you have supporting mods. The headers I got for my '88 are dyno-proven for 15 hp, but my car doesn't have a cat and its got a free-flowing ocelot muffler so the headers might give my car around 20 hp. They really improve the sound of the exhaust, and most noticeably, the smoothness of the engine. With stock manifolds the engine seems to "fight itself" over a certain rpm and it tends to make more noise than hp. With the headers its all smooth and it really seems to open up above 3k.

[LHOswald]

i think the common consensus is that when you put performance parts on your car it adds horsepower. it doesn't. it multiplies it. lets say your engine puts out 200 horsepower. put high performance intake, headers, exhaust on your stock motor and maybe it'll add 50 horsepower from stock. throw a huge turbo on it that boosts it up to 400 horsepower with stock I\H\E and then put on the high performance I\H\E and it'll add maybe 100 horsepower (obviously all an estimate). usually when one thing is performance its still being hindered by other things that are stock\not high performance. even when you reduce weight its a multiplication of power\weight ratio.

[Tinton]

i think the common consensus is that when you put performance parts on your car it adds horsepower. it doesn't. it multiplies it. lets say your engine puts out 200 horsepower. put high performance intake, headers, exhaust on your stock motor and maybe it'll add 50 horsepower from stock. throw a huge turbo on it that boosts it up to 400 horsepower with stock I\H\E and then put on the high performance I\H\E and it'll add maybe 100 horsepower (obviously all an estimate). usually when one thing is performance its still being hindered by other things that are stock\not high performance. even when you reduce weight its a multiplication of power\weight ratio.

Yeah true because it depends on the engine and how much power you're already making. Headers make a lot more HP on a built 350 than on a 3.8L that still has a cat and EGR.

[theholycow]

Just changing exhaust or intake or whatever isn't going to do much. The OEM configuration is designed as a complete system where everything is well matched, so when you change one thing it's just going to leave you at the mercy of the limits of the rest of the parts.

IMO, if you do intake + headers + catback + (this is important) custom tune, you'll get some real gains without having to crack open the engine, force the induction, or add nitrous.

[AJzoomerang01]

i was thinking about getting it tuned...what exactly is involved in a custom tune?

[Tinton]

Just changing exhaust or intake or whatever isn't going to do much. The OEM configuration is designed as a complete system where everything is well matched, so when you change one thing it's just going to leave you at the mercy of the limits of the rest of the parts.

IMO, if you do intake + headers + catback + (this is important) custom tune, you'll get some real gains without having to crack open the engine, force the induction, or add nitrous.

That's what my '88 Fiero GT has. Ported intake and larger throttle body, long-tube headers, no cat, performance muffler, and a different (better tuned) chip in the ECM. The biggest restrictions on the Fiero 2.8 are the upper intake and the stock manifolds, so I think upgrading those really made a difference in power. I can really feel the difference because my '86 Fiero SE has the same engine, but with all stock components and a catalytic converter. My '86 SE is pretty slow, its almost difficult to keep up with traffic, but my '88GT reaches illegal speeds (80 mph+) without even trying.

AJ, you really don't need to tune your car unless you have headers or an intake or something else that increases the amount of airflow the engine is getting. You tune the engine so that the A/F ratio is optimal throughout all RPMs, usually if you have stock intake and exhaust its tuned as well as it can be. If you get an intake or good exhaust though, the engine will flow more air and you need to get it re-tuned. Both my '88 Fiero GT and MR2 are tuned because their engines don't have stock intakes or exhaust.

[theholycow]

i was thinking about getting it tuned...what exactly is involved in a custom tune?

You should do it after you get your bolt-ons in place. You get in contact with a custom tuning company who connects a laptop to your car to measure the way it operates with your modifications and your driving style. Then you tell them what your priorities are and they tune your car specifically for you.

AJ, you really don't need to tune your car unless you have headers or an intake or something else that increases the amount of airflow the engine is getting. You tune the engine so that the A/F ratio is optimal throughout all RPMs, usually if you have stock intake and exhaust its tuned as well as it can be. If you get an intake or good exhaust though, the engine will flow more air and you need to get it re-tuned. Both my '88 Fiero GT and MR2 are tuned because their engines don't have stock intakes or exhaust.

Agreed. People do get worthwhile results by getting a stock engine tuned but IMO you should really get your bolt-ons done first, that way you don't have to get tuned a second time.

The tune is also more important with a more modern engine.

If you're just going with a handheld downloader or a one-size-fits-all tune then it doesn't matter when you get it, but why bother when a custom tune is the same price?

Does anyone know a good custom tuning company for his 3.8 V6? The company I know of (Blackbear Performance) only deals in the GM V8.