Alright, folks, let's talk exhaust headers—one of the best bang-for-your-buck upgrades for squeezing more ponies out of your ride. Now, you bolt these babies on, and you’re looking at a potential 15% horsepower boost over those chunky stock cast iron manifolds. It’s no wonder they’re a go-to for performance enthusiasts; they’re affordable, relatively easy to install, and man, do they make a difference.
Now, let’s break it down Barney-style. Headers are made up of three main pieces: you got the flange that bolts up to your cylinder head, the primary tubes that whisk away those hot gases, and the collector, where all those tubes come together like a good ol’ family reunion. Simple enough, right?
But here’s the kicker—header design isn’t just about slapping some tubes together and calling it good. No, sir. We’re talking physics here, folks. The whole idea is to get those spent gases outta there as fast and efficient as possible. For your street cars, pretty much any header’s gonna be an improvement. But if you’re playing in the big leagues with a race car, you better believe header design is critical to your setup.
Now, the size of those primary tubes? That’s no small detail. Small tubes? They’re gonna ramp up your low-end torque and horsepower, perfect for keeping things snappy around town. But those big, fat primaries? They’re built for high RPMs, high compression, and long-duration camshafts. So don’t go slapping some competition headers on your grocery-getter unless you know what you’re doing—or you’re ready to deal with the consequences.
Alright, let’s dive into some designs:
Four-into-One Header: The bread-and-butter of drag racing. You got four tubes merging into one collector per side. Simple, effective, and not too picky about tube length. It’s the go-to for a reason.
180-Degree Header: Now, this one’s for the circle track folks. It’s a bit trickier—some tubes cross over to the opposite bank, giving you an exhaust pulse every 180 degrees of crank rotation. It’s not easy to fab, but when done right, it’s a game changer.
Equal Pulse Header: Another circle track special, joining all eight primary tubes into a single collector. You get an exhaust pulse every 90 degrees, but good luck fitting this spaghetti monster under your hood.
Tri-Y Header: These are solid for street cars, trucks, even motorhomes. They split those primary tubes into pairs, then bring them together before hitting the collector. Not as finicky on tube length but don’t expect it to give you those crazy peak power numbers.
Anti-Reversion Header: Perfect for the street, using a cone in the primary tube to keep exhaust gases from sneaking back into the cylinder head. You get a power boost without needing to step up to huge primary tubes.
Step Header: This one’s got tubes that gradually increase in size, helping out both low and high RPM performance. It’s like getting the best of both worlds—broader torque band, quicker recovery after shifts, and coming out of turns.
Adjustable Headers: For the drag racers who need to tweak their setup based on track conditions. You can extend the primary tubes for more torque or shorten them to manage wheel spin. Simple as that.
Tuned Collectors: You can dial in your setup even more with different types of collectors. Hooker’s got a “Merge Collector” that boosts efficiency, and Flowmaster and Hooker both offer Four-into-One setups that speed up the gas flow. You can also bolt on extensions to mess with your torque and horsepower curves.
Choosing the right header isn’t just about what looks cool or what fits—it’s about understanding your engine and what you’re trying to do with it. A '69 Camaro running a 327 that’s never gonna see over 6,000 RPM? Slap on some 1-5/8” primaries with a 3” collector, and you’re golden. But if you’re swapping in a big ol’ 454 and revving past 7,000 RPM, you’re gonna need 2-1/8” primaries with a 4” collector to keep up.
And for you circle track racers, track size matters, too. Shorter track? Go with 1-3/4” to 1-7/8” primaries. Longer track? Bump that up to 1-7/8” to 2-1/4”. A 3-1/2” collector should be right on the money either way.
At the end of the day, knowing your ride and what it needs is the key to picking the right headers. If you’ve got questions, don’t sweat it—we stock the latest and greatest in headers, collectors, and accessories. Give us a shout, and we’ll help you find exactly what you need.