Headers vs exhaust manifolds

[dodge68charger]

Debating whether i should put headers or exhaust manifolds on my 440 engine.. Love the sound of headers but the low maitnenance of exhaust manifolds.. Any opinions.. Thanks

 

[monaco66coupe]

I recently had the same Dilemma. Do I lose a little power, but gain in the maintenance end. I hate the heat generated under the hood by Headers. I tend to be a stock type hobbyist. I removed my Hooker headers for stock HP manifolds. No regrets. I can actually change my plugs, use stock wires, and adjust the trans linkage when necessary. The one exceptional header I might reuse was a set of TTI's. Ceramic coated. The maintenance issue was there, but the heat generated was much lower than the Hookers I removed from my 440.

 

[Seax440Dodge]

I had headers on my 440 for 15+ years...... put manifolds on it for the first time ever this year, I don't know how many times I've said to myself "Wow, I didn't know there was supposed to be room for my hand to fit there" or "hey wow, it fit without burning the **** out of that"

Yeah, you'll give up some power... but I'm satisfied with less headaches

 

[aldal]

I think if a guy goes with the HP manifolds you really don't lose much on the low end verses headers but will see a bigger difference at higher RPMs.

 

[dodge68charger]

Thanks guys. Love the sound of a big block breathing through a set of headers, but the ease of maitenance of manifolds looks like its gonna take priority.

 

[Dennis H]

TTI's here. Coated and trouble free for 8 years. 100 degrees cooler under the hood than other big blocks confirmed by laser temp gun. Less weight too. Let the factory correct guys have your original stuff.

 

[clemul]

You can get the HP manifolds ceramic coated inside (important) and out fairly cheap to keep the heat down and the rust away....

 

[coronet340]

Sorry, don't mean to thread jack but what maintenance is involved with headers? More specifically ceramic headers.

 

[Rocketman]

I just took off the manifolds and put on some headers. There is no comparison in the sound before and after. And the comments about the room I don't understand as those headers do not stick up like those elephant ear manifolds did.

I would sell the manifolds.

 

[monaco66coupe]

Sorry, don't mean to thread jack but what maintenance is involved with headers? More specifically ceramic headers.

Unless they are TTI, Hospital visits with third degree burns! HA HA

Just kidding! You can have Headers down in the way of a bunch of things, like replacing the starter, motor mounts, fixing your linkage, fixing a transmission leak, the header gasket starts to leak, etc, any number of Disadvantages.or you can have stock manifolds up in the way, a little bit, but less in other areas. Everybody has a different reason to have headers or not. My TTI's on the Hemi were a PIA. putting them on,and taking them off. They were 100 degrees cooler, As I said in the first post.
I sold them and have been a happy camper ever since. This opinion is not to Imply that Headers aren't better flowing, some people just don't want the hassles.LoL

 

[Jonnyuma]

What would be a good factory mani for a small block? 340 HP? Prolly not gonna find a pair of those kicking around the junkyard. What about later model Magnum engines? Will those fit? I like headers too, but fitment issues and ground clearance problems have me sticking w OEM manifolds for now.

 

[coronet340]

Unless they are TTI, Hospital visits with third degree burns! HA HA

Just kidding! You can have Headers down in the way of a bunch of things, like replacing the starter, motor mounts, fixing your linkage, fixing a transmission leak, the header gasket starts to leak, etc, any number of Disadvantages.or you can have stock manifolds up in the way, a little bit, but less in other areas. Everybody has a different reason to have headers or not. My TTI's on the Hemi were a PIA. putting them on,and taking them off. They were 100 degrees cooler, As I said in the first post.
I sold them and have been a happy camper ever since. This opinion is not to Imply that Headers aren't better flowing, some people just don't want the hassles.LoL

Oh just maintenence in general. Duh. Lol. Thanks.

 

[72Fourspeed]

Would be interesting to see a chassis dyno test on several header brands vs a couple of the manifold styles. See just how much ,if any, power difference there is. I have Hookers on my RR, on there when I bought the car. I damn sure wouldn't have installed them.

 

[superbird77]

Would be interesting to see a chassis dyno test on several header brands vs a couple of the manifold styles. See just how much ,if any, power difference there is. I have Hookers on my RR, on there when I bought the car. I damn sure wouldn't have installed them.

Here you are...

http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/techarticles/mopp_0106_manifolds_vs_headers/

 

[lewtot184]

You can get the HP manifolds ceramic coated inside (important) and out fairly cheap to keep the heat down and the rust away....

i did the inside/outside ceramic coating on the exhaust manifolds on my 69 r/t. there was absolutely no difference in temps before coating and after; 700f+ either way. checked with a laser and infra-red.

- - - Updated - - -

TTI's here. Coated and trouble free for 8 years. 100 degrees cooler under the hood than other big blocks confirmed by laser temp gun. Less weight too. Let the factory correct guys have your original stuff.

x2 here! tti's=no maintenance. my tti's run 300f degrees cooler than exhaust manifolds. which means cooler engine running and under hood temps. if your building a stocker manifolds are fine; modified use tti's.

 

[monaco66coupe]

Here you are...

http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/techarticles/mopp_0106_manifolds_vs_headers/

Thank you superbird, it has been common knowledge(to us old guys) For 40 years that good headers averaged a 10% Improvement in Horsepower, and 5 % in torque, and That article shows that. If those headers were on a stock 440 or 340, the difference would be more narrow, as the article said. They probably should have said that in the beginning. I wonder that the test was done by a company selling headers. A more accurate comparison would have been to Include off Idle up to 3,000. I can't remember the last time I saw 4,000-5,000 rpm on my 440. Maybe I''m old, but the hassles aren't worth 5 or 10% Improvement to me. It's good that everybody likes different things, it would be quite boring if everyone was the same.

 

[wedgie]

I would love to see a comparison with some repro max wedge manifolds. Of course, there is some mega weight to consider.

 

[ga66mopar]

I installed my Hedman elite headers three years and over 3000 miles ago on my 66 and I have not had to touch the first header bolt and they still look brand new.

 

[monaco66coupe]

That is good to hear, regarding the hedmans, in the 70's they had a really poor reputation, but all the headers did! I just didn't want the crate hemi, it wasn't a real hemi in my opinion, so I sold it all. I had Hooker headers on the 440 Coronet I purchased, and they sucked. I could cook a turkey under the hood of that car. The hemi with TTI was cool all the time. But I am old fashioned, so if I can't see real manifolds, I get lethargic.HA HA

 

[Coyoteduster]

Thank you superbird, it has been common knowledge(to us old guys) For 40 years that good headers averaged a 10% Improvement in Horsepower, and 5 % in torque, and That article shows that. If those headers were on a stock 440 or 340, the difference would be more narrow, as the article said. They probably should have said that in the beginning. I wonder that the test was done by a company selling headers. A more accurate comparison would have been to Include off Idle up to 3,000. I can't remember the last time I saw 4,000-5,000 rpm on my 440. Maybe I''m old, but the hassles aren't worth 5 or 10% Improvement to me. It's good that everybody likes different things, it would be quite boring if everyone was the same.

It's official ..., I'm an old guy. :icon_frown: