What makes you think so? Full stainless steel headers aren't cheap, especially from Borla or Bassani.
If you look at 5.0 headers for comparison all the big exhaust companies charge over $1000 for their headers alone and they will sell a bunch more sets of them than they will any V6 ones so the price for the V6 is comparatively higher for what you get.
Unless that's for the header/xpipe combo, it'll be the ceramic BBK's and catted X for me for sure. I like to have the variety of choice and all, but that kind of price difference for a comparable part as far as performance gains, is just nuts. Full stainless or not.
And after what Borla said on here a while back about long tubes being illegal for the road then they will not be offering a catted x-pipe for their headers since it still wouldn't make them legal.
Talked to southern car parts, and when they receive the headers its going to be alot cheaper than msrp. The GT headers are about 170 lower than msrp on their site. Still waiting on AM to get back to me.
As far as emissions go, there's tons of crooked emissions inspection places that'll pass you for a small fee :gringreen
What I want to understand is what everyone thinks they will get out of the Borla or Bassani headers over the BBK's that would make it worth the extra $$$???
There won't be any power advantage from one to the other, the ceramic BBK's will last as long as the stainless and will hold the heat in better so I just don't see it unless it's just a pissing contest...
Rewind to November 2010. This was the moment I realized how god freaking awful a simple catback could really truly sound. I was absolutely stunned beyond all belief that Magnaflow, a company that everyone knows, could honestly develop and market such a worthless POS exhaust system. I literally got a$$ raped for $700 on their catback system. The sound was the worst damn sound I've ever imagined. I'd rather be waterboarded than drive at 2500 rpm's down the road in my car with the Magnaflow exhaust and everyone who heard it agreed. To top it off, Magnaflow really didn't give a $hit what I had to say.
I was determined to replace it and I wanted something that was reputable to point that they could honestly guarantee me an exhaust that wouldn't drone. So I went with Borla. It was the first exhaust I'd ever purchased from them. I went based on the reputation they had for making power in addition to the fact that they spend a ridiculous amount of time tuning their systems to sound as best they can.
One of the best sounding systems I had ever heard up until this point on any vehicle was one you wouldn't expect. It was a 2006 Jeep Wrangler with a full Borla system, headers and catback. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stick up. The sound they were able to make with a 4.0L straight 6 motor was simple unimaginable. It defied normal logic.
Okay I'm being a bit dramatic but it was pretty incredible. So I took a leap on a grossly overpriced system. And I since I installed it I haven't once questioned it. So what does this have to do with headers on a 3.7 V6. Well it's just a hunch. But if Borla put the effort into their headers, and are as critical in designing it for sound and power as what I've seen so far, then the Borla system is the one for me. I'm still slightly skeptical and you probably know that Curtis from what you've seen posted from me in the past. Enough so that I passed on the Borla prototype set that had never even been installed when I could've had them for $350 shipped. :frustrated:
That and you know my take so far of the sound being generated from the cars sporting the BBK headers. It's like an amplified Civic V-Tec motor with all the bad characteristics I can think of in an awful sounding exhaust. It's literally that bad and then some.
You very well could be right but I think it could sound different though. The pipe is sized differently, the lengths are are not the same, the collector is different.
Heck. Even looking at the x-pipe and the way it changed my sound over the stock pipe. No resonators, mufflers, same diameter pipe and arguably even both being technically an x-pipe. Should sound the same then right?
I'd bet my last dollar that no one could tell who's brand headers are on a particular car side by side. One thing is certain. You can piece an exhaust system from different manufacturers where some will say the sweetest sounding thing/total annoyance crap and everything in between.
You can piece an exhaust system from different manufacturers where some will say the sweetest sounding thing/total annoyance crap and everything in between.
Looking at the two headers side by side, with the shape differences, I definately think the two will sound different. But honestly I wouldn't be surprised to see the bbk headers have better performance increases than the borlas. Look at the bends in the two. You can't tell me those sharp corners on the Borla's will flow more freely than the bbk's.
It is what it is. I wasn't about to take the time to save the pic to my hard drive and resize it just to make you happy. But I did have a one dollar side bet with my girlfriend that you'd say something about it. Looks like I win. :winks
DURABILITY
Borla: (STAINLESS) 1M mile warranty
BBK: (STEEL) ceramic coated! Ceramic is a coat not actually part of the material wich is steel evemtually the coat will fail come off and corrosion could happen on the headers.
PERFORMANCE
Borla:has a stock pipe diameter ( airflow stays constant to stock without restrictions ) no over flow! And minimal lost of torque
BBK: 1-3/4" tubes and a 3" collector wider exhaust equal to a GTs engine exhaust there for lost of low end torque and over flow of air decreasing power (no or verry little back pressure)
CREDABILITY
Borla: borla has a way better creadability by making the best sounding exhaust barnone !
And delivered on all their promises
BBK:they make exeptional parts but with some negative feed backs.
The collectors and the pipe arrangement between the BBKs and the Borlas are different. This could make the sound different and could also show a marginal power gain between the two.
Keeping in mind the 3.7L's firing order of 1-4-2-5-3-6 and the pipes in a rotational arrangement (hard not to do on a V6), with the BBK's you have each banks exhaust "swirling" in two opposite rotations (clockwise for the passenger side when view from the front of the vehicle and counterclockwise for the driver side). The Borla's on the other hand have the same pulses "swirling" in the same direction (both counterclockwise when viewed from the front of the vehicle).
The BBK's have a ball socket, very short collector and the Borla's have a long, straigh collector.
What are pipe lengths? Are they within 0.5 inches of each other??
my guess would be that long tubes usually take up the space of the stock cats, so most go with an off road pipe or aftermarket cat which may be a no-no from an emission standpoint.
Yeah, you may have some issues with aftermarket cats. and/or installing long tube headers. Moving the cats further back makes them less efficient and delays the light off of them.
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