sprayed99 Posted September 12, 2013 Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 True question is where's the best place to buy them? ARH... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EL REY Posted September 12, 2013 Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 Yeah ARH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aldofashow Posted September 12, 2013 Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 Upgraded to the arh lt not long ago very happy very good upgrade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterp Posted September 16, 2013 Report Share Posted September 16, 2013 Let me ask you because I know you have more experience with these than I do. What are the pros n cons between arh and say pacesetters? It's been a while since I've been header shopping, so assuming nothing's changed in the last 3-years: I would recommend either a set of Pacesetters, or a set of ARH headers for the LQ9-equipped trucks. If you are keeping your truck long-term (as in, "I'm never selling it"!) then get the ARH's; if you are the type of person that will trade your truck in for something else in a few years, get the Pacesetters. Or, if you show your truck and require easily maintainable headers, get the ARH. If you drive every day in the northeastern US winters (road deicer) then the Pacesetters will be garbage in a few years without significant extra prep/hassles/costs. The Pacesetters can perform as well as the ARH headers, they run nearly identical track times (too close to tell a difference IMO). Their primary tube design is OK. The price is affordable. But where you sacrifice is in the actual metal used (read here: the cheapest import crap steel possible), thin flanges, and slip collectors. The cheap steel does not weather well, and the headers MUST be coated with *something* or they will rust/rot in months. The thin flanges are prone to warpage, although flange warpage on the LS-motors isn't nearly as bad a problem as it was for the original small block Chevy motors, but you gotta be careful upon install. And I personally *hate* slip collectors, more than 2/3rds of the time they have pin-hole leaks, requiring use of expensive Accuseal 4" long band clamps; and once you assemble a slip collector, months later when it has to come apart (and it will, for transmission service) it is a PITA to get apart, we've wrestled with them for an hour before... and then on subsequent reinstall they WILL leak, like a ba$tard.... I HATE slip collectors. Pacesetters make a good set of hot street race pipes. But you MUST coat them with *something* and since the point of this product is affordability I laugh at the guys who spend $200-300 to have these pipes jet hot coated, you get just as effective OR BETTER result applying a can of Eastwood header paint (the stuff is great!). ARH headers, as Dan said, are a $3000 set of pipes for less than half the cost. The are made from the BEST available stainless (not the crap 409 "stainless" that is cheaper but still turns color & rusts); they do not need coating, and have proven impervious to age and weather. Remember that not only is the stainless tubing material costs higher, but the welding supplies for this grade of stainless are more expensive, as is the labor/skill to weld it. The ARH are made with generous 3/8" thick flanges. The primary tube design is state of the art (circa 2003). The collector flanges are Ball/Socket type, they don't leak period no matter how many times you've had them apart, and are VERY forgiving on alignment during installation (I've had mine out of the truck 6 or 7 times now and they STILL are leak free). The ARH mandrel bending job is perfect - not just "nice" but perfect - they fit fantastic and all bends are perpendicular to the tubing centerline. The collector has a merge spike, and it is hand-blended. The welds on my set were top-notch, with perfect heat-affected zone and appearance. The ARH are VERY easy, I even say joyful to get in & out of the truck - simple and fast, no fighting them at all. And when I take them out of the truck, I use a single green scotchbrite pad with a half-can of Barkeeper's Friend cleanser ($2 walmart) and with gentle scrubbing they are BRAND NEW again - not just "clean" but brand-spanking-new. The only improvements I would add to the ARH headers are substitution of V-band clamps for the several slip joints present on the driver's crossover pipes... even at that, after 6 or 7 reinstalls there still isn't a leak (that I can tell). Oh last point - the Pacesetters have that usual header "ringing" because the primary tubing is super-thin cheap steel; the ARH have NO ringing, my 1-7/8" ARH's are no noisier than stock because the tubing material is denser as well as thicker wall primary tubing (this dampens the ringing a lot). Mr. P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downeast Johnny Posted September 16, 2013 Report Share Posted September 16, 2013 Thanks for the schooling Mr. P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JC03SS Posted September 16, 2013 Report Share Posted September 16, 2013 Thanks for the answer. Appreciate you taking the time to explain. This will be really helpful in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guineag60 Posted September 17, 2013 Report Share Posted September 17, 2013 Spend the money and get the ARH's. I went the budget route and got OBX's. huge mistake I hate them. My buddy has pacesetters they are not bad he likes them but they rust and fall apart easy. Not too long lasting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xr4tic Posted September 17, 2013 Report Share Posted September 17, 2013 I recently installed a set of OBX headers and have no complaints so far. The only issues I had would have been issues with any header install: Broken dipstick tube, broken exhaust manifold bolt, broken exhaust flange bolts, broken exhaust clamp, and O2 sensors that wouldn't come out. The two main knocks against OBX are the header hump spark plug wire clearance, solved with a zip strip, or the supposedly "too small" 2.5" collector, but several people have run big power with OBX headers with no complaints. If you're on a budget, consider the OBX (~$600), if you don't mind spending the money or want to have cats, get the ARH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onebadmax Posted September 17, 2013 Report Share Posted September 17, 2013 The ARH are very nice, they do however have that header ping. But I would expect them too. I had a slight problem with the slip fit joint at the factory catback, I had to file the tube down to make it fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mcinalli123 Posted October 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 We'll everyone I got a set of ARH headers wow very nice product very happy easy install fit well no problems at all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downeast Johnny Posted October 13, 2013 Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 We'll everyone I got a set of ARH headers wow very nice product very happy easy install fit well no problems at all ` Cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synyster_SS Posted November 3, 2013 Report Share Posted November 3, 2013 I wish my ARH long tube install was as painless as everyone says it is, my set fought me tooth and nail every step of the way. The headers themselves fit beautifully, after that it was all downhill. Both slip connectors on the driver side exhaust pipe had poor fitment, a tubing expander was required for good fitment and adjustability. I do realize that the outside pipe of the rear slip connector is on the Corsa y-pipe, it more than likely had been crushed from the clamp upon initial installation of the Corsa catback. An inch of pipe also needed to be trimmed from the rear slip connector inside pipe for proper fitment. It also seemed that the ARH collectors were probably 2-3 inches longer than the OEM ones, pushing the previously installed Corsa Sport towards the rear of the truck; the rubber hangers were a chore to fit properly afterwards. The truck sounds awesome with the long tubes finally installed; I wanted to put a stick of dynamite in each of my Corsa tips and push the truck off of a cliff during the install, no joke. I dread the next time I have to remove the exhaust for any reason! I'm just glad I didn't have to pay a shop to install it, also not having the truck on the hoist would have been a nightmare. Not talking shit about ARH here, it's a nice product. Each vehicle is different, my exhaust was just a pain to install. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterp Posted November 5, 2013 Report Share Posted November 5, 2013 Sorry to hear about the issues. It's not much fun when you spend more time fighting than wrenching. Mr. P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmgak47 Posted November 5, 2013 Report Share Posted November 5, 2013 I also had issues installing my ARH headers, they were not a direct fit. The drivers side midpipe wouldn't slip into the other pipe, brake lines on the drivers side needed relocating, so did the trans lines and a wiring harness on the passengers side. But the build quality is second to none though! The issue wasn't all that bad because I redid the exhaust after the midpipes anyway, to eliminate the 2.5" reduction bottleneck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onebadmax Posted November 7, 2013 Report Share Posted November 7, 2013 I had all the same problems with my ARH install. According to most of the "vets" on here they should install themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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