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Hi,
I'll be installing some headers this fall in a boosted 3.8L 96 Camaro. I'm debating between the Pacesetters and the RK Sport. Could those folks that have'em say what they like or dislike about them. Please take sound, installation and maintenance into account.
I'll copy paste a review I did for Amazon when I ordered my Pacesetters:
"Professional installation highly recommended. I had a friend's exhaust shop put these on for me, as it requires welding near the cat, and the ball joints could use a professional touch.
Now the Good: You can't beat the price. These usually retail for 250. The sound difference is quite noticeable, it imparts a throaty muscle car rumble to even a modest engine. There is a definite increase in horsepower as well, though it's not noticeable at first because the torque delivery is much smoother. You don't get thrown into the back of your seat, but you'll find the speed limit appears faster than ever.
The Bad: There were some flaws with the set up, unfortunately. The flanges were slightly bowed, the shop had to machine the mating surfaces to insure a proper seal. The included gaskets are also of very mediocre quality. The header bolts are also of the improper length, the shop had to use their own (small extra charge). These headers also come uncomfortably close to the spark plug wires. I'm going to be buying some heat shielding boots for them for peace of mind, I suggest you do the same.
The Ugly: Probably the most head-scratching aspect of the kit would be the paint on on the headers. It is NOT heat resistant. Immediately after running, the paint will melt and flake off. My Firebird now smells like burnt paint. I'm completely at a loss as to why Pacesetter would impart an extra cost to the customer (they have to be painted by someone) for something completely useless for both cosmetics and performance. They would be perfectly fine with just the bare metal. I'd suggest stripping the paint off before installation if you have the time and patience. I strongly recommend saving up a little more and getting the ceramic-armored version of this product.
Conclusion: Not a perfect product, but a good choice due to lack of other options for the V6."
I should also point out that later on I burnt through a spark plug wire before I could get the heat boots on em :P
I used the pacesetter paper gaskets, and bolts, with no leaks. I did a few heating and cooling sequences with tightening the bolts in between, and ran the headers for about 9k miles before i pulled the engine. As for the ball sockets, they did leak a bit, and the bolts supplied for the Y-pipe were of poor quality. I went to the local hardware store and fixed myself up with some better ones. The sockets still did leak a bit, but i found some exhaust gaskets and fixed that too.
The egr tube was a PITA though, it really wasnt in the right location.
Team NoVa
2000 Firebird- Intake, Pacesetters, !cat, full 2.5 to flowcrapster, 1.9 rockers, LS6 springs and Intense modded retainers, WS6 speedlines, T/A bumpers and hatch, 5 spd swapped, SOON TO BE nitrous'd and cammed.
CIA is nice. There's only 3 choices anyway. Or do they still do RKSport ones?
I did headers/exhaust for my 2nd mod to the Camaro. Not exactly easy, but mostly tight spacing and all. It's better than drudging through the internal engine. Like suggested, the constant tightening is necessary. I was outside EVERYDAY for a month tightening them down just to be sure. Heck, I'm even running 1 bolt short, as the hole was misthreaded. No leaks.
As far as sound, not sure, as I did whole exhaust at the same time.
The ceramic coating is very very nice. Still looks like they came out of the box after about 10k miles.
While we're on the topic.. Has anyone ever changed the ball sockets on pacesetters to something else? Mine are gawd awful and I'd love to have some input from someone with experience on the subject.
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