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Header Question HELP!!!

7K views 29 replies 17 participants last post by  Mike clayton 
#1 ·
i am getting ready to buy a set of headers and want to know if i am going to be able to just bolt them on once i get them in. and whether or not they are worth the price. please help asap!! here is the link for the headers.


http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-G9045/

o btw...engine is 360ci and truck is 1998 ram 1500 99% stock.
 
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#4 ·
Those will work fine. I don't like painted headers, however. I prefer a ceramic coating...it will never come off.

Get a good set of gaskets (I think Summit still offers Earl's Pressure Master gaskets) with a copper core. And, get a set of Stage 8 fasteners for the headers. Once you have them torqued and the clips on them, they won't back out and you will never have a leak.

I'd ask Summit if they have a set of headers for your truck with ceramic coating. It's well worth the money!
 
#6 ·
honestly i am not worried about the coating. if it starts to come off i can just take the headers off and then my buddy has a paint booth/sandblasting station that i can use for that. i ordered them and they are on their way! lol the reason i ordered them (cause my opinion is the same as far as the ceramic coating goes) is because the price is the only reason i could talk the fiance into letting me get them yesturday lol. i mean i figure that it's only $154 as long as they have the performance aspect that's all i can really ask for. i can save to get a set of real good ones in the mean time ya know? but yesterday i ordered a new accell ignition coil ...

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ACC-140021/

cai that is the same thing as the k&n (uses the same kind of filter and exact same tube and such bot for like $100 cheaper lol)...

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/TFS-23059/

180* thermostat from hypertech....

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HYP-1018/

and those summit headers that started the whole thread lol..

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-G9045/


from the research that i have done all of this combined with my dual exhaust should give me around 3-5 mpg increase right?
 
#10 ·
Headers are well worth the money, Mine are custom long tube from a local shop, But I feel a whole lot of low end torque improvement and this makes your truck LOUD. Very very very good sounding when the 5.9 is opened up. Strongly reccomend.
 
#11 ·
i remember reading somewhere on this forum that switching to 89 is better for the mileage. I must say that i am relatively dissappointed with the gas milage improvement , or should i say lack thereove, since i installed the headers/intake/thermostat. I went from an average of 15 mpg before to around 15.8 mpg after. Granted that trip is 30 miles highway and then 10-15 city but still. I was wondering, well hoping really that maybe i didn't install something right. I am pretty sure that i installed all of the components the correct way, but no one is perfect. Also, it is tune up time for it. Is it a possibility that after the tune up it will jump to the mileage i expected (around 16-17mpg overall). I was planning to switch to synthetic oil on my next change and was wondering what weight i should use. currently i use non synthetic 10w-30. Any help/advice is welcome.
 
#12 ·
these motors are not built for gas mileage.
you could throw $5,000 into your motor and see a mileage increase of 1-2. or a big drop in mileage depending on what you spend the $5g's on.
 
#13 ·
i'm glad that you cleared that up. lol i was starting to get worried that i didn't install them right because nothing changed as far as mileage. well that's not true...i am getting .8 better lol. There is deffidentally a big change in acceleration and power as well as how loud it is. I love it! :smileup:
I took some pics of the install too i'll post them later on tonight for all to see.
 
#18 ·
That looks great man! I have to agree long tubes are the way to go, sound better and also more improvment. Shortys are cool to have also!
 
#21 ·
Nice job. I'm planning on getting shorties for mine later. Read that shorties are better for HP, and long tubes give better torque. Since I only live 2 miles from work, most of my trips are really quick. Found some stainless shorties on Ebay for $150. So how long can you expect the steel to last?
 
#22 ·
I just put the ebay SS ones on today. They're stainless and the painted ones are more, ??? go figure. If you get them, I would recommend getting stainless bolts too. I did because I didn't want them to rust and run/burn on the stainless. They kit came with cheapo bolts and lock washers. No instructions or specs. I went to Lowes and bought stainless allen head bolts(exact size) and stainless lock washers. Around $3.50 per a bag of 2 and the washers are around $1.50 for a bag of 5.
 
#29 ·
A ticking sound can also be a header leak. As the headers arrive they are painted in normal paint and it burns off immediately. YOu should wipe them down with lacquer thinner and then paint them with heat paint.
I have the same headers and they fit the stock exhaust fine.
The 4 corner bolts go into water and need a sealer on the threads. All other bolts are blind holes so use anti seize on them.
 
#30 ·
I went with bbk ceramic coated shorties. Always use fel pro gaskets to!! I had the hemi tick cause of a broken manifold bolt. I have a 2015 1500 Laramie and running the bbk shorties ceramic. X pipes true dual dynomax super turbo 4 inch exhaust, sounds great, not too loud like flowmaster, I'm not into waking the neighbors. I get a nice growl I feel and hear just right with the shorties and my x pipe true dual dynomax. Btw always use ARP header bolts , never mr gasket or stage 8! Mr gasket break n u cant get them out or it's a real PAIN IN THE AZZ !!!! AND stage 8 make a ticking noise n if you have a newer ram like me it will make the sensors think something else is wrong and it will send out a false warning on your dash. Hope this helps
 
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