KOOKS vs DT vs SW vs ARH

[ilovehooters1385]

just a couple question if some knowledgable ppl could pm me

have a 3" magnaflow catback already

THANX!

long tube headers only thanx

[srb8]

I'm having Kooks 1 7/8 LT's installed when they get here. Choice for me was between Kooks and ARH. Kooks is on the G8 so I stayed with them.

[caverman]

So what are your questions?

[zirotti]

Why, at first glance at sites, do ARH look to be about double the price of Kooks?

[caverman]

Originally Posted by zirotti

Why, at first glance at sites, do ARH look to be about double the price of Kooks?

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=101391

So that they can give away some fuse box covers with the left over profit.....


Just kidding.....but I had to. That was my initial thought when I saw that thread.



In all reality they aren't double by any means. They might be a few hundred more. You need to make sure you are comparing apples to apples when looking at prices. ARH sells a few different combinations with thier headers and x-pipes. When you compare just the headers and connection pipes between both companies they are actually pretty close in price although from my research the KOOKS are typically cheaper.

Both seem to be great companies with quality headers. Both seem to have great customer service as well. You really can't make a bad choice between either one.

[JJ2010]

I have Kooks Headers....

[Ivan @ Southwest Speed]

I guess I'll answer the question the best I can since....well...I've had all three on our SS.

Anthony @ ARH sells their his LT's direct here as well and you can get their LT's for around $800. Great product. Made in America by Americans. Hell yeah.

Brandon at Maryland Speed is the go to guy for Kooks (everybody knows he'll take a deeper discount when you call on them as well.) They are advertised at $913 on his site, but even if/when he takes another $100 bucks off, they're still right around $800.

He also has the SW Headers at $919....same deal. Prolly no less than $800 even with a deep discount.

Then there are Doug Thorley's which sell everywhere for $650.

RPM Inc. did a comparison with the smaller 1 3/4" Doug Thorley's against the larger 1 7/8" Brand A Headers.

When you can get MORE POWER for around a couple hundred bucks less.....it's a tough call to justify the extra money in my opinion.

I'm a customer too and when it comes to my money, I like to do my homework. We appreciate value and that's why we sell the heck out of these headers.

Our bond is with the Customer.

Ivan @ Southwest Speed

[zirotti]

Hey Ivan, are those ST or LT that were tested from Doug Thorley?

Also, assuming I buy a pair of LTs, what all is needed to match up to my Corsa cat-back? High-flow cats and that is it?

[Atti2de]

What no dynatech headers?

[Ivan @ Southwest Speed]

Originally Posted by Atti2de

What no dynatech headers?

?? May as well include LG's then too.....

Originally Posted by zirotti

Hey Ivan, are those ST or LT that were tested from Doug Thorley?

Also, assuming I buy a pair of LTs, what all is needed to match up to my Corsa cat-back? High-flow cats and that is it?

Long Tubes sir.

Nothing at all is needed to connect the DT LT's to your Catback. Everything is included with the kits we sell.

Ivan @ Southwest Speed

[MarylandSpeed]

Well first off, it has to be an apples to apples comparison. Listed above are the prices for JUST the header. Kooks, ARH, or SW will require some kind of connection pipe, so they cost a little more.

DT's are nice because they are cheap and decent quality. They come coated and bolt to pretty much anything without having to buy extra mid pipes.

That being said they are coated because they are mild steel. I would much rather have an uncoated stainless header than a coated plain steel one. All it takes on a mild steel header one scrap, or something where rust starts, and it peels the coating back like paint off a wall. Do a search for coated Pacesetters on LS1Tech and you will see what I mean. Additionally, DT only comes in 1 3/4" and with no cats. Almost everyone who calls us looking for headers wants 1 7/8" and cats. I know DT is working on a 1 7/8" Tri-Y with cats, but I am willing to bet that ends up running $800-$1000, which makes them not much cheaper than Kooks.

As for the dynosheet posted above..man o man that is a tough one. I am not really sure how to respond to that. My initial thought is that it does not make sense. The DT header should *maybe* if lucky have a little more TQ down low than whatever the other header was. However a 1 7/8" header should, and always WILL make more HP than a 1 3/4" header because the larger primary can flow the maximum exhaust output of the engine better up top. I have been in this now 7 years and that is pretty much a constant. There are some other variables to. Did the other header system have cats? Why did the LT dyno run start almost a 1000 RPM later than the DT run.

I mean I realize arguing the dynosheet thing is silly. As a vendor, no matter what you do dyno wise, people will question the results. That's why when I did my earlier dynotest on the predator I made it a point to do multiple runs in the same setup and really document things. http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=106919

[BlaSSt Off]

I went with Kooks with high flow cats from Maryland Speed. Customer service was awsome and the girl on the phone was ok with me being from Texas and having Cage The Elephant as my ringback tone. LOL

When I got the headers in, I opened them up and WOW! Those things are a piece of auto art! SUPER EASY to install and sound awsome. I would say go ahead and spend the money to gt a good set of headers now and not have to worry about the quality instead of taking a chance on a cheap set and having to worry about getting a new set down the road because they are rusting. Go ahead and call Maryland Speed and get an awsome price for the Kooks and get them on the way. The only down fall is that they use UPS instead of FedEx Ground.

[Mindz]

Missing JBA from the list too. =)

[Anthony@ARH]

If the question is who has an option to work with your 3" catback I have it. If you would like more information please let me know.

Thanks
Anthony
ARH
631.608.1986