Help with Headers

[Theloots]

I know there are probably 100 threads on this and that's actually the problem. There's too much to read through. A little advice would be totally appreciated.

I have a 2012 2SS with a Borla cat back (S-type) and cold air. That's all the modifications on this L99.

Sitting in the car .... I love the growl from the exhaust but I feel like it is missing something from the front of the car. All the growl is from the back. I think headers will do the trick. But I'm confused about long tubes vs shorties.

Should I do shorts and keep the factory cats or get longs with high flow cats? I assume that's my options.

I do want to pass NJ inspection. I don't want to sacrifice gas mileage as this is my daily driver. And ... would I need a tune to match? I didn't tune it after the Borla cat back's (S-Type)

Opinions are welcomed. Thank you !

[Royal Tiger]

You absolutely need a tune with the long tube headers which are the way to go. If you go to the what did you do to your Camaro thread, Rontammy0 posted a video of my car with long tubes and Borla ATAK.

[xrivera91]

Originally Posted by Theloots

I know there are probably 100 threads on this and that's actually the problem. There's too much to read through. A little advice would be totally appreciated.

I have a 2012 2SS with a Borla cat back (S-type) and cold air. That's all the modifications on this L99.

Sitting in the car .... I love the growl from the exhaust but I feel like it is missing something from the front of the car. All the growl is from the back. I think headers will do the trick. But I'm confused about long tubes vs shorties.

Should I do shorts and keep the factory cats or get longs with high flow cats? I assume that's my options.

I do want to pass NJ inspection. I don't want to sacrifice gas mileage as this is my daily driver. And ... would I need a tune to match? I didn't tune it after the Borla cat back's (S-Type)

Opinions are welcomed. Thank you !

I had a 2015 L99 (sold it on Monday ) and I also had a borla but it was the atak cat back. I would 100% go with long tubes. My car had kooks longtubes and definitely needed a tune. I wouldn't worry too much about gas mileage. I didnt see much of a change or just didnt really pay attention ove the sweet sound lol. If you end up going longtube I have a used on SCT handheld Haha. Good luck with your choice.

[Jayjellyfish212]

OP- you have pretty much 4 good options.

1-easiest and least cost would be just add solo HFC's keeping the the stock cast headers at the engine. This will wake the car up like night and day and will not require any tuning. This will give you the best gas mileage compared to the others below.

2-go with shorties and HFC's. This would be almost same as above but you would gain weight reduction as the shorties would be lighter than the cast factory ones. You would also gain better exhaust flow with the shorties as they would port from each exhaust port better than the cast factory ones. The cost is more than option 1 above. No tune require and gas would be same as option 1. I use to run this set up and have no complaints.

3-go with long tubes and cats. This will require a tune and will cost you the most . Gas mileage will be very similar to options above.

All of the above options will pass inspection. All of above will certainly wake the car up. Your issue with your car exhaust is you went backwards because you did your exhaust upgrades starting at the rear. You always start exhaust upgrades from the engine back. This is why there was not much difference in your car when you did the work on exhaust back end. Once you do one of the options above your car will be a beast since you already have the back end done.

4-add long tubes and delete the cats. Requires tuning. Will give less gas mileage and will require supporting mods to eliminate low end loss due to the cat deletes. Once tuned you will pass inspections on the computer but if the inspector is anal you may fail due to sniff testing and loud exhaust. I currently run this set up. I don't recommend this set up to anyone unless they are in process of building the car for high performance and is not a daily driver.

[Black_SS10]

Go long tube with high flow cats (HFC). That way your smog legal, visual and with a sniffer. I highly recommend tuning when you do. There are good vendors on here that offer lifetime tunes when you purchase a tuner.

[43Camaro]

I started with Shorties and just switched to LT. Go LT with HFC you won’t regret the decision and will save your self some cash when you decide to switch later.

[rontammy0]

Op Jellyfish gives you your options.....and 43Camaro is right. I went the shorty headers and hiflow cat route. Changed to longtubes with cats a few weeks and very happy I did. You do need a tune with the longtubes then you will pass emissions.

[BandRcAMARO]

Check out Jannety Racing, they will offer free tunes with the purchase of tuner. But long tubes will sound the best, and add the most hp, you can feel the difference when installed. Also with the Borla s-type it will sound really good, not that loud. I have LTH and borla Ataks and it is very loud but I love it, WOT sounds insane and all my friends envy how good it sounds even though I'm the slowest in my group lol

[Theloots]

Thanks everyone for the advice ... this is so helpful to me. You saved me hours of noodling through hundreds of posts.

This site is awesome .... because of all the great people : )

[Theloots]

Originally Posted by Jayjellyfish212

OP- you have pretty much 4 good options.

1-easiest and least cost would be just add solo HFC's keeping the the stock cast headers at the engine. This will wake the car up like night and day and will not require any tuning. This will give you the best gas mileage compared to the others below.

2-go with shorties and HFC's. This would be almost same as above but you would gain weight reduction as the shorties would be lighter than the cast factory ones. You would also gain better exhaust flow with the shorties as they would port from each exhaust port better than the cast factory ones. The cost is more than option 1 above. No tune require and gas would be same as option 1. I use to run this set up and have no complaints.

3-go with long tubes and cats. This will require a tune and will cost you the most . Gas mileage will be very similar to options above.

All of the above options will pass inspection. All of above will certainly wake the car up. Your issue with your car exhaust is you went backwards because you did your exhaust upgrades starting at the rear. You always start exhaust upgrades from the engine back. This is why there was not much difference in your car when you did the work on exhaust back end. Once you do one of the options above your car will be a beast since you already have the back end done.

4-add long tubes and delete the cats. Requires tuning. Will give less gas mileage and will require supporting mods to eliminate low end loss due to the cat deletes. Once tuned you will pass inspections on the computer but if the inspector is anal you may fail due to sniff testing and loud exhaust. I currently run this set up. I don't recommend this set up to anyone unless they are in process of building the car for high performance and is not a daily driver.

Will Option 1 give more growl to the front end of the car too? Performance is always welcome but the sound, while driving, is my first priority. I remember loooooong ago having headers on my 73 Camaro and a nice exhaust and remember that sound being in front and back of the car when I got on it.
Thanks

[pyroguy]

Originally Posted by Theloots

Will Option 1 give more growl to the front end of the car too? Performance is always welcome but the sound, while driving, is my first priority. I remember loooooong ago having headers on my 73 Camaro and a nice exhaust and remember that sound being in front and back of the car when I got on it.
Thanks

Your biggest performance gain is with long tube headers vs. shorty headers with or without high flow cats. My car had shorty headers on it when I bought it and I have since changed to long tube headers. If you already have high flow cats then shorty headers aren't a bad route to go, but if you are buying everything new do it once and go ahead and get long tube headers.

[UBB]

FWIW...I'm in an inspection free State. My tuner said he prefers to go cat free being I'm also going FI. something about the HF cats potentially melting.

[ez1973]

Originally Posted by Theloots

Thanks everyone for the advice ... this is so helpful to me. You saved me hours of noodling through hundreds of posts.

This site is awesome .... because of all the great people : )

I just bought a 2010 SS that already had long tube headers, flowmaster exhaust, cold air intake, and a tune. To me it performs great and sounds awesome! I just passed NJ inspection no problems - all they do is look for cats and make sure there’s no engine codes showing (don’t even do the “sniff test” anymore). I’m very close in Millstone if you ever want to hear it in person.


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[samgray20]

Everyone above has given great advice. One thing I would like to add about gas mileage - stop worrying about it if you're wanting to upgrade your car. With a good tune and LTs, your car honestly has the capability to get as good or better mileage than stock but it never will because you won't be able to keep your foot out of it.

I used to have an L99 and was in the very same boat as you at one point. Pretty much completely stock with CAI and Borla S type catback. For me there was no question and next on my list was a set of Kooks LTs. I ran it both with and without cats and loved it both ways. Do yourself a favor and spring for the LTs, you won't regret it. If you're on a budget like I was, you can wait a little bit and scoop up a nice set of headers for almost half what they would cost new.

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