Kooks complete system (headers/exhaust)

[hair10]

Originally Posted by Darth_Emma

One reason I went with the CAI intake is that it is supposed to work well without a tune.

It does. I love mine and you'll notice a difference in sound under acceleration (but not idle).

It's a very easy install too. You can do it yourself in a half hour if you're going slowly. The only tools you'll need are screwdrivers, an allen wrench set (only cause I don't remember the size), and a 10mm deep well socket. Super easy, even for someone who hasn't done much of this stuff before (like me ).

[MEDISIN]

Money well spent IMHO. If I had to do it again, I would in a heartbeat! Here's what I did:

1) Roto-Fab CAI
2) Kooks 6511-complete (1 7/8" LTH, catted x-pipe, mufflers)
3) Tune by R.P.M. Motorsports (Garner, NC)



My baseline dyno was done at ~1000 miles, the recent results ~2200 miles. The throttle response is tremendous, especially at low RPM. The sound is aural bliss! I was concerned it would be raspy, screaming, obnoxious but it's not. The best word to describe it is "aggressive". At idle and below 2000 RPM it's actually pretty quiet. On a cold start it rocks the car for about 10 seconds until the idle drops from 1000 to 500 RPM. When you hit it, it sounds just like a muscle car should.

Here are the before and after clips for comparison. The first "rev" in each clip is to 3,000 RPM, the second rev is to 6,000.

[Jferrell88]

Originally Posted by Darth_Emma

I was planning to keep everything that comes off of my car, so I can put it back to stock if I ever want to. We used to have horses here, so I can store this stuff in the building we used to store hay in.

very wise to keep stock parts never know when you might need them

[JohnInSoCal]

I have cooks headers and exhaust on an L99. I had AFM turned off so you probably want that as well. It's sounds nice at idle, not real loud and people might be surprised that you have headers because it doesn't sound like it at idle but it sounds very nice and definately not stock. When I fired it up people go "oooohh that sounds good". You can get some drone at about 60 MPH but I rarely drive constant at that speed so just go a little faster or shift. At WOT it is pretty darn loud.

[GQ4Life]

Originally Posted by MEDISIN

Money well spent IMHO. If I had to do it again, I would in a heartbeat! Here's what I did:

1) Roto-Fab CAI
2) Kooks 6511-complete (1 7/8" LTH, catted x-pipe, mufflers)
3) Tune by R.P.M. Motorsports (Garner, NC)



My baseline dyno was done at ~1000 miles, the recent results ~2200 miles. The throttle response is tremendous, especially at low RPM. The sound is aural bliss! I was concerned it would be raspy, screaming, obnoxious but it's not. The best word to describe it is "aggressive". At idle and below 2000 RPM it's actually pretty quiet. On a cold start it rocks the car for about 10 seconds until the idle drops from 1000 to 500 RPM. When you hit it, it sounds just like a muscle car should.

Your baseline started low. My car feels slow. I think its only making 350wHP. I doubt dealer do anything to fix. I want to get either exhaust or supercharger and tune..
Is the Kooks complete system a good way to go? knock out full exhaust in one purchase.. and its 1 7/8 primiries good for 600wHP range and full 3" exhaust..

[danhr]

Originally Posted by Darth_Emma

From what I'm reading here, it looks like the Kooks 1 7/8" longtube headers:

Thanks again for all your help, guys.

I don't want to ruin the great conversation by mentioning this, but I'm actually not a guy. But, if it makes you feel any better, I'm the one in my house who buys the electronics (I love home theater gear and computers) and I'm a major football fan. I'm not a "fluff chick," but my husband thinks that's great, so it's all good.

The only thing I can think of about the price difference between the 1 3/4 and 1 7/8 headers is that the 1 3/4 probably come with the connection pipes and the 1 7/8 may not. You might want to call that in and double check. Kooks sometimes just sells the headers alone, without a connection pipe/y-pipe and sells them seperatly, as a lot of people like to fab up their own. the 2" primary header costs so much because a lot more of r&d goes into that particular header, as clearances are extra tight with the big primaries.

Originally Posted by GQ4Life

Your baseline started low. My car feels slow. I think its only making 350wHP. I doubt dealer do anything to fix. I want to get either exhaust or supercharger and tune..
Is the Kooks complete system a good way to go? knock out full exhaust in one purchase.. and its 1 7/8 primiries good for 600wHP range and full 3" exhaust..

I've said this before and will say it again.... 1 7/8 = . I don't think any ls3 motor deserves 1 3/4 headers. and if you need 2" primary headers, you are making one serious motor and probably don't need to bother asking if you need them, because you should already know that much if you are building a motor that badass

[lakersftbl69]

kooks is the best i didnt do all kooks though. i did 13/4" lt with a hennesey cai and corsa exhaust check it out.

[Tmedlin]

Where can one find just the corsa muffler's to buy that will fit the camaro? I have searched, but with no luck.

[Darth_Emma]

I called IPS again today to ask about the 1 3/4 vs the 1 7/8 Kooks headers. He said the reason he recommended the 1 3/4 for my car is that those work best for cars below 480 HP. He said that in a car like mine, I'd lose a lot of power at lower rpms if I put in the 1 7/8" headers. I do not plan to put in a supercharger. He has done a lot of testing on these motors and strongly recommended the 1 3/4 headers for what I want to do with my car.

[critteral]

I had the 2" full system w/o cats installed on my car 2 weeks ago. love the sound wide open, at cruse just slightly notice it. I would disagree about loosing power with the 1 7/8 over the 1 3/4. i had no problems with even the 2" running.
I installed the 2" because I also installed a Maggie SC last week.

[critteral]

"I don't want to ruin the great conversation by mentioning this, but I'm actually not a guy. But, if it makes you feel any better, I'm the one in my house who buys the electronics (I love home theater gear and computers) and I'm a major football fan. I'm not a "fluff chick," but my husband thinks that's great, so it's all good.[/QUOTE]"


always great to have a "gal" on board that is not satisfied with a stock car!

[Darth_Emma]

Originally Posted by critteral

always great to have a "gal" on board that is not satisfied with a stock car!

Thanks for that. I know this is generally a male-dominated hobby. But, I just love learning about this stuff. I'm also in a male-dominated profession (I'm a geologist) because I love the outdoors.

[danhr]

Originally Posted by Darth_Emma

I called IPS again today to ask about the 1 3/4 vs the 1 7/8 Kooks headers. He said the reason he recommended the 1 3/4 for my car is that those work best for cars below 480 HP. He said that in a car like mine, I'd lose a lot of power at lower rpms if I put in the 1 7/8" headers. I do not plan to put in a supercharger. He has done a lot of testing on these motors and strongly recommended the 1 3/4 headers for what I want to do with my car.

That's a strong sign, in my opinion, that you need to find a new shop. Take a stroll over to Pittsburgh and you can take mine for a quick cruise.

I'm sorry but I can't stress this enough... 1 3/4 headers do NOT belong on these cars... well... maybe the v6's.

[Darth_Emma]

danhr -
I called another shop (RPM Motorsports) to talk to them about it. They agree with you.

I called IPS and told them to give me a quote for the 1 7/8" system and that's the way I'd rather go.

I am really glad for the great information in this thread! Thank you.