ARH vs Kooks headers

[longbeachss2010]

yea i have my kooks headers today in the box still.if yall wana see how they look the whole collector part.

[Josh @ Spartan LSX]

You're never going to get the "right" answer for this question. Pick which system fits your price range the best, and go for it. I've installed both Kooks and ARH. I have nothing bad to say about either product.

[RedJewel2SS]

Originally Posted by caverman

I think KOOKS and ARH are equal in quality. I would take either one for sure. The biggest reason I would lean towards KOOKS vs ARH for myself is price.

The quote I got from Mayland Speed on a KOOKS complete system with HF cats and ceramic coated headers is significantly lower then anything I've seen vendors selling ARH for. Like several hundred difference if you factor in the ceramic coating.

I look at the complete picture of what I'll have to lay out to get the headers, have them coated, get the cat-back with it, and then a tune.

If you have any ARH vendors that can come close to his prices please PM me.


EDIT: Anyone know of some videos that show the complete ARH system? Curious to see what it sounds like.

here is a sound clip of the ARH full exhaust:
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71192

does the Kooks kit they quoted include an x-pipe though? because the ARH kit you can get from most internet vendors for $1795 with the x-pipe or $1400 without the x-pipe. the kooks headers w/ cats is $1350. i bought my ARH kit with the x-pipe for $1795 with free shipping from www.lmperformance.com

as for ceramic coating them, its kind of redundant, they are 304 stainless which retains heat well. the coating is mainly for looks... and you never know how long the coating will last before it starts to flake off.

i'm sure there are plenty of threads to search through debating ceramic vs non ceramic coating.

also note, both companies sell full header back kits. ARH full exhaust is $2570 and Kooks full exhaust is $2470 (quoting both off of what i can find on the internet)


the price between the two is not all that different... they both have quality products, and its up to personal preference cuz the cost is so close, the only way someone would lean towards one versus the other is over shipping cost. try and find a place with free shipping cuz these boxes are HEAVY

[MarylandSpeed]

The Kooks system offers you the option of buying either:

1) Little off road or catted connectors that connect to your factory catback at the clamps under the seats.

or

2) A full 3" exhaust, with tips and mufflers, with or without cats.

Kooks considered an X-pipe, but did not want to do anything that required cutting the factory exhaust.

[caverman]

Originally Posted by RedJewel2SS

does the Kooks kit they quoted include an x-pipe though?

I was quoted both the headers with HF cats and the full 3" system with HF cats. Both were with the headers ceramic coated.

The prices you have listed are the MSRP prices but it you call around you'll find it cheaper....at least the KOOKS stuff. Haven't found the ARH stuff really any cheaper.

What I was quoted was about $400 less that what you are showing for the complete 3" system and then you have to factor in about $250 for ceramic coating.....except that the KOOKS system would already be coated. So factoring in all that and putting in cost of coating there is about $650 savings of KOOKS over ARH. Not including that all the ARH vendors I've seen charge shipping....the KOOKS price was to my door. My guess is another $80-$100 savings. Pretty much a hard one to beat.

Yes...I want to do the coating and it's all for looks. I've seen ARH with and witout coating and the coating looks 10x better. I've had ceramic coating on my Hooker Super Comps for my '69 over 10 yrs now and they still look great (grant it there are probably only 8k-10k miles on them).

I'm not closed minded and I would definately love to consider the ARH but the price difference doesn't even come close from what I've found. If you know of any vendor that would sell the ARH complete system for about $400 less that you show and include ceramic coating.....I'm all ears. Send me a PM please.

Quick Note....not that it probably matters to much but I like the fact that the KOOKS is a true 3" all the way through. What I read is that the ARH is 3" up to the axle and then it drops to 2.5".

[Kilo-9]

For me, the deciding factor will be ground clearance loss. I've read that the Kooks tuck in slightly better than the ARH.

[VADER SS L99]

The quality difference between these two headers is non existent. They both are the highest quality system that you can get. Its like comparing a Firebird to a Camaro. The price however is lopsided from what I have found. I dont think the vendors for ARH are able to get the systems for much less than MSRP and thats why ARH is close to MSRP and you can get Kooks for way less than MSRP. All the ARH prices that I searched and called around for could not touch the Kooks price I got from Brandon at Maryland Speed. Yes I was comparing the short system from ARH(no x pipe). It wasnt even close. Trust me and call Brandon at Maryland Speed.

[rico-2SS]

Originally Posted by mth35115

I have the ARH with stock mufflers. I have had a lot of compliments on the sound both on the street and at the drag strip. I left the stock mufflers on figuring I could change the mufflers at a later date if I wasn't happy with the sound. I haven't had any issue with the fit.

Performance wise......... are you satisfied?

[lock]

I went Kooks simply because I couldnt beat the price Maryland speed gave me and that included getting the header jet-hot coated. Both are excellent companies in my experience.

[Wilburbeest]

ARH and Kooks are both great companies. Seems like you can get Kooks a bit cheaper though and I'd challenge anybody to find a nicer off the shelf header. I have seen the 5th gen ones and they were every bit as nice as the ones on my LT1, which have impressed pretty much everybody that's seen them and knew what they were looking at. As a side note, I might just be weird but I honestly think bare SS headers look better than coated ones if kept clean. The gold/blue/purple color they take on looks amazing IMO. Also, SS doesn't have near as much heat conductivity as mild steel (I believe it's only like 1/3 or so as much) and definitely nothing like that of iron, so your engine bay temps will still go down.

[RedJewel2SS]

Originally Posted by Wilburbeest

ARH and Kooks are both great companies. Seems like you can get Kooks a bit cheaper though and I'd challenge anybody to find a nicer off the shelf header. I have seen the 5th gen ones and they were every bit as nice as the ones on my LT1, which have impressed pretty much everybody that's seen them and knew what they were looking at. As a side note, I might just be weird but I honestly think bare SS headers look better than coated ones if kept clean. The gold/blue/purple color they take on looks amazing IMO. Also, SS doesn't have as near much heat conductivity as mild steel (I believe it's only like 1/3 or so as much) and definitely nothing like that of iron, so your engine bay temps will still go down.

yep that is why the high quality header companies do not offer them coated already, they already retain heat very well.

the coating is mainly for show.

[SGOS252382]

No need to get them coated unless you just want to.

I'm on my 3rd set of Kooks' Headers (2 GTOs and my Camaro) and I didn't get any of my long tube headers coated. I've never had any issues. The 2010 Camaro also has plenty of clearance (compared to a lot of other cars out there).

[caverman]

For me the coating is strickly for the looks. Personally I'm not crazy about how 304 turns the yellowish/green/blue colors and I was even looking at some of the ARH headers last week at the Lonestar meet. Most were almost blackish/burnt looking. That's not horrible but for an extra $250 I would rather have them look good for a while. I want my car to be both show and go.

[A.R. Headers]

Originally Posted by Kilo-9

For me, the deciding factor will be ground clearance loss. I've read that the Kooks tuck in slightly better than the ARH.

Kilo, You'd have to do a 20 ft cliff jump to scrape our headers. The installer has more to do with how the system hangs since the system is adjustable.

Caverman, There's a reason why we down size system way in the back. It's done to maintain temperature and improve scavenging. Other than making the car louder (and dealing with enough drone to loosen your fillings) there's absoloutely no performance gain with larger pipes by the mufflers. We have a customer with a Corvette that's gone 9.40's normally aspirated with a 2-1/2" axle back muffler system and our headers with 3" mid section. His name is Rob Zona, look him up. He ran the car without the mufflers and saw no appreciable gains in ET or mph. Believe me, we did our homework.

With regards to coatings, speaking for our products only, it's completely unnecessary. I just returned from Virginia International Raceway where I watch 14 (out of the 50 built) Dodge Viper ACR-X racecars, all ARH equipped by the way, race for almost an hour straight in 95 degree heat without any coatings. There were zero heat issues.

As far as price, I can personally guarantee that if you're paying more for ARH it's because you're getting more. Our pricing is set to be as competitive as possible but since we refuse to sell our souls to the Chinese by buying inferior materials like cats, collectors, flanges...etc or we won't use 409 S/S or even mild steel, we cost more. It's that simple. ARH will never be for everyone and we're fine with that. We're for those that won't settle for second best (whether they know it or not).

Nick