Blue Angel [COTW 5/30/11]

[vroomapunk]

Originally Posted by woodside783

I wonder if the intake cover is for the heater hose that lays on the engine for heat reduction

Nah, many (if not all) LS engines have had that cover, and not all of them have the heater hoses routed that way.

And actually, they arent even routed that way for 2012-2014 camaros

[woodside783]

What I did not know that. Thanks

[Doc]

Originally Posted by PfadtRacing

We get these headers installed yet?! I'd love to see some sound clips and dyno numbers! Car is looking great BTW

They're going in Friday along with dyno run. Thanks.

[vroomapunk]

Originally Posted by Doc

They're going in Friday along with dyno run. Thanks.

[Biscuitpie]

What does it weigh currently?

[Doc]

Originally Posted by Biscuitpie

What does it weigh currently?

By calculation it was 3,688 lbs but that was before I put the new wheels on; they're a total of 32 lbs lighter so again by calculation it should now be 3,656 lbs. I'm getting the headers installed this morning and afterwards I'll fill it up and take it to the truck scale to get the actual current weight.

[BaylorCamaro]

Dyno results?

[Doc]

Okay, got the Pfadt Tri-Y headers installed. I was surprised at the "before" dyno as it showed 32 less rwhp than the Hess Motorsports dyno did when they put the Bassani headers and comp cam in. Hess gave me a dyno sheet showing 468 rwhp. At GTR the before run showed 436. The "after" run which was with the Pfadt headers showed a marginal increase in hp; 440 vs 436 but a nice boost in torque from about 2200-4300 rpm which is exactly where you want more torque for pulling out of corners on the track.

Below is the dyno with best runs for before with the Bassani headers in blue, and after with the Pfadt headers in red.


Sound impression: the Pfadt headers with their cats have a mellower, smoother tone compared to the Bassani which have more of a bark. The Pfadts sound great at full throttle though. I actually liked the sound of the Bassani headers but I'm assuming the tone of the Pfadts will sharpen a bit once the hi-flow cats break in.

Driving impression: I could feel the torque right away; especially in 3rd gear at 3500 rpm. At about 2250 rpm you can see on the dyno chart the Pfadt headers have 10 more hp and 15 lbs more torque and that holds until about 2700 rpm when the Bassani's catch up but then at 3500 rpm the Pfadts give smoother more consistent power and more torque until about 4300 rpm. So basically the Pfadt are delivering more torque and smoother power from roughly 2200-4300 rpm which is a great range for driving.

Temps were hot today; about 95° in the shop at GTR but even hotter outside. In cooler weather performance should be even better.

Another very nice benefit (besides looks; the Pfadt headers are beautiful) is the improvement in underbody clearance. The Pfadt headers don't stick down as far as the Bassani did which means I'll have a better time going over parking lot speed bumps and steep driveways.

Summary: If you don't have anything at all other than the factory exhaust, get the Pfadt; you won't be disappointed. If you already have name-brand long tube headers, unless you need better ground clearance and don't mind spending the money for the Pfadt, stick with what you've got; the difference isn't that much.

The Pfadt Tri-Y headers are beautifully made, beautiful to look at, fit easily, have great ground clearance and deliver good solid performance.

[Mgizzle]

I really like those headers man, they look very nice and I love that they don't stick under the car too much. Anyhow, how do you protect against the heat in the engine bay now, do you have them wrapped or coated? Really interested to hear from you about this, especially with respect to track time. Are you looking into hood vents of some sort?

[Doc]

Originally Posted by Mgizzle

I really like those headers man, they look very nice and I love that they don't stick under the car too much. Anyhow, how do you protect against the heat in the engine bay now, do you have them wrapped or coated? Really interested to hear from you about this, especially with respect to track time. Are you looking into hood vents of some sort?

The Bassani's I had coated; these are not so I'll probably look at getting them wrapped but it's a shame; they look SO GOOD in the engine compartment lol.

[vroomapunk]

Originally Posted by Doc

The Bassani's I had coated; these are not so I'll probably look at getting them wrapped but it's a shame; they look SO GOOD in the engine compartment lol.

Lots of people and header manuf. on this forum are against wrapping, you dont agree with that?

[Mgizzle]

Man, I could not hit the track knowing there are no heet shields or wrap on the headers. Why ids wrapping bad?

[BSR-1]

Originally Posted by Mgizzle

Man, I could not hit the track knowing there are no heet shields or wrap on the headers. Why ids wrapping bad?

Doesn't allow heat to escape the header walls, traps moisture against bare metal.
Just off the top of my head, there may be other or better reasons. I'm not the expert.

[14pilot]

In addition to the moisture on metal issue, the wrap works so well that it can cause the welds to fail and crack open. Racing teams don't care because they wrap and then put new headers on when they fail. No big deal with sponsors and when its in the annual racing budget. Pay to play...