I had Kooks on my 08 Corvette. The collectors required quite a lot of grinding to remove all the weld build up. Had Stainless Works on my 2012 Z06 and did not have to touch them. They came perfect. SW iMO is better quality for that reason. On the other hand I'm afraid 2" might be a problem with installing wires and/or plugs. Wish SW had 1 7/8".

 

Even with 2" primaries on the SW, you don't need to change the wires. With the Kooks, everyone has to change out the wires.

 

I'm running stock wires with my kooks. On the drivers side two of thick boot edges were close (one VERY close). I just twisted the boot at the coil a tad which gave me a few mils more clearance. I haven't had a single problem. My kooks are uncoated/unwrapped.

 

What about ARH, are they good fitment wise?

 

Only issue I had with my sw was passenger side front o2 needed an extension harness. Ordered it from Amazon for like 16 bucks. Other than that no issues at all
O2 sensors went in fine everything lined up without any head aches. I do have factory mufflers and that is what everyone complains about sw mufflers not lining up.

 

With as many people who have CTS-Vs and money, can't someone dyno compare these or the manufacturer's post dynos?

 

I've heard the argument made that they don't really make any power on V's because of the blower only moving how much air it's going to move. Most people point to a drop in boost being the major benefit. I'm only looking for headers now because I'm told I need them to get nitrous out of the motor.

 

Isn't there a bazillion page long thread about SW not being very good?

 

I think that thread is referring to the cat back mufflers, not the headers

 

you need new wires for kooks? (trying to figure out all the parts needed to get this installed in a weekend)

 

I ran into an issue with fitting the front 02 sensors on my SW headers. There just wasn't clearance to install the sensors after the headers were bolted up. I ended up plugging the front bungs, moving the fronts to the rear, and deleting the rears. Kinda pissed me off, but in the end I LOVE these headers.

 

well I'm in NC so the obvious choice was to stick local... kookz

 

I've had no issues with my SW

 

Same here, excellent product for the money

 

ARH

 

I have ARH - American Racing Headers -- love them -- all US made. You should check them out too.

 

KOOKS KOOKS KOOKS KOOKS!

 

Every seems to love their SW and/or Kooks. I have Kooks because I got a great deal on a new set. They fit great and are well made. My setup has cats, so we'll see bow long they last. I absolutely hate working on exhaust, and these Kooks were probably the easiest I've installed in the the last 15 yrs.

 

Is there a big difference between the 1 7/8ths and 2 inch primaries? I've heard that sometimes larger primaries are actually a bad thing as they allow the escaping gases to slow down too quickly before reaching the collector, adversely impacting scavenging. Anyone know if this is a factor on the LSA?

 

I've read this myself, but I'd like some hard data to back this theory up. I have and know many that run 1 7/8 primaries on NA LS based strokers that only make in the 480-lower 500 whp range. I have even seen head/cam 6.0s run 1 7/8 primaries and not skip a beat. Why wouldn't a blown car making an additional 100 whp+ benefit from a 2" primary? They like the larger intakes and need to move all that air out.

This same theory surfaced when the FAST 90 and 78 came on the scene. People said you should you should only run the 78mm intake for stock cui LS1. Look at how many ran fast with a 90 and the 92mm intakes/tbs. The 78 was discontinued pretty quick because people were buying the 90 and getting better results.

I'm not saying the 2" primary is a magical bean, but I would be suprised if it hurt performance on a V in the 580+ whp range.

 

Maybe one day Kooks will finally get off their asses and make a 2" primary along with a 3" X pipe mating to TRUE 3" mufflers.

 

We do offer a 2" and a 1 7/8" Header for the CTSV.

Kooks Headers and Exhaust CTSV | Products

We are also working on a system for the Coupe center exhaust in the very near future.

Keep Kookin with Kooks!

 

SW:
2" primaries, 3" collector, slip fit joint

Kooks:
1 7/8" primaries,3" collector, ball and socket joint

Both are high quality pieces. Boils down to price and possibly fit and finish of the system. Can only speak to kooks fit which is top notch. My opinion is ball and socket is better than slip fits. Highly recommend kooks,but could never argue with someone who chose SW, you can't lose.

Also arh are sweet too. Also 1 7/8 to 3 almost positive they are ball and socket joints.

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk 2

 

You won't have to by new spark plug wires with the SW headers but you will with the Kooks