Rams horn exhaust manifolds

[FL71C10]

What is so special about Ram's horn manifolds? Are they a stock part?
Do they breathe better thana a regular exh manifold?

[beebster]

they breathe pretty good, better than other chevy stock manifolds.
I added headers and "gave" away my stock ram horn manifolds to a family member.
big mistake! Those ram horn manifolds flowed well, gave a good sound with the right mufflers,etc.
these headers get hot as hell, leak, and have been nothing but problems since i put em on. Never again will i go with headers.
Now i've got a reason to buy "new" rams horn manifolds. LOL
The "gains" everyone said i'd get, never happened. Just not worth it for me.

[Longhorn Man]

Ram horn manifolds are stock for our trucks, and the later style 'log' manifolds don't fit so well.
Also, ram horns are the best flowing stock manifold they used. The vette ones which are a little bigger than truck ones, actually outflow many of the low cost headers.

[FL71C10]

Would the vette ones fit the same? If so, are they hard to get?

[fdbdw]

I have to agree with beebster, when I did mine I was expecting great results and got little if any. What I did get was alot of head aches, leaking, melting plug wires, fitment issues and they get hot as heck. They look cool but IMO not worth it .

[71meangreenc10]

Originally Posted by FL71C10

Would the vette ones fit the same? If so, are they hard to get?

If you got a good pipe bender dude, you may get the vet ones to work, they dump straight down unlike the ones for the trucks which dump at an angle. I tried a set and they wouldnt work on my 71.

Smitty

[Longhorn Man]

People install headers and expect a huge gain. The fact of the matter is, even the best headers will do little to nothing at most 'driver' RPMs. Exhaust flow doesn't help much at lower (under 3000-ish) RPMs.
Headers will always be hot, you should expect that. They are thin tubes with fire in them. Manifolds are thick and retain heat. With that added header heat, one should expect burned plug wires unless you take action and secure them where they wont touch the pipes. (they'll burn on manifolds too for the record)
Also, the lower cost headers are more prone to leaking. I've run $99 craptastic ones and they leaked like mad. A little grinding and quality gaskets, and you'll have leak free cheap headers.
The higher cost ones are way less likely to leak with thicker flanges and higher quality craftsmanship. They are also less likely to get in the way of the plugs and everything else under the hood.
Headers is one of the pieces where you get what you pay for.
But for 99% of the trucks on the road, and for 99% of the people owning them, Ramhorn manifolds are the way to go.

[Robertjust777]

i have a pair on my truck now and im not going to get headers im just going to heat tape them and im set. i dont think a 350 dollar set will out flow them just my opinon

Originally Posted by FL71C10

Would the vette ones fit the same? If so, are they hard to get?

[71 super]

Just went from craptastic headers to the correct rams horns on my 68 and as has been said previously truck runs better, is quieter inside and everything fits as it should. Get the horns trash the headers- I cant believe I just said that, look out 40 here I come

[CSGAS]

Originally Posted by FL71C10

Would the vette ones fit the same? If so, are they hard to get?

Originally Posted by 71meangreenc10

If you got a good pipe bender dude, you may get the vet ones to work, they dump straight down unlike the ones for the trucks which dump at an angle. I tried a set and they wouldnt work on my 71.

Smitty

They do dump straight down but if you put the small block in the "rear position" that clears the crossmember for a straighter shot--the 4X4 ram's horns also come with straight dumps using that position for the engine (dunno the logic) but the Corvette's flow better.

[bobbo]

This is very good information to read, I have the stock ram horns on my mildly built 350 but was going to install a set of headers I acquired form a friend. Guess I'll leave the ram horns alone if they are better than headers. I knew about issues with headers sealing but was willing to tolerate that if the performance was better... Thanks for the info!

[Indyuke]

Yep, bought my truck with headers. They don't leak, they don't get too hot and everything clears just fine. I can even change the spark plugs without taking them off so I just have some nicer ones.

BUT, I don't like them, and I will be putting rams on when the exhaust gets redone.

[Longhorn Man]

Originally Posted by Robertjust777

i have a pair on my truck now and im not going to get headers im just going to heat tape them and im set. i dont think a 350 dollar set will out flow them just my opinon

Wrapping headers or manifolds is not a good idea on anything less than a full race car (truck). The tape/wrap retains the heat and the mwtal becomes brittle, also it speeds up rust.

[storm9c1]

I'm having a 383 stroker built (for torque not for racing). I've done lots of reading on the subject of headers on these trucks and I also have experience with headers in other applications (and most of the time they have been annoying). I've seen dyno results comparing headers to each other and and to ram horns. And have been overloaded with it all. Back in April, I ordered a set of Doug Thorleys since they seem to be the best headers for these trucks from what I researched (ordered from DougThorley.com -- nice discount for board members). But for some reason they are having trouble getting them now and haven't shipped them yet (since April!!!!). I've debated canceling the order and using the stock ram horns. Anyone ever use the rams with a 383 stroker in a non-racing application (towing for example)? I don't want to shoot myself in the foot either way. If it were a stock 350, it's a no brainer (ram horns!). But what about a 383 built for torque?

[Longhorn Man]

383 for pullin stumps, I'd recomend manifolds, unless you are working it at 3000+ RPMs

[storm9c1]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

383 for pullin stumps, I'd recomend manifolds, unless you are working it at 3000+ RPMs

I was thinking the same thing. If I ask this question to any car person, they all say "heck yeah, run headers". However, my experience with headers has been mixed. On a relatively stock motor, on an often-driven vehicle, I've seen little gains and more headaches from heat, leaks and cracks.

On the flip side, nicely modified motors seem to like headers, esp as you said at higher RPMs and they sound better! What I have determined is that "good" headers are the way to go or not at all. Never buy cheap ones unless you want problems left and right.

But I've read and heard many truck folks saying to keep the ram horns. I'm having the engine built and tuned for lower RPM, higher torque use. And I already have a good set of horns on the 350 that I am yanking out. I have always wondered about some "real life" opinions. I've read many of the other threads here on this subject, and still couldn't come to a conclusion. And this thread opened the door again.

[Longhorn Man]

oddly enough, I have always had more problems with manifilds... and i will be ignoring my own advice and installing header on my longhorn with the new engine... but, in all reality, i would still recomend the manifolds.

[faribran]

Huhh ??

['72customdeluxe]

the air ports on my manifolds were broke (had to jb weld in bolts) and new manifolds were more expensive than my summit ceramic coated headers. On my old truck one manifold split in half. Never had trouble with the summit/flowtech headers on either. You guys must be buying the wrong stuff

[71tahoe]

When I swapped from a 6 to an 8 there was very little budget. I wound up with cyclone headers from AZ because they were less expensive than junkyard manifolds. They lasted over a decade before the collectors rusted away and wouldn't seal well. If you maintain the manifold bolts and use good gaskets they will stay leak free for a long time.

I'm thinking about ram horns from speedway. They come in stainless and polished too.

[jaros44sr]

Originally Posted by 71tahoe

I'm thinking about ram horns from speedway. They come in stainless and polished too.

Stainless?? I gotta go check them...later

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[67chevy1series]

well my dad wanted to give me his hedmen headers and in exchange for the stock ramhorns but i think i will let him keep his headers

[toddtheodd]

Wow... I had a totally different experience with ram horns.
After replacing my intake and carb with a higher flowing design, I started over heating like crazy. The faster I went, the hotter my truck got.
I replaced the radiator, heater core, hoses, water pump, thermostat, and even bypassed the heater core, all to no change in the problem.
Finally, I pulled the ram horns off and put long tube hooker headers on, and it ran cool from then on.
The best way I can describe it was that the ram horns were causing a restriction that was causing the truck to run hot the higher the rpms got. After removing the restriction, I had no problem.

I haven't had any problems with my headers (until I got heads with freaking angled spark plugs, but that's a problem of my own creation), but maybe it's because I didn't by cheap ass flowtechs or whatever. I've learned that you get what you pay for.

[Longhorn Man]

a stock engine with just an intake and carb, and the ram horns were holding it back?
Were you reving it to 6000 RPM or something?