Ramhorn VS Headers

[faribran]

i had some Headers on a 56 chevy Bel Air for a few months.....
had enuff of the various problems...... put on some rams horns and was much happier..... less problems, less vibrations, less heat..... i could 'nt tell any difference in the performance.

[beater69]

I have a cheap set of dynomax and once i got stage 8 locking header bolts and top notch gaskets i haven't had any problems. Ramshorns are almost guaranteed to be no problems though and they are cheaper.

[Sport/Truck]

I have both now, but the horns are already installed. I need some exhaust work and want to do it right.
s/t

[mnunn454]

Driving to the exhaust shop with open headers won't hurt anything (IMO).

X-pipe crossovers are a little better than H-pipes because at higher RPMs they help to scavenge a little better than an H-pipe. However, when close to the header collectors they're usually harder to fit without interfering with the transmission access unless you have lots of ground clearance or else move the "X" back behind the tranny tailshaft.

In general though, for 95% of most driving, you'll never see/feel much of a performance difference with crossovers (X or H) except at WOT, and then only about 10 HP give or take. (Translated, that's less than 5% improvement seen during 5% of the time you're driving.)

One other thing to consider. I have an H-pipe crossover on my Elky 454 with headers and Flowmaster muffs. I have virtually the same setup on my 454/C-10 except there's no crossover. The truck sounds better IMO because the exh impulses are more erratic, whereas in the Elky the tones are noticeably "smoother". It depends on personal preference of course, but I prefer the system without the crossover because it sounds cooler at the stoplights (which is where I spend most of my time lately).

In reference to the original thread question, if you want low maintenance moderate performance, go with the ram's horn manifolds. If you want the extra performance at mid and upper RPMs and don't mind the extra maintenance, then headers are the better choice.

My 2 cents.

[basketcase]

I can remember an article in one of the magazines many years ago where they took a stock 350 with single exhaust and run a baseline on the dyno. Then they changed it to duals on the rams horns with 2 1/4 inch system and turbo mufflers. Next was headers on the same system and then open headers.

The charts showed the biggest gain was just switching to duals. Sure, the headers picked up even more power but it was in the midrange to upper rpm range. The open header test was just for fun. It showed the most power but most of us couldn't put up with the constant trips to traffic court.

The bottom line was that for the off idle to midrange area where we do 90%+ of our driving the switch to duals was the most effective. Again, this was a mild engine or maybe even stock. If you are running a stronger engine then you could expect to see a gain across the board.

It's up to you to be honest about the usage of your truck and if you think it is really worth the hassle.

As for Extrude honing the manifold, you can see tremendous gains in flow without going to headers. Street racers that want to look stock use this to throw off the competition. The price here is the big drawback. This process is expensive!

Extrude Hone

Tom

[Sport/Truck]

Thanks Tom for the info. Did you see the link for the Corvette ram horns? Those might be a cheaper alternative to extrude honing.
s/t

[MACO]

I installed a set of Hooker Competition headers on my 1971 C20 and they fit perfect. I have had no problems with gasket leaks in the year thay have been on my truck.

[harmsy]

I 've been told by lots of hot rodders to keep the ramhorns on..........
I was also thinking of putting on headers but will stay with ramhorns

[stsalvage]

Hello All If Any Of You Are Going To Use Ram Horns Remmber Gm Never Used Gaskets To Seal The Rams To The Head Make You You Take Them To A Eng Shope To Be Plaine Or Grinded Even Anfter That No More Leaking Problems One Last Thing In 1967--72 Did They Change The The Front End Where The A Arms Are Cus On My 1964--66 We Have Straight Down Ram Horns Whay Did They Change And How Do You Tell The Muffler Man To Not Put Such A Hard Or Ocword Bend In The Exhoust Going To The Ram Horns Cus On The Driverside I See A Lot Of Them Cracked Andy Help Would Be Nice

[ETsC10]

Personally, I love my ram horns. I'm not a mechanical engineer but I figure the General didn't run the things for naught. The first time I replaced a SBC, I was about to use the gaskets in my gasket kit & was stopped by my chevy guru friend. So glad, because my truck ran a full decade without exhaust leaks and when they came off this year there was no pitting or cracks. Maybe because they were always cinched tight to the head? Never had headers and I suppose I never will...my $.02 worth. E

[chadvicki]

I have a 72 C20 and I just put Hooker Competition headers on. I decided to do this since so many say there is added power and a lower deeper sound.

Well was I dissapointed and my wife was very pleased.

The new sound is better than the ram horns but by no means did it get louder or did I see a noticeable diiference in power. It is so quite now that my wife wants to drive it to work. I have dual Flowmaster 50's installed as well that dump near the axel.

I will stay with them and see if there is a change after driving a while. But they look nice and oh well it's only money right?

But I am in the process of now adding Dynamat to the cab so it may be good in the log run for the new sound system.

I can always change to glasspacks, right?

Anyway my .02

Chad

[68GMC454]

any headers i have used in the past, i always had trouble with the darned bolts staying tight..so i started useing indian head shellac gasktet stuff..you all know what i mean..best stuff i ever used,,but a major pain in the butt to break loose sometimes...
so will the rams horns i got in my truck,,are form the orginal motor,,will they fit the lates 70's motor 350 im getting for the truck..or will the manifolds on the 350 work..

and sport truck,,nothing better than open headers..but most states it is illeagal to operate a motor vechile with open exhaust...just depends on how the local cops are..

[Billla]

It depends on the header For engines that will likely never see the far side of 5000 RPM, the 'tri-y' header design will add ~15 HP and ~20 lbs-ft between 2000-4500 RPM for even a mild (~.425 - .450 lift) cam - I've seen it on the dyno more than once. "Shortys" are useless other than being pretty. Other headers do require some money spent to get decent ones, and if you don't want to be pulling them constantly to freshen the paint you can buy them directly from Jet Hot or other ceramic coating places. Coating isn't just for bling - it SIGNIFICANTLY reduces underhood temperature, especially on emissions-controlled engines. Painted Hookers (um, that sounds bad, but you know what I mean on a 1995 Impala SS glow dull red after a long run, coated versions are almost cool enough to touch!

Things to check when you get them are how flat the flanges are - this is really the PITA with lousy headers - the flanges are warped and they never, ever seal. Take a straightedge and check them...and if they suck, send 'em back! Remember that the flanges should not match the exhaust ports. I've used the Stage 8 bolts with the lock, and that seems to really (really!) fix the bolt loosening BS. Finally, completely agree that you need to spend some time with wire routing - especially with uncoated headers. The biggest pita here is if the plugs are "shrouded" by the pipes - if there's not a straight shot to the plug. For uncoated headers, sometimes a straight-boot plug works best.

[Billla]

H or X pipes cut the resonance frequency in half, which makes for a deeper and less harsh "tone". The thinking behind more power is that pulses that would be in the exhaust at the same time have an "escape route" through the X or H. Never seen any proof of it on the dyno, and the folks that make these like Dr. Gas don't post their own "back to back" tests...funny, huh?

[Yukon Jack]

I'm very pleased with the Dynomax Cermacoated heaters I am using on my bbc. I think there are a lot less complaint issues with headers on a bbc rather than a sbc. I can access all of my spark plugs very easily, haven't had any plugs get burned after 1 1/2 years of use and haven't had to touch my header bolts yet.

I'm using an x-pipe and here is link concerning the headers and pics of the exhaust system.