Ok friend talked me into pacesetter headers

**ryangtp89** · 06-15-2008

Allright, now i relized money is gonna get tight and i'm not really gonna afford the slp headers that i have been wanting for some time now, soo My friend told me why i dont i just get the pacesetter headers and i said i will look into it, well anyways i found some on this website and i know that the gaskets are cheap soo where can i get some gaskets or a header install kit for this, also is their anything else that i should know about these headers ??

http://store.newlevelmotorsports.com/papehe19pogr.html

**chico** · 06-16-2008

Anything you should know? Well the primaries are too large (1" 3/4") unless your heavily modded,they have a tendancy to leak ,they will rust quickly unless you buy the coated ones(ceramic) besically for your setup I would suggest a stainless Plog from ZZP and a coated crossover and a stainless 3" downpipe .

**ryangtp89** · 06-16-2008

well i'm quick to change my mind and known for going back and fourth, i'm gonna stick to slp headers lol i found them 65 bucks cheaper on 3800 performance over pfyc, its the shipping thats half the price most likely cause they are closer to me and also the headers it's self are alittle bit cheaper and they r the same exact package. Soo i'm gonna get those and get my pcm sent to overkill and then i am all done this summer that should get rid of most of my massive amount of kr (6*) And no i'm not gonna up my pulley size i know im stupid but i dont want too, and yea im sure ill get better performance with a bigger pulley but o well.

**blowfishRus6** · 06-17-2008

up the timing...

**ryangtp89** · 06-17-2008

Dont have a tuner to do that just an ls1m.

**blowfishRus6** · 06-17-2008

you could get a happy knob..

**ryangtp89** · 06-17-2008

????

**Bio248** · 06-17-2008

the primaries are not too big, everyone just thinks they are too big. with the minimal amount of torque lost on the low end, you wont even notice it with the power gain overall. and besides, who with a fwd 3800sc car cant spare some torque on the low end. traction loss anyone?

buy them because they are cheap, no other reason. i love my s&s because the install was cake and they are a nice set of headers. others swear by TOGs when i hate them because they are so damn hard to seal.

whatever you choose, make a wise decision.

**ryangtp89** · 06-17-2008

Good point bio and i am gonna stick to slp.

**kingd44** · 06-17-2008

im in the same situation as u dude...i got money for the slp headers( well i will in a week) but i would love to buy the pacesetters because they r cheap but all i hear is bad things so pretty much i guess im going to spend the money on the slp headers too

**blowfishRus6** · 06-17-2008

happy knob so you can manual adjust the timing in the car. i dont quite know how it hooks up tho..

**Bio248** · 06-18-2008

you need to get timing tables programmed into your pcm for the happy knob to work. id love to get one if i could find one.

**blowfishRus6** · 06-19-2008

ahhhh i see

**Ron Vogel** · 06-19-2008

I'm not trying to promote myself as an installer, but I charge $50 more for a pacesetter install than any other header for a reason.

The layout on the PS design is good, but nothing fits without modding it. You have to grind out the EGR tubes, mat have to dent up the tunnel, reroute the starter cable, yada yadda.

If you don't weld the crossover to the y-pipe they will leak. The supplied clamps are garbage, but the stockers can be reused. The downpipe to intermediate pipe is a little too short, so unless you are willing to fab something; nothing other than a bullet converter will fit. That means rear 02 codes will pop up.

IMHO the primaries are too big too. I'm not trying to bash them, but unless you can do a lot of the work yourself, or have an in with a local installer that can do the job right inexpensively look elsewhere.

I personally think that the S&S are the best choice for you. They install the easiest, and the smaller primary size will enhance the low and mid throtle TQ for street duty.

All the headers for the 3800 have their quirks, but I've installed many sets of all brands, and the S&S are the best fit/least problematic.

**Trannyman95** · 06-19-2008

and the smaller primary size will enhance the low and mid throtle TQ for street duty.

Very good point Ron, I definately side with this as the larger tube headers and heck even just a 3" downpipe with manifolds will lose low end torque at light throttle conditions IE driving around town in traffic which everyone likely does more than any other driving condtion. Larger tubes will help top end undoubtedley but you have to weigh gains to losses. You get what you pay for, I refuse to install Pacesetters because they are a very poor header. The holes in the flanges for the exhaust ports arent even lined up to the heads properly!!! This problem is somewhat hidden because of the large tube diameter but the problem is still there. Even the coated headers arent the nicest coating and will still rust out pretty quick. Like I tell anyone else, you can always save longer and buy something that isnt garbage.

**ryangtp89** · 06-19-2008

Well will getting headers improve my 1/4 time ??

**DWosik13** · 06-19-2008

so it looks like the s&s dont come with a down pipe

**blowfishRus6** · 06-19-2008

in a 1/4 mile how much of a differece do you think you could see between pacesetters and s&s on a modertly moded gtp??? is the overall power gains that much better with the s&s??

**Trannyman95** · 06-20-2008

In the quarter mile you will certainly see a gain over manifolds with any header because WOT power will be your primary gain. The difference between Pacesetters or even the TOG Extreme headers which both have 1 3/4" primarys over a 1 5/8" primary tube header will likely be very small, especially on cars that dont need them. If you had an intercooler, 2.6 pulley, maxed out heads and large cam then you will likely see a small difference. Otherwise unless someone who HAS done back to back comparison at the track with the two different headers in the exact same weather and track conditions with no other changes on the car with timeslips I really doubt you will notice the differences other than higher quality between them