anybody have any experience with the 100 dollarish headers that are running around all over ebay. I'm thinking that they don't look terrible, get them coated for cheap and they might be a deal. just looking for input
What might you expect for 100 bucks? If you notice, any known brands listed are much more expensive, only the no-namers are cheap and I would guess from off-shore. I know when I put on my JBA's, and the tight quarters I had to work in, I am glad they fit exactly right. Way too many hours spent to have them either not fit right, or leak at the flange ( at least for me ).
When these first came out, they were being offered from Turbo Kits, Turbo Manifolds, Import Performance Products, SSAutochrome Inc.. They were decent headers at an affordable price. Members who purchased them noticed that the flange had to be machined a bit to ensure a flat surface and no leaks. The main reason why they are cheap is that they are not CARB legal. For california drivers, this is a big issue. Unless, you don't mind swapping out to your stock headers come SMOG time. . Overall the ones from SS great. There have actually been a couple of members in the past that has dynoed their rigs with these and showed some increase.
Nowadays, there's a lot more knock-offs out there made by who knows. The only $100ish header I would ever purchase would be from SS Autochrome. Otherwise, JBA is the way I would go.
Not an expert and did not even sleep at a Holiday Inn last night but it has been my experience that you get what you pay for. From all the posts I have read here JBA's and Doug Thorleys are excellent headers. I think if you do a search on those you will find a wealth of experience that has been shared by the members here.
I would not feel comfortable or confident using a "where did it come from anyway" aftermarket piece on my truck. If these were made in China then I implore you to not buy them. Everything coming from China is full of lead and just plain junk. Those headers may run fine for awhile but is it worth the headache if they fail in a year or two?
Your truck is worth the investment of top quality equipment.
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Highwaylizard 2004 Tundra Double Cab Limited Edition 4.7 liter V8, four speed automatic, four wheel drive, testing platform for fuel economy, self designed cold air intake using ram air principle, Fitch Fuel Catalyst, Aero Turbine, "Foolie Exhaust" from Aero Turbine back, True Flow Intake with True Flow foam filter, Mobile 1 in the engine, K&N oil filter, Royal Purple in the differentials. 3:91 gears in the front (Thanks Cajuntundra!) and rear (Thanks Nytrousboy!) differentials, Toyo H/T Open Country tires. testis amotio per pera
just curious, i've seen alot of engineered pieces be copied by asian companies with excellent results. headers aren't exactly rocket science to put together...heck hedman sells kits you have to weld together yourself. since patent laws aren't exactly enforced over there i figured maybe there's a bargin to be had... not top self, but you can buy a lexus with out the leather and nav....it's a camry and its half price you know what i mean
just curious, i've seen alot of engineered pieces be copied by asian companies with excellent results. headers aren't exactly rocket science to put together...heck hedman sells kits you have to weld together yourself. since patent laws aren't exactly enforced over there i figured maybe there's a bargin to be had... not top self, but you can buy a lexus with out the leather and nav....it's a camry and its half price you know what i mean
Yes, the Chinese do copy a lot of what they see but it is no guarantee that their copies take into consideration all the nuances of any particular application. Just because I have seen a header by JBA or have a header to reverse engineer from does not mean I can make a decent copy of it. There are more factors that go into the production of a part than I can list. Steel type, carbon level, metal thickness, production methods, forming method, heat treating method, quality control on the production line, etc...
The point being that manufacturers like JBA and Thorely have an immense amount of empirical experience when it comes to the products they offer for sale. Like I said before, you may save some money with some cheap (in every sense of the word) knock-offs from China but is it worth it?
Your point about the Chinese ignoring patent rights and protections is a poignant one. I know one man personally who is constantly fighting to keep the Chinese from manufacturing and importing copies of his protected machinery. It is a losing battle. The Chinese do not recognize the authority of American or international courts to enforce the patent protections. Customs cannot be paid to intercept the shipments even when all the identifying information is provided to them. Customs cannot devote time to one specific individual otherwise everyone will expect and demand preferential treatment.
Ultimately what happens is the person who decided to purchase a Chinese copy of the real thing finds that it does not work or fails prematurely. Unfortunately for the consumer who finds himself in this position there is no recourse. Chinese manufacturers do not respond to law suits or customer complaints. The consumer ends up with a useless piece of junk and is out of (in some cases) a lot of money.
Yet another consequence must be considered here. By sending your money to China for a piece of junk you are impacting the state of our own economy. It would be a different argument if the Chinese product was better than the American made product. This is not the "don't buy Japanese because they are junk" argument of the seventies. The Japanese have demonstrated an excellent track record. On the other side of the coin, the Chinese have also demonstrated their record. Lead paint on children's toys, complete disregard for protected patent status, inferior products across the board.
The choice is yours, but I find it strange that having spent your hard earned money on an excellent truck you would consider putting anything less than tried and true on your truck. Somewhat akin to casting pearls among swine.
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Highwaylizard 2004 Tundra Double Cab Limited Edition 4.7 liter V8, four speed automatic, four wheel drive, testing platform for fuel economy, self designed cold air intake using ram air principle, Fitch Fuel Catalyst, Aero Turbine, "Foolie Exhaust" from Aero Turbine back, True Flow Intake with True Flow foam filter, Mobile 1 in the engine, K&N oil filter, Royal Purple in the differentials. 3:91 gears in the front (Thanks Cajuntundra!) and rear (Thanks Nytrousboy!) differentials, Toyo H/T Open Country tires. testis amotio per pera
There seemed to be a spike in header prices a couple years ago, which has now regressed noticeably. I believe in supporting domestic manufacturing, but charging nearly $1000 for a set of thin walled steel tubes is a bit much IMO. I once bought a set of cheaper headers called "Flowtech" for a small block Chev application. They did need a little trimming to enlarge some bolt holes, but beyond this they fit and performed well. Still, only a hundred dollars is well into the "too good to be true" category and I would not try them.
I have the headers from Boost Brothers. I tested their first set. The quality is very good. Thick stainless flanges and heavy construction. I did have to tweak them a little during installation but it took maybe 10 extra minutes. That was fine with me, they were prototypes. No extra drilling or anything, just some gentle bending was needed. I documented all the issues and they have been corrected. So far they have been great. I did blow out a stud/nut from the driver side but that wasn't the fault of the header. A little Loc-Tite and all is good. They are turning a beautiful blue color fron the heat as well. Boost Brothers also bought my stock manifolds afterwards for further research and fitment correction. They are just coming to the market for sale.
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08 DCB 5.7-Dual Powersticks-K&N FIPK-Boost Brothers Headers-Moto Metal 951's (black)-Dominator II Steps-Tint-BakFlip-EGR In Channels-Sirius-Black HL Mod-Invisible Bra
According to the listing they are using 304 stainless. This is a higher grade than the 409 that JBA's use. What concerns me is the high prices charged by name brands that use inferior grades of metal (lower stainless grades, mild steel, etc). It seems the consumer ends up paying more for marketing and advertising than the actual product. I may give these headers a try and will report back of my findings.
T-409 is an automotive grade stainless for exhaust systems. T-304 ( used to be called 18-8) is a higher grade and is very popular. Either should give good service life. The consideration with no-name replica headers is that they conform to the actual designed headers in fit and performance. Having a fancy looking product that either has fit issues or is only a close copy may not pan out to be worth the trouble. After having spent numerous hours putting on my JBA's and dealing with the tight working quarters, I am very glad eveything fit properly the first time.
If you have plenty of time (in case there are fit issues), the $100 isn't too big a pill to swallow.
I have the headers from Boost Brothers. I tested their first set. The quality is very good. Thick stainless flanges and heavy construction. I did have to tweak them a little during installation but it took maybe 10 extra minutes. That was fine with me, they were prototypes. No extra drilling or anything, just some gentle bending was needed. I documented all the issues and they have been corrected. So far they have been great. I did blow out a stud/nut from the driver side but that wasn't the fault of the header. A little Loc-Tite and all is good. They are turning a beautiful blue color fron the heat as well. Boost Brothers also bought my stock manifolds afterwards for further research and fitment correction. They are just coming to the market for sale.
Hey Jimmy, thanks taking the time to do the test fit and dyno pulls for us. We were very pleased with the dyno sheets and your reports of increased power and better sound. We did make the modifications to incorporate your suggested changes and also are using yoru stock manifolds as our test jig - we built a test station to ensure they fit just like stock. We have them installed on other Tundras now as well and are getting great fitment.
Our new manifolds are not polished, they are mill finish and they look, fit and sound great. We are offering them on ebay at no reserver / $1 start auction for a limited quantity of headers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Burger Steak & Eggs
I wonder what grade of stainless they are using, plus the size of the primary tubes and collectors.
We're using 300 series stainless, when we TIG weld them together we back purge so the welds are good qualtiy inside and out. We use an excellent quality ceramic coating (CeraKote) that is very similar to JetHot and is durable (both against chips/scratches and temps) like JetHot.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tundrafly
According to the listing they are using 304 stainless. This is a higher grade than the 409 that JBA's use. What concerns me is the high prices charged by name brands that use inferior grades of metal (lower stainless grades, mild steel, etc). It seems the consumer ends up paying more for marketing and advertising than the actual product. I may give these headers a try and will report back of my findings.
Please try a set out and let us know how you like them. We take all customer suggestions and can make changes to the product very fast, I can also do custom mods for your specific application.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hi Volt
T-409 is an automotive grade stainless for exhaust systems. T-304 ( used to be called 18-8) is a higher grade and is very popular. Either should give good service life. The consideration with no-name replica headers is that they conform to the actual designed headers in fit and performance. Having a fancy looking product that either has fit issues or is only a close copy may not pan out to be worth the trouble. After having spent numerous hours putting on my JBA's and dealing with the tight working quarters, I am very glad eveything fit properly the first time.
If you have plenty of time (in case there are fit issues), the $100 isn't too big a pill to swallow.
I think if you try ours you will like them. We offer a money back guarantee - if you get them, look at them and don't like them, put them back in the box and ship them back for a full refund. The headers come with a one year warranty.
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08 DCB 5.7-Dual Powersticks-K&N FIPK-Boost Brothers Headers-Moto Metal 951's (black)-Dominator II Steps-Tint-BakFlip-EGR In Channels-Sirius-Black HL Mod-Invisible Bra
ebay headers
. Overall the ones from SS great. There have actually been a couple of members in the past that has dynoed their rigs with these and showed some increase.
testis amotio per pera 
We take all customer suggestions and can make changes to the product very fast, I can also do custom mods for your specific application.
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