Headers

[6SENSE]

Recently developed leak in my passenger header. Started out with louder sound from turbo which actually sounds kind of cool, but then came the ticking and tapping from the header, and the gradual loss of power (especially top end).
Ive had them ported and welded in the past, and since the crack looks like it is in a new place (not where it was welded before) I was probably just going to have it fixed.
Anyway, I was thinking should I just do that or should I look into a aftermarket set of headers? I am going to go with a bigger turbo soon, so I want the exhaust tight. I know Poston makes some good headers and I know ATR has some. What do you guys think? Is there a noticeable difference with these headers, any problems out of them? I heard some of you complaining about the fit of the ATRs. Is it really worth it?
Thanks, Justin.

 

[Brent]

Headers will hurt some peoples perfromance. But with your mods I dont think it will hurt. I also dont think it will help much either. my suggestion for a header would be kenny bell bu it may interfere with your downpipe. but hey have them also. atrs design is close to k.b.'s. I am not familliar with postons design if its any thing like hookers dont use it hookers design sucks to much lag. Final advise "if you hav he money get the headers just to fix the leak. no real perforamce to be had yet. but they will help with future mods."

 

[TurboRegal84]

I have had Poston's Headers on my car for a while now, and they look like they are holding up...unlike the 86/87's the Hot-Air cars pick up alot of "get up and go" when you put on Headers (that don't leak) and a good DP....at the track when I went with my 3" DP, and my Poston headers It dropped my time .8 in the 1/4!!!!

The Poston headers work off the stock design, but they are ported and the tubes help flow better then the stockers....if you want to up grade IMO it is worth buying them! The Ceramic Coating is still looking good after 4,000 miles of driving!

 

[b4black]

Originally posted by TurboRegal84
at the track when I went with my 3" DP, and my Poston headers It dropped my time .8 in the 1/4!!!!

I keep hearing that 84/85 TR's respond well to headers, while 86/87 TR's don't. But I also notice that whenever an 84/85 owners changes to headers they change the DP at the same time. I am willing to bet that most (all) of the improvement is from the larger DP. 84/85 and 86/87's headers look very similar to me (isn't the only difference the angle of the PS outlet?).

 

[Rob_85Ttype]

I have both the '84-'85 and the '86-'87 passenger's header in front of me. The '84-'85 header is more restrictive looking than the later header. The primaries on both the headers appear to be the same, but the "log" portion of the header is smaller on the '84-'85, and there are several kinks in the log to clearance certain components. I believe this is the restrictive link in the '84-'85 headers, as the driver's header and crossover is identical for the years in question. From what I've seen, the headers from Poston's, ATR, and Kenne Bell are great upgrades from the stock '84-'85 units.

 

[TurboRegal84]

Rich.......

On almost ALL of the 84/85 Headers that I have seen there is a pretty large "dent" on the part of the header that curves up to meet the up pipe..this is a big restriction...also all (from what I have seen) 84/85 headers Crack at the weld where the Passenger side header turns up to meet the inlet pipe.

I didn't feel like messing around with welding because that passenger side is just horrible to work on..so I went the "new Header" route!

HTH!

 

[Lee Thompson]

84-85 headers

The biggest restriction on 84-85 headers is on the passenger side header. It looks as if whoever were making the headers had very low quality control. Look inside the manifold and you can see that the primary tubes are mismatched to the predrilled holes in the main runner. I have seen some that are off 1/2 of the hole. You can go through the underside and remove material that is blocking the flow, then weld the hole back up.

 

[b4black]

OK, this makes more sense. I know exactly the "mismatch" Lee is talking about. (I have the same "Hot Air" headers on my cars).

So just replacing the weakest links, the DP and the PS header, would make more sense than buying complete kits from ATR or whoever. The DS header, crossover and up-pipe are probably not worth changing from a "bang-for-buck" point of view.

Do ATR, KB and Postons PS headers fit the stock crossover and up-pipe?



Thanks!

 

[Brent]

To B4 black I cant answer but, for the kenny bell headers do not work with the stock crossover(they have some trick little "indy style" clamps), up-pipe( the location is moved about an inch), or down pipe( new down pipe snakes down through there) very happy with Quality. Price is a big turn off. definatly agree with the bang for your buck theiory

 

[6SENSE]

Went ahead and got the header off last night. I also noticed a rattling in the cat so I took it off too. Its a 3" ATR that I got with the single shot set up. Only has about 8000 miles on it and is broken up inside!
Anyway, Ive got the PS header, DP, Up pipe, and Cat in front of me. Up pipe is ATR and is fine. The cat....well I guess all I can do is gut it now!? (what a waste; wanted performance and a working cat, and now I wind up gutting it like I would the stock one!).
The 3" DP has a large dent in it from the a-arm! I guess I cant do anything about that.
The header does have a crack in one place (not a gaping hole, maybe 3/4"-1" long). The rest of the work that had been done to it before looks to be holding up well.
Not sure what to do.
Price for ATRs PS header is almost as much as getting both from Poston. Do I just go ahead and weld up the header and spend the money towards a turbo? Not sure if Poston will just sell one header, they advertise as a set.

P.S. how much of the problem I was having do you guys think was from the cat? There were two chunks rolling around on the engine side of the cat. Thanks.

 

[RSTTYPE85]

b4black

I am one who agrees that the downpipe and the passenger side header are "the restrictions". I did just replace the downpipe and passenger side header with ATRs products. There was a HUGE difference in spooling and top-end. No problem with stock cross-over pipe.

 

[Brent]

Your cat should not have had any thing to do with the header cracking. Unless it was plugged and I dought that. They just crack from the expantion and contraction from the heat. Not much you can do about it.

Sorry

 

[HOTNHVY]

I have the Postons. They are nice . But, I liked the way the KB headers are designed, and if i had seen those first, I would've bought'em. I think cool84 has the KB headers, they cost more but eliminate the crossover pipe that you must buy seperately for the poston headers. Or am I wrong?