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HEADERS, HOW MUCH TO SPEND??

yellow04nfe

Full Member
Joined
Oct 1, 2016
Messages
28
Location
central PA
Although on my upgrade list, wasn't gonna do any hotroding this summer cause, well, life is in the way of my fun right now. But, the avalanche has a bad rattling cat. I sure as heck am not gonna put a stock replacement on, so... Shopping for a long tube/converter setup. Would I like a set of Kooks? Um yea! Do I wanna put out 1300+ right now? No. So I'm looking for feedback from those of you that have done it not necessarily cheap, but at a lower cost. What brands have you guys used, and how are they holding up? Other reason I'm looking cheaper is because, after doing a ton of research, I'm leaning towards a turbo setup down the road. But down the road could turn into 3-4 years...
 
First thing you might want to double check is the sound coming from the area of your cats...Years ago there are several threads of people fearing the worst about their cats and it ended up being the heat shields coming loose and sounding like a popcorn popper. Once the shields were secured the sound was cured and no problems with the cats. Are you getting and codes from your O2 sensors?

I know what you mean about life getting in the way of fun plans. I know it's a sign of my old age but I question my own plans of performance or any other mods on an older vehicle. If the vehicle means a lot emotionally and you plan to keep it a long time and maybe even pass it on down to next generation family then it could be worth the expense but otherwise it's financially foolish to dump money into a constantly aging and depreciating vehicle. It could be a never ending story of maintenance, assuming you are talking about a 2004 AV in your name it will be 16 to 17 years old by your timetable and in need of rust removal and repairs, also how many miles will it have on it by then? Will a drive-line of that age and mileage handle the power of a turbo etc? Then many people who upgrade power-train will also upgrade brakes and suspension. (you can upgrade first generation AV brakes to second generation but have to use 17" or larger rims. FYI.) What exhaust system do you have to match the headers and new cats?
You have stated you have done lots of research so I assume you have studied the pros and cons of long tube vs. short tube headers especially in relation to your states inspection laws as well as turbo vs. supercharger differences for a 6,000 lb. truck and have made you plans based on your needs.
You can improve the power and performance of an Av but have said for years that an AV makes for a poor starting point for a performance vehicle. It is a 6,000 lb. truck with the aerodynamics of a brick.
Sorry if I got off the subject of your question but I tend to examine things from all angles to try and make a sound decision on where money gets spent.
Hopefully someone who has done your mods can chime in soon to answer you directly.....

Good luck and safe travels in your AV......
 
One thing to think of, if "down the road" your going to go with a Turbo then the headers will go away and you will use a either the stock manifolds or ones that come with the turbo. You would be better off going with a supercharger unless you have great fabricating skills and/or plan on coming into a lot of money for the turbo set up to since not many, if any are "bolt on". 

If you go with the headers and cats you will probably spend more that $1,300 by the time you get done with the mufflers and tail pipes..

Also if you live in emissions required county then a turbo most likely will not pass a smog test since I know of no Turbo system that any "State legal". Most bolt on supercharger kits are 50 state legal as with the headers..


Good luck
 
Good points all of which I've considered. Emissions, no big deal, at least not in the foreseeable future. Whatever drivetrain I decide to go with I'm sure I'll always have something to put it in when one vehicle wears out, lol. The goal for the avalanche is be able to beat up on the hotrod diesel trucks in town. Of which there's probably only 2 or 3 really built ones. I figure about a 700hp or so turbo 6.0 (which many have done with a relatively stock long block) would be sufficient. I'm not gonna go bracket racing with it every weekend, but it would see the track once or twice a year. But like I said, all that is down the road. Gonna either buy, or start building, a house this year. And yea, a 6000lb truck may not be a good platform for a performance vehicle, but Ford started it (can't believe almost 20 years ago already!) with the lightning, lol! Too bad it took Chevy so long to get in the game. And, correct me if I'm wrong, but pretty sure the Farmtruck has brought a lot of newcomers into the hotrod truck world.
 
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