Is there such a thing as "quiet" headers?

[Joe 1320]

I drove the T/A to work today.... radio was off, windows closed with the a/c on. It dawned on me how much I miss the underhood quiet of production exhaust manifolds. Don't get me wrong, I like the WOT sounds out of the tailpipe. The "ting" that headers produce from each combustion event has always bugged me a bit when running though a closed exhaust system. Open headers at the track is one thing. At cruise with very low throttle inputs, headers are quiet enough..... it's just with any fair amount of throttle you get the "ting". No it's not an exhaust leak, you guys with headers know what I'm talking about. Is there such a thing as a "quiet" header? I would rather listen to mechanical music than the radio, so let's not suggest ways to simply mask it with a louder radio or open cutouts.

[wolfdogs]

i would imagine if you wrapped enough header tape around them the would quiet down...

then you could spill oil on the tape and catch your car on fire like Tom Byrne did..............

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

Just yesterday I saw a mid 90's stock TA (nicely taken care of) and I couldn't hear the exhaust at all. I thought - "I don't remember when my car was ever that quiet!" On a quiet car, though, the squeaks & rattles drive you crazy.

[Rhode Island Red]

The quietest system with LT's I've ever seen in person, the owner had a front-mount turbo (LS1), and used custom LT's to the Turbo's piping. Car made 450RWHP and was one of the quietest cars (at idle, and at any RPM) that I've ever seen. In matter of fact during the guys dyno session the tires in contact withthe roller over-power the sound of the exhaust... the exhaust just didn't have ANY sound The only thing that would give it away would be the blow off valve, it was quite a sleeper. I guess the turbo has a noise-cancelling effect

The quietest traditional setup I know of is with LT's through an OEM exhaust after the y-pipe. But that may not fully get rid of that "ting" and I doublt LT manufactures advertise how quiet their product is.

[Joe 1320]

I guess the turbo has a noise-cancelling effect

The quietest traditional setup I know of is with LT's through an OEM exhaust after the y-pipe. But that may not fully get rid of that "ting" and I doublt LT manufactures advertise how quiet their product is.

Yes, Turbos have a good muffling effect.

If the primary header tubes were as thick as stock manifolds, there wouldn't be an issue. It is surely related to the ability of the metal to dampen the sound as it exits the head.

[DeWynter]

Yes, Turbos have a good muffling effect.

If the primary header tubes were as thick as stock manifolds, there wouldn't be an issue. It is surely related to the ability of the metal to dampen the sound as it exits the head.

I was going to say that thicker headers like the extream duty ones from hedman might do the job.

[95z28]

to me my car seems suprisingly quiet inside the car for longtubes and a loudmouth, altho then the ocasional overpass action brings me back to reality.

[Injuneer]

When the LT1's first came out in the F-Body, Sanderson made a cast header for them.... don't think I actually ever saw one, but I do remember the advertisements, and a couple of the F-Body parts shops sold them. They would have been a bit quieter than the metallic tubing. Maybe you could find a used set.

http://www.sandersonheaders.com/ultimateheaders.htm



They didn't look like the picture.... they were "upswept" above the valve covers, with the outlet at the end back by the cowl.

[Al 96 Ram Air T/A]

I think I have what you are referring to as the "quiet header". I was fortunate enough to pick up a brand new set of LT4 stainless mainifolds from SLP. While they look identical to the LT1 castings, the LT4 castings were stainless (I believe 409 as they do rust a bit) and "opened up" a bit over the LT1 units. Some "folklore" states they were extrude honed, but I don't believe this to be the case. I ported mine to take advantage of the increased flow of the castings. I didn't want to deal with the hassle of underhood heat, packaging, fitment, etc. associated with traditional headers. While I may be giving up 5 - 10 hp over a good set of headers, especially long tubes, I like the stock "sleeper" look and the quiet underhood properties of the LT4 manifolds. If you're lucky, they do appear occassionally on e-bay, but prices are usually astronomical as there are very few out there.(seen them go for $450.00) If prices continue to escalate, I may sell mine for a good set of ceramic coated headers...some day. Or, I may have mine ceramic coated if I choose to go the LT4 conversion way, like I've been planning. While I'll never have the most horsepower, I kind of like having a unique ride.

[Joe 1320]

When the LT1's first came out in the F-Body, Sanderson made a cast header for them.... don't think I actually ever saw one, but I do remember the advertisements, and a couple of the F-Body parts shops sold them. They would have been a bit quieter than the metallic tubing. Maybe you could find a used set.

They didn't look like the picture.... they were "upswept" above the valve covers, with the outlet at the end back by the cowl.

Thanks Fred! you da man! That's exactly the idea I was thinking about. The old Brudzinski manifolds are what inspired me to see what is available. I wonder how well these really work...... no doubt they would quiet down the underhood noises. The only downside is I about choked when I saw the price.......


http://www.sandersonheaders.com/page...num/qp1100.htm

[DeWynter]

When the LT1's first came out in the F-Body, Sanderson made a cast header for them.... don't think I actually ever saw one, but I do remember the advertisements, and a couple of the F-Body parts shops sold them. They would have been a bit quieter than the metallic tubing. Maybe you could find a used set.

http://www.sandersonheaders.com/ultimateheaders.htm



They didn't look like the picture.... they were "upswept" above the valve covers, with the outlet at the end back by the cowl.

Are the little steps in the casting a type of anti reversion?

[Joe 1320]

Are the little steps in the casting a type of anti reversion?

Yes they are.

[DeWynter]

I wonder how much power one would gain from that, or if any at all. Ill have to play with engine analyzer pro 3, it has settings for that. Wonder how much anti reversion there would be in a set of manifolds like that. 10% ????

[Injuneer]

Its funny you should mention "quiet"..... as much as I like the rumble of my exhaust and the clatter of the solid roller camshaft, I sort of envy the people who can buy $100K+ luxury cars with 500+HP engines and have them as quiet and as streetable as a Mercedes limo. I was next to a Bentley GT a while back... I think they are rated at about 515HP, and the thing was dead quiet... you could not tell it had an engine running.

A couple of weeks ago I'm cruising a busy state highway in my Silverado.... I hear a screaming engine, and a C5 Z06 rolls by my.... huhhhhh? Well, it wasn't the dead silent Z06, is was a guy in a heavilly modified 350ZX trying to crawl up the Z06's exhaust pipes, harassing the crap out of the 'vette, in spite of the fact that the road was EXTREMELY crowded with Saturday shoppers. Finally the Z06 gets a clearing, and silently leaves the high winding and extremely noisy 350ZX in the dust.... and the guy still wouldn't give up, cutting in and out of heavy traffic to get another crack at the 'vette.

The "sleeper" approach had something to be said......

[Joe 1320]

The "sleeper" approach had something to be said......

Exactly why my GN is sooooo much fun. Through the mufflers all you hear is a quiet rumble, then the turbo starts to whistle like a jet engine at the same time the exhaust starts to quiet down. The car rocks back as the weight transfers and I'm gone. At full boogie you can still carry on a normal conversation with a passenger while whatever is next to you suddenly disappears in the rearview mirror. It's a more noisy with an open downpipe, but very civil compared to a cammed V8.