Headers or iron manifolds?

[Greenacarina]

So, here are the headers I was considering.
I figure that nothing I do (other than stock) is going to "bolt up", so I fully expect to do some fabrication.

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[Orpedcrow]

Since you don’t need an EGR port, check out the Holley cast manifolds. Look really nice and have good reviews overall. If they made a set with an EGR port, I’d have them on mine.

 

[99xcss4]

I have used them the bolts are not the best but could be worse the gaskets are okay but you could get better. they do fit the factory y pipe and also should fit an after market one as well.

 

[kennythewelder]

I have a set of Summit Racing shorty headers on my 97, Silverado. Been on the trucks for years. A direct swap, for the OE exhaust manifolds. No fab work at all. Mine had the bung for the EGR hose.

 

[99xcss4]

Since you don’t need an EGR port, check out the Holley cast manifolds. Look really nice and have good reviews overall. If they made a set with an EGR port, I’d have them on mine.

+1 on this they have both the log style and the ram horn style
note the holley log style are made better then the factory ones

 

[Schurkey]

Do the Holley manifolds have O2 ports? I didn't see O2 ports on the ones I looked at.

 

[99xcss4]

I do not know my 454 tbi has the o2 in the y pipe. did all 305 and 350 tbi engines (87-95) have the o2 in the manifold or did some get put in the y pipe like on my 454?

 

[Supercharged111]

Shorties on these trucks are supposed to help, tune or no. It's the LS engines that don't respond to shorties as well since their manifolds flow halfway decent. But a tune always helps regardless of the state of mods. If it were my money and I was between new iron manifolds and shorties, I'd opt for the shorties. But I'd be after 1 5/8" primaries and either a 2.25" or 2.5" collector. This would likely drive the need for an upgraded y pipe to get the most out of the bigger collectors.

 

[Road Trip]

I have no firsthand experience with the new Holley/Hooker cast iron exhaust manifolds,
but they are getting good reviews, are supposed to flow better than stock,
you can still get to the plugs, and they have nice lines/easy on the eyes:

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Me? If I can't have a set of no-nonsense long-tube Tri-Y headers connected
to a quiet(er) high flow exhaust, I'll skip the shorties and go right for these
new performance-oriented cast iron manifolds. (I'll take the titanium-colored
ceramic coating - see attached.)

EDIT: I may have been misled elsewhere. The attached photos may be natural,
but I'd want the ceramic coating for rust free long-term + less heat radiated into
the engine bay. So I'll take the black ceramic over the natural.)

I'm too old to put myself through the header aggravation if they aren't going
to deliver enough additional performance to outweigh the extra effort.
Especially when using a stock/near stock cam where the difference between
a higher flowing cast iron exhaust vs. a shorty header just won't be there.

 

[KansasOBS]

I hate cast iron manifolds with a passion. Heavy, hold the heat forever, expanding and breaking bolts, grinding knuckles on the rusty rough crap, usually rusty studs that don't want to come apart, or snap off. If I'm building something, it gets headers, always have always will.

Just my opinion, worth about as much as you paid for it.