Most headers produce fairly respectable mid range power. Peak HP gain is a hit or miss with the VQ. I dont care what brand you choose, the only difference is the durability and popularity of the name. More money wont result in more hp with headers. More money will usually result in a better quality of metal and a piece of mind when thinking about the long haul.

 

I would highly recommend going with the Forcefed headers. These headers are priced very low, and if you look at the collectors, welds and overall quality, the surpass any others on the market. As for the gains most dyno results show 8 to 12 hp. Check them out. There are a few sponsors on here that are selling these headers.

 

While I agree that many people do not mix there mods well and can suffer power wise because of it, I'm not sure what you mean by "minimal". I'm here in Califonia as is the OP and there are mods that can increase my rwhp but are illegal here. I've been to dyno meets and have seen first hand other cars pull 10-15 more ponies than my legal Z. You can see my mods in my sig, and my best dyno runs. For a California street legal AT, I'm pretty happy with those numbers. I won't lie, I was hoping for 280 to the wheels, but c'est la guerre. The numbers that I see posted here by NA MT's that have mods are pulling around the same or even less than mine.

These are only dyno numbers and can often not translate to usable power if the driver is not up to par. Without actually building my engine, or sliding into the dark side with non c.a.r.b. approved mods, I've come to the end of my hp quest at 254 rwhp. I think that's actually pretty damn quick, but I also see that I spent an arm and at least half a leg for around 25 rwhp... so... there's the rub. I'm happy, but the question is, can you be happy with these numbers.

 

if you have the money why not. But if you are in a tight budget dont get it.

 

I would go with a plenum spacer and a pop charger before investing in headers. If you dont mind the noise, your next best bet is some test pipes.

(Here comes the rasp argument garbage...)

 

headers and hfc/tp's go together like peanut butter and jelly.

 

So would there be any noticeable gains with Nismo headers on my Z? I think that nismo's probably have to be the safest bet, especially since my other mods are nismo as well.

There are not any cons to doing this, are there?

I would probably go though the dealer with this mod, since I had my intake and exhaust dealer installed as well.

 

There has been mixed emotion about them. I honestly don't believe the short tube headers do much.

Take this idea for example: Some people say you need to get a reflash to extract the power out of headers. Some people say you could gain the same amount without the headers.


IDK I personally felt it was a rewarding install as I did it myself and enjoyed it. And yes, I would do it again.

 

Get a dyno after the install. Good chance you'll be running lean if you have end to end bolt-ons.

I think headers are worthwhile if you can do it for under $1000 installed. I haven't seen anything to show a real substantial gain between the midrange and high end price offerings and they're all of the fairly same build qaulity.

Getting them coated is what really makes the difference. I saw saw surface temp drops of over 150 deg between my OE manifolds and coated headers.

 

HFC's or TPs will make a more significant power increase than your best headers iff that says anything. The combination of the two is all for the better.

 

As I wrote earlier... you are in California. California has strict emissions guidelines. You need to check on the Nismo headers C.A.R.B. status, which at the time that I did mine was not pending or approved. The price on the Nismos was pretty exorbitant as well, plus the price of install at the dealer? That feels like 3 possible cons to me.

 

Not worth it on an NA Z unless it has cams IMO AND a tune.

03' Bolt-ons I was trapping 107mph so I know what works and doesnt to get these cars moving...

 

+1 on that.

No cams and no tune and they are wortless....

 

not for nothing, but you're wrong

That being said, as I've said many times over, I would not bother unless I was doing cams and had some form of programmable mgmt. as well.

 

Cams (parts and labor) on the VQ is pricey - right? Is it worth the money then?

 

So I should go for cams first? The thing is that I didn't want to mod my engine till my warranty is up, which is why I am trying to stick with bolt on's for now. Would cams negatively effect my warranty though?

It seems like if I do get headers though, than I should apparently have them coated somehow? Now how much extra would that cost...

Also whats with tunes? I am not quite familiar with tuning

 

yes , labor is a lot. Also, since you are doing that, there are other things you mine as well do so pricing goes up a lot. I think it's better just to buy a built engine and drop it in.

 

If you're gonna do cams, might as well do the head work too (porting, polishing, valves, springs, retainers, etc)... And if you're gonna do that, might as well do the lower end too (pistons, rings, rods, crank balancing, etc)... I guess you'd have a built engine after all that. :-)

 

They are not worth it. No change in exhaust note, well maybe 'slightly' louder, but nothing really noticable. On top of that, very little gains considering the labor involved. I did them when I was N/A, and even if you got the headers for free and all you had to do was do, or pay for, install, I still would not recommend them

 

and if you are going to do that, you might as well turbo it, and if you are going to do that, you might as well sleeve the block and build it, and if you are going to do that, might as well add some nitrous.....


does it ever stop??


how is your car erin??