just got Crawford headers... I hate to say it, but the welds are far less than stellar

Anyone else with Crawford have issue with quality of welds?

Also, where the tubes merge (in the collector) there is significant overlap (one tube ending longer) - I'm hoping this is by design and not from haste.

This is not to say that I don’t recommend these headers... The reason I went with Crawford is they are the longest I could find that still allow for the use of cats... Next to true long tube headers, I don’t know of any others that are as long as Crawford... I'll know if a couple of weeks whether the gains outweigh the craftsmanship.

 

PICS!

 

if I have time I'll take some this weekend... pre dyno tomorrow then install with cams Monday... I'm not sure I'll have time for pics.

I explained it pretty clear though... if anyone else has Crawford headers with same issue they will know when I'm referring to.

 

no pics = FAIL

 

my post is asking if others that have Crawford have the same concerns... I don’t see how not posting pics to get those response = fail

If you don’t have Crawford, I guess you don’t have the answer.

This isn’t to bash Crawford... just an inquiry to see of others that have the same concerns.

There may not be time to take pics – a lot of bouncing car from one place to another without a lot of time.

 

What do you mean by "Crawford are the longest headers I can find"?

Every header for the Z has to be the same length otherwise they would not fit between the cats or the motor. If Crawfords are "longer" than OEM manifolds, than how the hell do these fit?

 

very, very, very snug... that’s why you always read/hear about what a b!tch they are to install... I'm referring to the length of the tubes themselves (not the length from exhaust manifold to cat... the tubes are longer than most and intertwined tighter than most (if not all)... that’s why they are referred to as spaghetti tubes.

Take a look at pictures of various headers. You'll see what I mean.

 

Crawfords are the only short yet equal length header available. IIRC
I had the crawfords briefly and yes, the welds were far from great. However, I don't think I ever saw anybody complain about leaks except for the area where the steering column may contact the header.

 

Thanks for confirming it’s not just mine… I don’t remember hearing about bad welds before, but at least I’m not the only one… I realize Doug is a small garage-type shop… I just hope the “research and testing” is viable – I have his HFC and have been very pleased… I suspect these headers will perform better than they look (they don’t look horrible, just a bit raw).

Stillen are equal length as well and they are mandrel bent... I seriously considered Stillen and hope I don’t regret... however, I paid considerable attention to tube length and Crawford look to be longer. I asked Doug specifically if his are longer and he confirmed "yes".

Both are definitely longer than Strups, DC and Nismo.

I don’t suspect they will crack or leak (*knocks wood – literally)… if this was a show car, these would not be installed… considering I’m looking for performance and my car is aesthetically modded for subtle uniqueness (not really bling factor) – I think/hope these will meet my needs.

 

Finally got them huh? get a coating .

https://my350z.com/forum/intake-exha...t-coating.html

Edit: i posted few threads on ur 'cams' thread, check that out.

 

thanks for your post and the leg-work... yes, I got them Jet Hot coated... some of the posts you linked are really old - in fact, I asked Doug about the $980 price because I found an old Crawford site cached from Google... WOW have prices gone up

As for "finally" getting them... well - the way my car projects go this one has been pretty fast! I made a decision, had enough pre-researched knowledge and was done with cosmetic stuff for a while... so I lined everyone up that needs to be involved and made it happen.

Honestly, the headers were the only ones lagging... I don’t mind though. When I placed the order I was told by Doug that he was "waiting for tubing to make more" (I'll hold back my thoughts)... four days later I received a call saying the headers were done and out to coating... 2.5 weeks later I got 'em.

Tomorrow (which is 4 days after receiving headers) I will baseline dyno… Monday starts install.

I love performance mods!!!! Once the decision is made, they are soooo to the point! I’ve spent months on cosmetic **** that most people don’t even notice!

 

for those that were interested in pics, I didn’t have time to take any before taking the car in for install - but I did take a few of them on the motor (out of the car) and was able to get a tight shot in the collector and close ups of some of the welds to illustrate what I was referring to... I'll post them up over the weekend.

 

Alphawerks and SFR were equal length too.

OP,

Are the welds better or worse than the welds on these SFR headers?

 

I would need to see them up close - but from that pic, those look pretty good.

Edit - I didnt scroll down enough... those are WAY better!

Edit again: but the Crawford tubes are much longer.

 

Nismo, DC Sports, and Strup are equal length too...

 

Stillen are equal length too... finding equal length headers is not difficult - most made for the G and Z are equal length... finding longer is the task.

 

Here's a couple of pictures of my Crawford headers. I thought the welding was fine on mine. I don't know if yours look better or worse. Mine are Jet Hot coated and have been on around a year... this was when they were new, of course.

 

^ wow I wouldn't say those welds look bad in the least bit.
Mine were not as pretty, but they were good enough

 

those are better then mine... maybe an aprentice welded mine up, or it was just a rushed job... do you have pics inside the collector?... I'm curious to know if all the Crawfords look like mine (I'll post pics this weekend).

 

I have other pictures, but none down in the collectors... Sorry.