Kooks or Pypes LT Headers

[Onelildude]

Is there any real difference between the two that would make you go with one over the other? Pypes are cheaper, but are they made with cheaper material? Are Kooks worth the extra money, and do they give you any extra power for the cost?

It's for my 2010 GT, but i'll entertain everyone's opinions (S197/S550)

 

[06JET]

First question- Guaranteed fit and Reputation is why I went with Kooks. But I'm sure the Pypes fit OK and look good also.
Second question- Not sure but if both are stainless I'm sure they will out last your use of them.
Last question- I think they are worth the extra money especially if you consider the cats too, but I don't think you will see any more HP gains from them unless you are at max power/flow levels for your motor/heads.
For me it came down to brand and confidence that they would fit perfect after I went thru the effort to install them.

 

[Speedboosted]

I bought Pypes, then used the money I saved compared to Kooks to have them ceramic coated. Fitment was great, the only thing I don't like about them are the ball & socket style connectors to the midpipe which I can't get to stop leaking.

 

[Onelildude]

Pypes are literally the same as Kooks without the price tag. I do like that Kooks has a few different options for the mid pipe. Speedboosted would you buy Kooks if you had to do it again?

 

[ghunt81]

I went middle of the road and got stainless jba's.

 

[Pentalab]

I bought JBA titanium Ceramic coated LT's and mating JBA hi-flow catted H for my 2010 auto.
1 5/8" primaries, and 2.5" collector. You can also get the same LT's with a 3" collector..and also a 3" mating mid section. I used the 2.5" option, then it's all plug and play..since the oem tubing is retained from aft end of midsection..to over top the axle, then the muffler. . They come in catted or un catted H... and ditto for the X. The ceramic coating works superb. Dropped eng bay temps by 40 deg F. Part of that effect is from the ceramic coating..and part is from the hi-flow cats now residing below the front seats vs the oem cats at base of eng bay. B4 the LT install, my black steeda STB ran stupid hot to the touch, now it's barely warm.

I have a small M90 on mine, and the LT's were one of the best mods I have done to date. Take it out for a romp, with blower on 2 blocks from home, come into driveway, and within 1 min I can push down hard on any of the 8 x primaries with my fingers..and not get burnt. I believe part of the overall effectiveness of ceramic coated LT's is... the internal temps are much higher. The theory is the hotter the internal exhaust gases are, the faster they flow. The H section is a full 2.5" diam... unlike the 08-09 bullitt cars..that had a disc inside the H section, with a puny 3/8" hole dead centered in the disc.

Even without getting into boost, it pulls a lot harder than oem exhaust setup. The oem collector on the end of the oem exhaust manifold is just 2". Going from 2" to 2.5" is a 56% increase in cross sectional surface area alone..which is a bunch.

AFAIK, both Pypes + Kooks use the same 304 SS. Both are shorter than my JBA's, but pypes / kooks provide for more hp at top end. The JBA's provide more tq at the lower and mid range rpms..and still plenty at top end. It's a trade off, depending on application. You can shift the tq curve higher or lower by shortening / lengthening the overall length of the LT's. For street use, I wanted them longer.
It still pulls good and hard, right up to the rev limiter.

 

[EBABlacknChrome]

Damn that's a hell of a write up Pentalab. I wanted jba' s at first but went with pypes LT. They were shiny vs the Kooks and half the cost. I got mine with the OR H but now have a catted Kooks I want to put knock the sound of my side pipes down a bit and exhaust smell. Now I feel like I want the jba' s for the low end torque.

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[BlueDevil]

I bought Pypes, then used the money I saved compared to Kooks to have them ceramic coated. Fitment was great, the only thing I don't like about them are the ball & socket style connectors to the midpipe which I can't get to stop leaking.

This. I'm planning on cutting off the ball and socket flanges and welding in v-bands.

 

[Pentalab]

The titanium ceramic finish on the JBA's is battleship grey. They also make em in silver ceramic. The titanium ceramic is rated for another 150 F higher. But the JBA's don't use 304 SS. They use I think, 406 SS. They were not cheap, even several years ago. But I managed to get a deal on 2 identical pairs of them, one for myself, and the 2nd pair for a local buddy with his 2008 NA. Zero corrosion anywhere after 5 years.

 

[ghunt81]

The titanium ceramic finish on the JBA's is battleship grey. They also make em in silver ceramic. The titanium ceramic is rated for another 150 F higher. But the JBA's don't use 304 SS. They use I think, 406 SS. They were not cheap, even several years ago. But I managed to get a deal on 2 identical pairs of them, one for myself, and the 2nd pair for a local buddy with his 2008 NA. Zero corrosion anywhere after 5 years.

JBA does make 304SS headers now. I know because I just put a set in my car. The regular ones are 409 stainless. I believe all of theirs are made from heavy duty 14 gauge tubing vs. 16 gauge for most others.

 

[o2sys]

Get the eBay copies of the Pypes and save even more money. I think you can get them for $80 now. I have a set and besides the one primary hitting the steering shaft when turning right all is good.

Now with the money saved you can get them coated or whatever you want.

Also from my experience, when it comes to certain parts not fitting well I think it has to do more with the tolerances of the car from factory and not necessarily the parts themselves.

When I got these headers I knew it was going to be a gamble but I wouldn't be upset because it was so cheap.

I've had parts costing way more and would get pissed of if they didn't fit or needed modifying in order to make it fit.


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[CammedS197]

Biggest difference I saw between the 2 are where the primary meets the flange. On the kooks it is welded on both ends where the red arrow is and on the back side and the pypes are only welded on the back side of the flange and not where the arrow is. Only thing I've seen and I've got the pypes and no fitment issues. Perfect fit and function and stainless steel. Work great for me.

 

[ghunt81]

Hm, on JBA's they're only welded on the inside of the tubes, not the outside. Probably because that's easier to do and cleaner looking.

 

[o2sys]

My Pypes copies are welded on the inside as well.

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[Onelildude]

Thanks for all of the info guys and i'll look at the JBA's, but i'm not too sure about the ebay specials. I'm sure they are fine for now, but you get what you pay for...

 

[ghunt81]

If you're interested at all in the JBA's, there's a place selling 304 stainless ones on ebay for $500 (seller's name is "exhaustseller" I think). Those are the ones I bought. I believe they still have 5 or 6 sets of them left.

Same seller has JBA shorty H pipes for a good price too.

 

[CammedS197]

Damn now y'all got me thinking I was hallucinating lol. I am not pulling them puppies off to double check but I'm pretty sure they wern't welded there lol.

 

[o2sys]

JBA fitment is crap in my own experience. The collectors are way to close to the frame rails and the primaries hit the k-member.

And their ceramic coating lasted about 6 months before it started flaking off.

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[ghunt81]

I've never had problems with my JBA's hitting anything, but I will admit their collector placement is weird. They are super close to the frame rails and I'm not sure why.

 

[Pentalab]

JBA fitment is crap in my own experience. The collectors are way to close to the frame rails and the primaries hit the k-member.

And their ceramic coating lasted about 6 months before it started flaking off.

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I bought my jba's 5 years ago, fitment was not an issue, but mine had 2.5" collectors. The 3" collector version might be an issue. Car has been on the lift several times, and zero rust anywhere, no flaking, when I inspected the pair. Last time it was on the lift was last sept. But that of course is a visual inspection of all outside surfaces only. I don't have a garage, just a double wide driveway, so car sits outside all year round..and plenty of rain.

The version I have is the Titanium ceramic coated types, which were more expensive than their 'silver ceramic' version. Both versions used 409 SS. Local buddy across town has the identical setup to mine, he installed his himself with no issues on his 2008, no rust, no flaking. No other JBA LT's here in town, and only a few folks with LT's, but using other brands.