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Kooks longtube headers into borla catback?

MaxRam2019

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Also , notice this wire was partly burnt off (the silver wrapped one), should I be concern of any other wires and mention it to the shop? It seem it got burnt and they ziptie it to the shock top bolt however didn't replace the heat wrap smh also what is this wire for?

The heat wrapped got burnt but wires seem fine. Should I have the shop wrap them again? Or is leaving them expose fine.
I think a little more heat wrap wouldn’t hurt, and it can be bought at auto parts stores fairly cheap. That’s what I plan to do when I install this Monday. Looking forward to the video man! I’ll post one of mine when it’s done to show the difference in the Borla Touring you have vs the Borla S-Type I have
 

Jack.

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I think a little more heat wrap wouldn’t hurt, and it can be bought at auto parts stores fairly cheap. That’s what I plan to do when I install this Monday. Looking forward to the video man! I’ll post one of mine when it’s done to show the difference in the Borla Touring you have vs the Borla S-Type I have

Heres what my touring + kooks sounds like, its a lot louder in person LOL and rumbly
 

MaxRam2019

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These headers kicked my butt today! Still not done. I have them on but not all of the bolts in. The dipstick bolt hole that uses OEM hardware per the underrated instructions isn’t going it for whatever reason. Still need to hook up the cats and mid pipe too. The two bolts that attached my Borla to my OEM mid pipe corroded and snapped. That was about a three hour delay getting the catback off and taking it to a shop to have them extracted. Talk about a nightmare of a job in the driveway one man deep. Good thing I was smart enough to park it so I can’t get my hellcat or Camaro out the garage like a dummy. Down to the bike this week for work. Turns out it’s raining tomorrow too. WAMP wamp…👎🏾
 

MaxRam2019

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How did you fix your clamp issue? I have all of it bolted on and like you, my band clamps at the catalytic converters are tightened all the way and there is still play like it’s loose and a serious exhaust leak. Did you weld them? I don’t want to do that. I was thinking of adding fiberglass exhaust wrap to seal the joint and hoping that the added girth of the wrap would make the clamps tighten all the way. I read several posts online where people added hi temp silicone and I definitely don’t want to do that. I see a big mess there, plus it wouldn’t solve the looseness of the kooks supplied band clamps. Kinda stumped on this one.
 

Jack.

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How did you fix your clamp issue? I have all of it bolted on and like you, my band clamps at the catalytic converters are tightened all the way and there is still play like it’s loose and a serious exhaust leak. Did you weld them? I don’t want to do that. I was thinking of adding fiberglass exhaust wrap to seal the joint and hoping that the added girth of the wrap would make the clamps tighten all the way. I read several posts online where people added hi temp silicone and I definitely don’t want to do that. I see a big mess there, plus it wouldn’t solve the looseness of the kooks supplied band clamps. Kinda stumped on this one.
My performance shop had to cut off the end of where the collector and the cats meet and they ended up weilding in a new piece that fits with a custom 3" clamp.

Kooks was no help amd kept blaming it on a bad batch of clamps but in reality the spec of their collector is off, must be something during the manufacturing process, which they refuse it was and wouldn't give exact spec when we was inquiring about it.
 

Jack.

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Also if you call them about it them about it they will offer new clamps that will work (they dont) it was a joke dealing with their tech support smh
 

MaxRam2019

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Yeah, I’m definitely not impressed with their attachment hardware. The welds on the headers are good and the green cats haven’t thrown any codes. Makes the truck pull a ton more in the midrange for sure and the Borland really sing up top!
 

theblet

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Did y’all lose alot of low end with the long tubes? Normally you sacrifice low end torque for upper rpm hp with long tubes
 

HSKR R/T

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Did y’all lose alot of low end with the long tubes? Normally you sacrifice low end torque for upper rpm hp with long tubes
Long tubes are actually better for torque. Just like your intake track, the longer the primary tube length the better the torque gains at lower RPMs. That is if the primary tubes are properly sized for your application
 

MaxRam2019

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I’ll reach out to them this week for sure. Day three of them installed, and now a check engine light. 👎🏾 Truck says no stored messages though so 🤷🏾‍♂️.
 

MaxRam2019

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Did y’all lose alot of low end with the long tubes? Normally you sacrifice low end torque for upper rpm hp with long tubes


No loss in power at all for me. Low end has a bit more oomph and mid and high rpm is much improved power wise. Just an install nightmare so far.
 

Jack.

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No loss in power at all for me. Low end has a bit more oomph and mid and high rpm is much improved power wise. Just an install nightmare so far.
Yeah I didn't lose any power either, out of curiosity Max, did you by chance trim any bolt? I recall my shop mentioning they had to trim a bolt on each side (I believe they mention towards the front) I'm not sure 100% why but I just though I'd ask. I also know they couldn't clip on 2 of the clips on each side either cuz kooks hardware sucks, I did order new bolts and gasket just incase recently.
 

MaxRam2019

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Yeah I didn't lose any power either, out of curiosity Max, did you by chance trim any bolt? I recall my shop mentioning they had to trim a bolt on each side (I believe they mention towards the front) I'm not sure 100% why but I just though I'd ask. I also know they couldn't clip on 2 of the clips on each side either cuz kooks hardware sucks, I did order new bolts and gasket just incase recently.
Didn’t have to trim any bolts on my install. I used the stage 8’s they sent but I left the clips off. My biggest issue is a few leaks in the system from these terrible clamps they sent. I’m going to swap them all for better ones
 

MaxRam2019

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I have kooks headers and a borla cat back truck runs great
Did you ever get a check engine light? I paid the extra cash to get these green cats that “don’t require a tune” allegedly and here I am with a light on. 👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾 Not impressed with Kooks at all.
 

Ready Go

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I can guarantee you from personal experience, you will only be able to get 5 or 6 Stage 8 clips on..that's just always the case..but they're just really added insurance and not necessary.
DiabloSport will tell you that you can run LTs on a factory tune, but it may run a bit lean..a truck isn't a race car, so a perfect tune isn't critical.
All headers mostly improve horsepower, not necessarily torque, and they push the powerband higher up the rpm band..also, not great for a heavy, lower rpm truck.
BUT..the 5.7 Hemi quite possibly has THE WORST exhaust manifolds EVER..so LTs will definitely make the Hemi breathe and rev better!
I've had Kooks, American, Dynatech in the past. Kooks have issues with collector/ midpipe hookups. Dynatechs are very well fitting.
I plan on adding LTs to my G/T exhaust at some point..but may swap the G/T for the Mopar (Borla) catback.
If you don't have access to a tuner, call HHP (High Horse Performance) and get a DiabloSport tuner and a "custom" tune from them. They will have you send them a datalog (very easily obtained) once you do the ECM swap and tuner install. They'll read your data and be able to optimize your fuel curves, ignition curves, etc, etc..It will help a bit, and give you peace of mind also.
Jealous here!!
 

Ready Go

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Did you ever get a check engine light? I paid the extra cash to get these green cats that “don’t require a tune” allegedly and here I am with a light on. 👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾 Not impressed with Kooks at all.
If you feel that you're getting codes from the headers/cats..it's probably the rear O2 sensors that are throwing it..quick & easy check/fix is to get a couple of O2 spacers. You just thread out the rear O2 sensors, thread in the spacers (0.5"-0.75" length), then thread the O2 sensors back in. This moves the sensors out of the crossover pipes to lower the crossflow/surface area thereby lower it's sensitivity and readings..often works. A custom tune/tuner will often just turn them off..but then you'll have problems with emissions testing if you have to do that. Try the O2 spacers.
 

HSKR R/T

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If you feel that you're getting codes from the headers/cats..it's probably the rear O2 sensors that are throwing it..quick & easy check/fix is to get a couple of O2 spacers. You just thread out the rear O2 sensors, thread in the spacers (0.5"-0.75" length), then thread the O2 sensors back in. This moves the sensors out of the crossover pipes to lower the crossflow/surface area thereby lower it's sensitivity and readings..often works. A custom tune/tuner will often just turn them off..but then you'll have problems with emissions testing if you have to do that. Try the O2 spacers.
Ive tried the spacers on a few different vehicles and never had any luck with them. I've seen others say they worked. It's hit or miss I guess.
 

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