For headers would it be better to go with JBA or BBK. The BBKs are $270, however alot of people have said they are problematic when it comes to installation. The JBA are about $350 but I dont know if they are worth it. Does anyone have any experience with these that could help me out?

P.S. Im installing these myself how difficult is it?

Thanks

 

I'd go with JBA. The extra money is worth it, I've heard the bbk headers are poorly designed so you don't want to risk wasting your time. If your installing these yourself you need to know exactly what your doing, look around and see if there are better instructions or a video, the vid doesn't even have to be for a v6 as long as it shows the proper way to install the headers. I personally don't have any experience with JBA headers, but others might.

 

Neither. You wont get much if any gains from headers on the 4.0, especially shorties.

As far as installing, not that hard to do. Plenty of room, too.

 

To be completely honest I got the headers off ebay that were modeled off the JBA headers. They were $120 shipped and looked identical. There was a slight tone change in exhaust (not much) and there was a slight gain in performance. I don't really think there was much of a peak gain although JBA's dyno shows some, it was more no-peak gains that you could actually see/feel in the mid range (and evident in the dyno). I did the install without dropping the cats and it only took a few hours because of some other things I was inspecting. The only issue is the oil dipstick tube, don't bend or break it, you will have to maneuver the header around so that it actually goes in-between the tubes as pictured below. No matter who you buy, I would recommend getting a set of gaskets from autozone or somewhere else. the ones the kits come with are usually not too great. They've been on the car for several months now with no issues.

 

they improve the sound but dont expect to much in the gains department. i didnt install mine but i did wait in a room while a guy worked on them for about 8hrs. he said they were a bitch to get on. i got JBA's cause at least in CA they are the only ones legal. not sure about other states.

 

A friend of mine with an 08 V6 just got his eBay ones and they're not bad at all.

 

i'd go with JBA. mine fit perfect but the installation did take a little effort and time. its very straight forward and simple but the space to work with is not always generous. definitely try to install yourself but just make sure you start early in the day in case you run into any issues that leave you working into the night!

as for the performance boost, not a whole lot but it is noticeable. i think too many expect a HP boost but shorty headers should really be categorized under "torq mods". the low end is where you notice the imporvement.

as for sound, i wouldn't say that they make your exhaust any louder but they definitely improve the tone. crisper and cleaner sound.

overall, very pleased with my shorties but i also purchased my SS jba's for almost half the price of online vendors so it was definitely worth it to me. i also have piece of mind that its genuine JBA "Made in the U.S.A."

 

Mine were made in China I'm sure, trying to pay back some of the debt I know owe them as a US taxpayer