Long Term Review - GSF Headers

[polizei]

Hey all,

I'm going through the laundry list of items I'd *like* to add onto my turbo conversion, and among them is a set of turbo headers (right now I'm running stock Carrera heat exchangers with a 930 J pipe). I'm attracted to the GSF (goingsuperfast) headers because of the price. Everybody likes to spend less, but I don't want to go cheap and then replace them in a few years. I'd rather stick with what I've got and save my pennies for some Rarely headers.

Would some of you guys that use GSF headers (with or without heat) provide feedback on how it's worked for you? Any cracking or warping? I've read that there is a slight install/fitment issue with connecting a turbo to the 930 I/C, but since I'm working on a Carrera conversion, that shouldn't be an issue. As I've looked through some previous threads, it appears that e170drvr, DonE & fredmeister have all used GSF at some point.

Thanks in advance for your input.

[jimtweet]

wow 63 views and no replies, i am interested in this as well, the look to be very well made, but i question fitment and life span

[YermanCars]

pm sent

[polizei]

Originally Posted by YermanCars

pm sent

Thank you! Replied.

[jsveb]

I'm in the process of buying a 930 at the moment. If I was to switch to headers. I would choose one of the products that Brian and Ben provides.
I have no hands-one experience at all, but I do feel they provide quality parts, with an excellent customer service. This is based on several hours of reading about it here on PP.

By the way: I have been following this thread since you started off. Really nice build.

Jesper

[Ken911]

I have a set they are cracked and leaking I bought them in 2007. They have about 30k miles on them. Since all of them crack eventually and they are really banged up on the bottom from all the speed bumps every where. I believe this contributed to the cracking. I cannot justify spending 2000 dollars on a pair of that will just get bent up and then crack. So sometime later this year I will be replacing them with another pair from GSF. If my car was a garage queen that wasnt driven much and only went to car shows and possibly the track I would probably spring for something more expensive.

[stup]

Not sold as GSF but i ran OBX without heat for around 2 years and probably would be still running them if i had not grounded them on 3 seperate occasions,,,the 3rd grounding just proved to be too much for them and probably would have been too much for any brand of headers.

My car runs over 400 bhp at wheels and while i ran them they were exposed to some extreme conditions several times(roll'n'road sessions) dyno days) and always held up perfectly!

Fitment issues they did have and i thoroughly checked/cleaned inside before i installed.....

These are my personal honest experiences with OBX headers.

[matty74]

I have a new set of GSF headers (with heat) I'm going to use on my 3.6 conversion when I get them on I'll let you know how I go.

[sjf911]

I have a set on my car now. The quality of the welds appears marginally better then OBX with the GSF but the middle header pipe on the right hand bank (#5) was not welded correctly and leaked at the head. The sealing ring was welded short of the outside two and cocked at an angle that prevented good sealing. Because the heater box is welded to the header pipes, you could not pull the pipe against the head hard enough to seal. I actually sent it back to them and they sent me a new one that was worse. So, while they appear to be a good deal, their quality control sucks and their willingness to make things right with the customer doesn't exist. I ran a set of OBX without heat temporarily while I was waiting for the GSF to be fixed. Their quality was poorer but they sealed at the head without difficulty. I am running the GSF now having to double up on the exhaust gasket on the number 5 cylinder to reduce exhaust leak. When the budget allows, I will replace these with something else preferably made in this country with good customer support.

[DDDD]

Originally Posted by polizei

Hey all,

I'm going through the laundry list of items I'd *like* to add onto my turbo conversion, and among them is a set of turbo headers (right now I'm running stock Carrera heat exchangers with a 930 J pipe). I'm attracted to the GSF (goingsuperfast) headers because of the price. Everybody likes to spend less, but I don't want to go cheap and then replace them in a few years. I'd rather stick with what I've got and save my pennies for some Rarely headers.

Would some of you guys that use GSF headers (with or without heat) provide feedback on how it's worked for you? Any cracking or warping? I've read that there is a slight install/fitment issue with connecting a turbo to the 930 I/C, but since I'm working on a Carrera conversion, that shouldn't be an issue. As I've looked through some previous threads, it appears that e170drvr, DonE & fredmeister have all used GSF at some point.

Thanks in advance for your input.

Why leave all that horsepower on the table? Virtually everyone that has tried the high quality headers has found more power. Off boost, on boost, top end power.

[polizei]

Thank you all for sharing your experience. Do any of you have dyno sheets to show your HP? I'd also appreciate it if you could include your engine specs.

Originally Posted by DDDD

Why leave all that horsepower on the table? Virtually everyone that has tried the high quality headers has found more power. Off boost, on boost, top end power.

Your question is presumptuous, though you very well may be correct. $700 sounds better than $2,000 to me. I'm not in a hurry so I figured I'd start this thread to vet out the quality of these GSF headers.

[911st]

Why don't you just keep the euro J pipe? Great heat and very little reliability issue.

On an EFI turbo you will already have the power and good throttle response. Maybe put that money toward a good intercooler or better brakes if you have not all ready.

Just a thought.

[polizei]

Todd at Protomotive mentioned that going from the stock heat exchangers with the J pipe to a set of headers will allow me to achieve full boost 1000 to 1200 RPM sooner.

By the way, I'm planning on going with water/methanol injection and 996 brakes.

[e170drvr]

Unfortunately I have gone through a lot of header sets. I replaced the stock with Gsf with heat. In my case, I did not care for them. They have an adjustable flanges for the exhaust ports, and I was never able to get them to not leak. I also had to clean them really well to get all the weld blobs out. Finally bought even cheaper OBX set, which were so badly welded, I simply returned them. Next I went to Brian's first gen SSI headers. They fit perfect, excellent quality, performance, and heat that would curl your leg hairs. I had no reason to replace the SSIs, but wanted to try Brian's latest and they are perfect! Guess I am a header junkie, but my advice would be to talk to Brian, might cost a little more than the cheapos but you WILL be very happy with them.

[911st]

Protomotive is the tops.

However, can anyone confirm that just a change from euro HE's to shorties will lower the full boost point 1000 or more rpm?

I can see that going from stock HE and cat muffler to full shortie and straight through muffler but did not thank just a header change would be that significant.

That would put full boost at something like 2000 to 2500rpm.

[RarlyL8]

You have that kind of room for improvement with a 3LDZ but not a 7200, as the 7200 will hit full boost at about 3000rpm on the J-pipe.

[matty74]

Originally Posted by e170drvr

Unfortunately I have gone through a lot of header sets. I replaced the stock with Gsf with heat. In my case, I did not care for them. They have an adjustable flanges for the exhaust ports, and I was never able to get them to not leak. I also had to clean them really well to get all the weld blobs out. Finally bought even cheaper OBX set, which were so badly welded, I simply returned them. Next I went to Brian's first gen SSI headers. They fit perfect, excellent quality, performance, and heat that would curl your leg hairs. I had no reason to replace the SSIs, but wanted to try Brian's latest and they are perfect! Guess I am a header junkie, but my advice would be to talk to Brian, might cost a little more than the cheapos but you WILL be very happy with them.

Brians equal length headers, they look totally sweet! I did a post on them a while back, once I have the spare coin I'll be investing in a set.

http://www.aircooled.com.au/forum/topics/turbo-headers-equal-length-or

[polizei]

Originally Posted by 911st

However, can anyone confirm that just a change from euro HE's to shorties will lower the full boost point 1000 or more rpm?

I should have qualified my statement. Todd suggested that for my setup I should see a 1000-1200 RPM drop for full boost. I'm running a Precision ball bearing turbo - it's got a garret gt35r compressor wheel. Sorry for any confusion!