Stainless Headers Mfg, Inc. FAQ

Definitely not! Although it may be daunting initially, building headers can be broken into just a few simple steps. With the right prep work, and of course superior materials made in the USA, our header build kits are the optimum solution to all your header builds. We offer phone and email support every business day to talk you through any design or build difficulties you may encounter during the process. We also have a 6-part video series here to coach you through the steps necessary in header design and fabrication.

We figure primary tube size as well as collector size through various methods, though our combined decades of experience have given us an edge over many common misconceptions. Check out our header calculations page for general rules of thumb, and some basic equations for figuring out some starting points on header sizing, collector sizing, turbo charger selection, and more.

Although a bit more expensive, the hand made, purge-Tig welded slip on merge collectors offer many advantages when compared to a standard formed collector. Our merge collectors are perfectly sized and toleranced to slide tightly over your header's primary tube at the collector inlets. No more messing around with trying to line up a collector star or spike and worry about exhaust leaks at the collector. The integrated merge spike in the collector is also integrated to the collector, reinforcing the collector's strength, and creating a smooth laminar flow for the exhaust. When properly installed, your merge collectors' internal spikes are also excellent scavenging inducers, creating a smooth vortex of gases at the merge point, increasing exhaust velocity and pulling the gases through the primary tubes quicker. This increased exhaust gas flow means less exhaust residual resides in your engine's combustion chamber, thereby increasing volumetric efficiency, allowing more air (oxygen) into the cylinder, which means more fuel can be burned per revolution, meaning greater power can be achieved.

Exhaust headers are commonly constructed from two main materials: mild steel and stainless steel. Mild steel headers are cost-effective but are more prone to rust and corrosion over time; these typically require either a quality coating such as ceramic coatings or high-temp paint, or the use of an aluminized mild steel. Stainless steel headers offer better durability and corrosion resistance, making them suitable for various applications. The most common stainless alloy used for stainless headers, whether off-the-shelf or custom stainless headers, is 304 stainless steel. It offers great affordability with excellent strength and corrosion resistance, suitable for most applications. For increased corrosion resistance in off-shore applications, or general marine work, 316 stainless steel is commonly used, as it has increased corrosion resistance while maintaining excellent strength, at a slightly greater expense. For lightweight headers or high temperature applications such as high-boost turbo systems, aerospace, petrochemical, or other extreme environments, alloys such as 321 Stainless Steel or the high-nickel alloys like 625 Inconel or 718 Inconel are often used. 321 stainless steel and the high-nickel alloys have increased nickel and titanium bonding molecules in the alloy, greatly increasing strength, temperature durability, thermal cycling, and vibration resistance. These are often used in thinner gauge header builds to keep a system lightweight without sacrificing strength or durability. However, these alloys do also come at considerably higher costs than their 304 stainless steel counterparts.

The decision to wrap exhaust headers with heat-resistant material depends on the specific application and personal preferences. Header wraps can help retain heat within the exhaust system, which may slightly improve exhaust gas velocity and reduce under-hood temperatures. However, they can also trap moisture and potentially accelerate corrosion of mild steel headers. If your engine or surrounding components leak oils or other fluids, these can also be trapped or absorbed into the wrap, creating a potential fire hazard over time. If you have good quality stainless steel headers, header wrap is not required to improve corrosion resistance or create a boundary layer, however it can still be beneficial for creating a thermal barrier, and lowering engine bay temperatures. It is strongly recommended to NOT wrap any ceramic coated headers, the coarse insulating fibers (fiberglass, carbon, titanium, or ceramic) that give the header wrap it's insulating properties, will vibrate and chafe your header coating, and eventually rubbing it off the header tubes completely.

We recommend a quality ceramic coating job rather than header wrap for nearly every application that a thermal barrier is desired. The ceramic coating is maintenance free, does not require wrap-planning to get around your collector or sensor bungs, and does not increase the overall size of the header in tight-clearance applications. The ceramic coating is also non-porous, giving it excellent corrosion resistance qualities to whatever material you apply it to, without absorbing or retaining moisture or fire hazard fluids such as oils and lubricants. The ceramic coating has a double-bonus option as well- any quality ceramic coating applicator should be able to apply the coating to a large portion of the INSIDE of your header as well. Whether the applicator is able to spray/fog the inside of the system, or use a 'dip & shake' method, adding an internal coating will help considerably with preventing heat soak of the parent metal and even further reducing under hood temperatures.

Proper fitment of custom exhaust headers is crucial to avoid clearance issues and interference with other components. It's essential to take precise measurements of your engine bay and consider factors like suspension travel, steering components, and motor mounts. Mocking up the headers using cardboard or tubing before final fabrication can help identify potential clearance problems. Professional exhaust header builders or experienced fabricators can provide valuable guidance in ensuring a proper fit.

Exhaust headers are a set of tubes that collect exhaust gases from the engine's individual cylinders and direct them to the exhaust system. They play a crucial role in enhancing engine performance. By allowing each cylinder to expel exhaust gases freely without interference, headers reduce backpressure, improve exhaust scavenging, and increase overall engine efficiency. A properly designed & built header can result in significantly better horsepower, torque, and throttle response, especially in high-performance and racing applications.

For more information regarding Proposition 65 and California's requirements, visit their website: https://www.p65warnings.ca.gov/

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In an attempt to provide you with increased value, we may include third party links on our site. These linked sites have separate and independent privacy policies. We therefore have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites. Nonetheless, we seek to protect the integrity of our site and welcome any feedback about these linked sites (including if a specific link does not work).

Please also visit our Terms and Conditions section establishing the use, disclaimers, and limitations of liability governing the use of our website.

We welcome your questions, comments, and concerns about privacy. Please send us any and all feedback pertaining to privacy, or any other issue.

This online privacy policy applies only to information collected through our website and not to information collected offline.

We may use the information we collect from you when you register, purchase products, enter a contest or promotion, respond to a survey or marketing communication, surf the website, or use certain other site features in the following ways:

To personalize your site experience and to allow us to deliver the type of content and product offerings in which you are most interested.To allow us to better service you in responding to your customer service requests.

To quickly process your transactions. To administer a contest, promotion, survey or other site feature.

If you have opted-in to receive our e-mail newsletter, we may send you periodic e-mails. If you would no longer like to receive promotional e-mail from us, please refer to the "How can you opt-out, remove or modify information you have provided to us?" section below. If you have not opted-in to receive e-mail newsletters, you will not receive these e-mails. Visitors who register or participate in other site features such as marketing programs and 'members-only' content will be given a choice whether they would like to be on our e-mail list and receive e-mail communications from us

We implement a variety of security measures to maintain the safety of your personal information. Your personal information is contained behind secured networks and is only accessible by a limited number of persons who have special access rights to such systems, and are required to keep the information confidential. When you place orders or access your personal information, we offer the use of a secure server. All sensitive/credit information you supply is transmitted via Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology and then encrypted into our databases to be only accessed as stated above.

Yes. Cookies are small files that a site or its service provider transfers to your computer's hard drive through your Web browser (if you allow) that enables the site's or service provider's systems to recognize your browser and capture and remember certain information. For instance, we use cookies to help us remember and process the items in your shopping cart. They are also used to help us understand your preferences based on previous or current site activity, which enables us to provide you with improved services. We also use cookies to help us compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so that we can offer better site experiences and tools in the future.

We may contract with third-party service providers to assist us in better understanding our site visitors. These service providers are not permitted to use the information collected on our behalf except to help us conduct and improve our business.

You can choose to have your computer warn you each time a cookie is being sent, or you can choose to turn off all cookies. You do this through your browser (like Google Chrome, Firefox, or Internet Explorer) settings. Each browser is a little different, so look at your browser Help menu to learn the correct way to modify your cookies. If you turn cookies off, you won't have access to many features that make your site experience more efficient and some of our services will not function properly. However, you can still place orders over the telephone by contacting customer service.

We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information unless we provide you with advance notice, except as described below. The term "outside parties" does not include Stainless Headers Mfg., Inc. It also does not include website hosting partners and other parties who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or servicing you, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release your information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect ours or others' rights, property, or safety.

However, non-personally identifiable visitor information may be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses.

How can you opt-out, remove or modify information you have provided to us?

To modify your e-mail subscriptions, please let us know by modifying your preferences in the "My Account" section. Please note that due to email production schedules you may receive any emails already in production.

To delete all of your online account information from our database, sign into the "My Account" section of our site and remove your shipping addresses, billing addresses & payment information. Please note that we may maintain information about an individual sales transaction in order to service that transaction and for record-keeping.

If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page. Policy changes will apply only to information collected after the date of the change. This policy was last modified on March 8, 2019.

We collect information from you when you register on the site, place an order, enter a contest or sweepstakes, respond to a survey or communication such as e-mail, or participate in another site feature.

When ordering or registering, we may ask you for your name, e-mail address, mailing address, phone number, credit card information or other information. You may, however, visit our site anonymously.

We also collect information about gift recipients so that we can fulfill the gift purchase. The information we collect about gift recipients is not used for marketing purposes.

Like many websites, we use "cookies" to enhance your experience and gather information about visitors and visits to our websites. Please refer to the "Do we use 'cookies'?" section below for information about cookies and how we use them.

Shipping is charged at a rate of $14.99 per order. All domestic orders over $199 ship to the lower 48 states for free.

Orders to Alaska and Hawaii will be contacted for additional shipping and cost requirements. Please contact us for international orders.

All orders totaling over $700.00 USD will have an automatic required signature on the shipment. Any customer who wishes to NOT have a required signature MUST send an email to sales@stainlessheaders.com with their order number, and request to have the required signature removed from the order.

Any returned shipment and ensuing costs due to customer's inability to receive the package will be at the customer's expense. Initial Return-to-sender fees and repeat shipment to customer address are at customer's expense.

Standard free ground shipping policy applies only to packages that meet these requirements:

• Final package dimension of 37" or less in any dimension
• Under 90lbs total shipment weight
• And/or less than 3 boxes per shipment.

Any shipping damages MUST be reported within 72 hours of product delivery. Failure to report damages to product may result in loss of return ability, or replacement/exchange items. Stainless Headers Mfg., Inc is NOT responsible for shipping damages not reported in a timely manner. To report shipping damages, applicable pictures must be provided showing box/package damage, packing material, product damage, and a picture of the shipping label. Please email all shipping damage reports to shipping@stainlessheaders.com to file a loss claim.

No returns are accepted after (60) days from original invoice date. Prior authorization (verbal or emailed w/ representative’s name and date) must be given before any return can be made. All returns require a Return Materials Authorization (RMA) number.

Any products/materials/components ordered in error by the purchaser is subject to a 20% restocking fee. Specialty items, if marked as returnable, may be subject to 30%. All restocking charges are at the discretion of Stainless Headers Mfg. Inc.Any product returned without prior authorization is subject to 50% restocking fee. No exceptions.

Shipping cost will not be refunded. Due to the complexity and variety of modifications possible, Stainless Headers Mfg. Inc. makes no claims as to the merchantability or fitness of any part. Rather, it is up to the purchaser to determine if the part is compatible with his/her application.

• Products must be in a new and resalable as new condition.
• Any product that was used is non-returnable.
• Prior authorization must be given before any return can be made.
• Shipping Fees are non-refundable.
• Order cancellations can only be requested prior to shipment.
• Return package must be insured for at least the value of components when sending it for inspection and credit and tracking information must also be obtained.

The following products cannot be returned/exchanged due to manufacturer policies or their made-to-order custom features:

• Any item marked or classified as non-returnable.
• Modular Bolt-On Turbo Headers (Exceptions may apply, contact returns department for more information. Turbo headers can be returned, but on case-by-case basis, requires prior authorization)
• Airboat Headers
• Low-Profile Mufflers
• 5-1, 6-1, & 8-1 Merge Collectors (Exceptions may apply, contact returns department. Specialty collectors can be marked returnable on a case-by-case basis. Requires prior authorization)
• Any used product
• Painted/Ceramic Coated Parts & Components
• Turbochargers
• Wastegates
• BOV's
• International Orders
• Intercoolers
• Any custom/special orders or parts.

Please note: If the return of an item was caused by an error on our part, shipping fees and restock fees do not apply. (eg: Customer received 2 1/8” mandrel bends instead of the 2 1/4” bends listed on the order)

Any product shipped in error (the wrong part), will be replaced with the correct part at no charge. The replacement part(s) will be shipped at no cost, by the same shipping method that the original order was shipped and a email return label or label placed in the box with the new parts will be issued at our discretion to return the parts that were originally shipped in error. We will not upgrade the shipping method.

All returns must be sent to:

Stainless Headers Mfg, Inc.
Attn: Returns
1135 North 7th St.
Lake City, MN 55041
1-800-290-3920
sales@stainlessheaders.com

Exchanges will have all the same restrictions, fees, and regulations as standard returns. All credit towards the exchange order will be original order amount x restocking fee (if applicable). Customer will also be responsible for return shipping on exchanged products or kits.