Open Headers To The Exhaust Shop?

Casey Young

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Jan 12, 2014
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So I got my starting issue out of the way. Now my left cat is smoking up the entire car. So what I plan on doing is pulling both of them. And driving to the shop which is about 5 miles away to get normal pipes welded in. I have the stock shorties and I know people always say that the valves will burn. Honestly I think its kind of bs. I mean the exhaust only flows one way am I right?...do yall think I should be good to drive that far with open headers?
 
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I don't see how it would be bad to run it a few miles to get the exhaust done at a shop. It's a little less back pressure but that's about it. Just don't hot rod it to the shop. I've done it before on my truck after I installed headers and drove my truck 20 miles to an exhaust shop right off the headers. No problems ever.

Are you getting an off-road h-pipe put on?
 
Take the pipe off and stuff something in there and break up the inside of the cat.

That's how everyone used to do it when we were worried about how no cats looked for emissions.
 
I am not an expert by any means but I can not imagine that you would hurt anything internally from driving a short distance down the road (5 miles in your case) with open headers. People in racing run essentially open headers all the time and at much higher engine speeds than what you will be doing without too great of damage occurring to the engine. The one thing to keep in mind while youre driving there is that there is a lot of sound ordinances around town and you can get a ticket for making too much noise with your vehicle. I personally wouldn't be revving up to 5 grand or anything but that is just me.
 
that is exactly my plan after i install my long tubes, about 5 miles open. I had someone tack weld my old cat heat shields onto my catless x-pipe for my annual visual emissions inspection. Hasnt failed yet
 
Long tube headers and shortie headers are worlds apart. You are asking for a fire if you intend to drive with just shortie headers and no pipe attached. Regardless of burning a valve or whatever is it worth burning your whole car to the ground? I run long tube headers with a short (maybe 6" piece of tube) to a straight through muffler and have not even a concern of burning something up. I have however seen a car catch fire and burn up to the ground from some individual try and drive his car with just the stock manifolds and not exhaust otherwise.
 
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Long tube headers and shortie headers are worlds apart. You are asking for a fire if you intend to drive with just shortie headers and no pipe attached.

I guess I missed that whole shortie header deal the first time I read this. If thats his plan then he may want to consider having a friend pick up a tow dolley and towing it over there. U-Haul rents them for like $40 I think. Much better option than having exhaust pour straight into the car as well as the other point you brought up about potential/extremely likely fires under the hood.