If you have been following our Project C7 Corvette, when we last left off on our adventures to get more power, we had just installed a Hooker Blackheart Exhaust and an Intech Cold Air Intake and gotten impressive gains. Well, we wanted to keep going to chase the power numbers of the C6 ZO6 which had the venerable LS7 engine. The 427 cubic inch LS7 is considered to be the flagship naturally aspirated Chevy motor and we wanted to see how well our new tech, directed injected LT1 could compare to it. For the next stage in the development of our car, we installed a set of Hooker Blackheart long tube headers.
The Hooker Blackheart headers are quality parts. They feature all 304 stainless construction for long life and good heat retention as stainless has about half the thermal conductivity as mild steel. The headers have thick water jet cut flanges to assure a leak-free head seal. The welds where the primary tubes connect to the flanges are hand ported for good flow.
All of the welding is strong good quality mig. The headers feature large 17/8″ primary tubes which can support over 600 hp.
The Blackheart headers have a gentile taper long transition collector. This sort of collector usually generates a broad powerband with no reduction in top-end power.
In the throat of the collector, you can find a preformed spike welded in place. This gives much of the tuning and flow advantages of a true merged collector at an affordable price point.
6 comments
With the future intake manifold, will you also install a larger TB to match too?
As for tune, HP Tuners? Or something else?
We are keeping the stock throttle body for now. We will be using Church Automotive Testing for our Tuning with HP tuners.
I have a set of Hooker Blackheart Shorty headers for my 08 Mustang sitting on my workbench. The flange is warped on one of them, I am dropping them off at a shop to be sanded flat this week.
Did you guys have the same experience? Or check the flanges for flatness?
It’s kinda weird because they are water jet cut. Not likely to warp as is possible with plasma or Laser. They are pretty thick to warp from welding as well.
What are you going to use for plug wires ? My ppg on the driver side in the back was hard to get back on I think I might need 45° plug wires.
we were using oem with no issues.