Ok so I recently discovered my drivers side pacesetter header is cracked in a difficult place to weld them (likely from the tranny shop applying pressure to exhaust pipes to remove the transmission without removing the exhaust...

Anyway I researched different headers on ebay and discovered that out of the no name ones being sold there thier are in fact at least two different types being sold... I messaged previous buyers of these headers from a particular seller (Eworldsales1)
link below
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1994-2002-Do...item3f144d175c

I asked people who bought them up to 8 months ago and all had good feedback about them when they got back to me...Only 1 mentioned they had a bit of shifting they had to do to exhaust pipes to get it to line up...

One person I asked about them told me he was about to return them because they do not have the egr hookup he needed for his 95 so he offered to sell them to me for $120 shipped instead....I agreed and they came a couple days ago. (These are originally from the seller above though)

I just got the drivers side pacesetter off my truck so far but I was able to do side by side comparisons of both the pacesetter steel ones and the ebay stainless ones that were less than half the price and stainless to boot...

I have read many negative things from people saying these would be jusnk but most have no personal experience with them and some have different stories first saying they were junk and didnt fit and in other threads saying they sold them without even attempting to install them so I figured many who did install them and didnt like the way they lined up with the down pipes or how hard they were to bolt down may not have ever installed "other" name brand headers on the same type of truck and dont realize that can sometimes be an issue with headers period regardless of make. I also suspect that the other cheaper header sold on there are seconds made by the same manufacturer or different inferior ones altogether which from what I can tell seems to be the case...

I headers came with a mix of good 8.8 and low grade grade 4.8 bolts (even though the ones pictured on the auction site are clearly grade 8 by color) so I recommend replacing them but unlike the other sellers on ebay they have the better felpro style gaskets...
The real test will be when I install them on the truck (As soon as the weather allows, Its cold and windy right now and I still have to change the brakes on the GF's impala tonight...
I will keep this thread updated on any issues I have with them going forward through installation and after... Others who have used these say they turn a brownish blue but seem to fight off any rust pretty well besides the flange which gets some surface rust due to not being polished and possible different steel used.
I'm amazed that in the pics below the ebay ones appear to be almost identical but slightly superior in almost every way (see comments below pics)


Here's a link to the pics in photo album my besides the one below...

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/members...om-eworld.html

 

I had installed the ebay headers on my 96' Ram, the only problem I had was the bolts sent were not the right threads, so I had to get different bolts. They did turn a blueish color but that was expected I guess from the high heat. Otherwise they fit perfectly and ran them 40,000 miles till I sold the truck and had no issues. I would get them again for my 99'

 

Look identical to my JBA's that im sure i paid a whole hell of a lot more for lol

 

lol My original ones might be actually....since both JBA and Pacesetter both weld thier ID plate in the same spot on the drivers header... my plate broke off but you can see where it was welded.

One thing I did just notice is the main flange on the new ones is magnetic...the rest of them is not..

 

Now why would they do that??

 

Yeah, I bought some el-cheapo SS headers for my Miata, copies of a $450 unit that is known good for those engines, but 1/3rd the price, and the flange was well made but developed a bit of rust. Although there is such a thing as SS that is magnetic the usual grades used in exhaust tubes shouldn't be (3xx series has nickel, which kills magnetism that may be otherwise present due to the chromium content in all SS metals; a 4xx series has no nickel and does contain steel and chromium, and will have mild attraction).

Looks like an area they would save money on (it's significantly less expensive than 3xx) or maybe even 3xx SS isn't the best material for that particular surface if you're not doing a custom fab to get it perfect. The 4xx grades are specified for automotive exhaust, so there must be a reason. They are very similar to each other in hardness, malleability, etc.

Then again, the flange itself might be some other alloy with chromium plating or chromium levels below the SS grade minimum (although it doesn't appear that's the case from the photos). I looked at all your photos, the welds look good and overall the Pacesetters don't look like they shame them anywhere, you could argue the opposite maybe. The eBay seller photos show a bit of difference in the sheen of the flanges compared to the tubing; the lack of nickel could account for that. For the money, I don't really see it as a negative; I would be more PO's if I paid top dollar, though.

Really curious as to how they fit.

 

didoP

 

Those ebay knock-offs make the pacesetters look like junk...

And yes, I am looking beyond the used condition of the PS'ers

 

I bought the cheap eay headers about 5 years ago.

They have been fine but do not look like that anymore... lol...

I am not sure about power increase numbers.

I get a lot of compliments on the tone of my exhaust too.

 

I expect them to turn brown..with daily driver application they all do over time.(stainless headers).. BTW there are at least two different types of ebay no name headers there are key differences like the flange where the pipes bolt up is different on some than others...
as far as stainless...304 is actually better than 409 for headers according to the article I read...

And I recently bought a "stainless" magnaflow cat with pipes and guess what?...Its magnetic so... it must be a lower grade of stainless...
In person the ebay ones really do look to be superior to the pacesetters (or JBA's?) and appear to have larger passages for more flow.