are headers a worthwhile upgrade for the 3.4??

[freestone]

hi all; new to forum....
just picked up a '97 T-100 SR5 with 5 speed. Wondering if anyone has the Gibson GP 601 shorty headers(or other type) on their 3.4/T-100.

I had a 22re with a header that noticeably improved low end torque...

thanks in advance for any opinions.

[humanoid]

You should see some performance gains, I wouldn't see why you would not.

[Zuke76]

Headers and a Supercharger are the only real bolt on upgrades that you will feel a difference in power.

Intakes and exhaust are easier/cheaper to do but do not gain you that much HP.

[Hartzog]

Originally Posted by Zuke76

Headers and a Supercharger are the only real bolt on upgrades that you will feel a difference in power.

Intakes and exhaust are easier/cheaper to do but do not gain you that much HP.

zuke, thats right, but id say if you put a combo of headers, intake, and exhaust, you would get alot more gain than if you just slapped on an intake, just my .02, have yet to do it, but i have headers to put on, but waitin til i can do some exhaust at the same time

[mrod54]

When I had my 2001 Taco S Runner, I supercharged it and then put the headers on. The headers did nothing for the performance until I put a free flowing catalytic converter on. There's no sense in making the front of the exhaust free flowing only to run it in to the restriction that the remaining stock exhaust causes.
The other thing that I ran up against was the engine temperature. I had to run a lower temperature thermostat and ditched the anti-freeze for Water Wetter (I lived in Florida at the time). I also ran the highest pump octane fuel with an octane booster to keep the knock sensor from retarding the timing as soon as the engine started to ping. TRD came out with a seventh injector and a piggyback computer the next year, but by that time I was through throwing money at that truck.