PRI 2016: Kooks Headers Heat Up the Late Model Muscle Car Market

Kooks-PRI-2016-Dodge-Charger-01

Kooks Headers & Exhaust is always a favorite stop at the PRI Show since it is chock full of the latest applications among the Big Three. Sitting front and center in the booth was the Dodge Charger of CEO and President George Kook Jr, which packs a BES/High Horse Performance-built Gen III Hemi with a ProCharger and a shot of nitrous. If you’ve been to or seen any coverage of a standing ½-mile event on the east coast, then no doubt you have spotted this powerful sedan clocking 176mph. No pun intended, this has been the launching pad for Kooks’ line of late model Hemi products.

 

The 2015+ Dodge Hellcat Challenger/Charger complete exhaust system is the latest addition to the Mopar lineup. The Hellcat’s 707-horse supercharged Hemi craves high-flowing headers, which is why Kooks only offers them with 2-inch primary tubes and a 3-inch collector. The 304 stainless steel headers mate to 3-inch connection pipes and a 3-inch catback with polished or black tips. All the pipes are mandrel bent and welded in-house. You have your choice of two different catalytic converters, including the heavy-duty Green cats, or an off-road pipe. Recently Kooks started offering several ceramic coatings including High Lustre Silver, Cool Black, and Cool Gray for looks and managing underhood heat.

 

The 2015+ Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 was next on the hit list, and proved a slightly tougher nut to crack so to speak. The 5.2L Voodoo V8’s flat-plane crank design necessitated a heavier-duty design to prevent cracking, with primaries that step from 1-3/4-inch to 1-7/8. Like pretty much all Kooks headers, they have a 4-into-1, high velocity collector with a ball and socket flange. The collector measures 3 inches, as does the X-pipe. The catback exhaust is both 2-3/4 and 3-inch. The GT350 X-pipe also displays a new capability of Kooks – laser cutting. A new Mitsubishi 2001 CNC laser cutting machine opens the door for many new design possibilities, as displayed on the plate covering the merge. Our readers overseas will be happy to know Kooks now offers headers for right-hand drive Mustangs.

 

Completing the trio, the 2016+ Camaro SS complete exhaust system starts with 1-7/8×3-inch or 2×3-inch stainless steel long-tube headers. 3-inch connection pipes and catback exhaust round out the system, which is also available with the same specs for the 2016+ Cadillac CTS-V.

 

LS fans will be happy to note the new universal turbo headers, offered in upswept and downswept configurations with either 1-3/4- or 1-7/8-inch primary tubes and a 3-inch collector. Since turbo headers are prone to cracking because of the intense heat and the weight of the turbo, Kooks uses 14-gauge 304 stainless steel tubing. They come with a slip-fit collector, but a V-band flange was also on display to show what is possible.

“This header came from the development stuff we did for the Armageddon turbo systems –  twin-turbo Sierra, Silverado, Mustang stuff … we just did a twin-turbo Gen6 Camaro kit. So all that stuff helped us to build a set of headers,” said Chris Clark, VP of Sales at Kooks. “Everything here is ready for shipment. These [turbo headers] have been selling for a couple months. We have a lot of people testing them seeing all the applications they fit in. They were built in a Fox-body Mustang and they fit within the stock shock towers. They will also fit in trucks, Corvettes. The only thing that they will not fit in is the F-body. We are thinking about coming out with an F-body turbo specific header as well.”

Check out these applications as well as a growing line-up of truck products on KooksHeaders.com.

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About the author

Scott Parker

Scott dreamed of being in the automotive media in high school, growing up around car shows and just down the street from Atco Raceway. The technology, performance capability, and craftsmanship that goes into builds fuels his passion.
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