EMI, Stainless Marine or HITEK

[axelkloehn]

anyone knows pro-and-cons for these headers/risers: Emi Thunder (alu), Stainless marine or the Hitek (one-piece header/risers, stainless steel)? CMIs are not available at reasonable prices at the moment.

Engine is a 260hp 350 sbc.

[VetteLT193]

I don't know if you are rigged or not with holes in the transom and exactly which EMI's you are looking at but for some reason the aftermarket exhaust systems all seem a bit wider than stock so the holes don't line up right.

SM have a round coupling on the riser so you can twist it some. They should be the easiest to install if the holes are in the transom already.

If they aren't, the EMI's I had were great. I seem to remember a complaint with SM in regards to spark plug changes that the EMI's don't have a problem with.

I don't have experience with HiTek other than knowing they look goofy.

[Ed Donnelly]

You just can't go wrong with Stainless Marine
Pricey but you get what you pay for.
Several members have then including me

Poodle on .org sells them...................Ed

[axelkloehn]

I don't know if you are rigged or not with holes in the transom and exactly which EMI's you are looking at but for some reason the aftermarket exhaust systems all seem a bit wider than stock so the holes don't line up right.

SM have a round coupling on the riser so you can twist it some. They should be the easiest to install if the holes are in the transom already.

If they aren't, the EMI's I had were great. I seem to remember a complaint with SM in regards to spark plug changes that the EMI's don't have a problem with.

I don't have experience with HiTek other than knowing they look goofy.

rigging is no problem for all of them, lots of space in my gt. I can get a good deal on the EMIs (see pic), almost new for 1150$, but wonder if they are as good as the stainless marines. I agree with the hitek- they look strange, but what about the performance? Anybody tried them?

[axelkloehn]

You just can't go wrong with Stainless Marine
Pricey but you get what you pay for.
Several members have then including me

Poodle on .org sells them...................Ed

Ed, did you notice a difference after installing the Stainless compared to standard?

[VetteLT193]

it isn't so much the space in the engine room, it is the alignment between the engine and the transom. If your holes are already in the transom, setup for a stock exhaust, then you may have a problem. On some boats certain aftermarket exhaust line right up. Others will be off.

Mine, stock to EMI with the stainless long tail, the tails were wider at the transom by a good half inch. It doesn't sound like much but the rubber exhaust hose is tough as nails and wouldn't go on so I had to get the blue silicone hose with a hump for bends and those barely worked.

As far as power, Grizz said SM is the best. However, with that engine, you are only looking at minimal HP gains regardless of system.

[Kirbyvv]

I've had EMI's on mine for about 4 years now, no problems, but I didn't notice any significant power gains either.

[osur866]

SM on my 6.2 320HP and noticed an increase of about 80 rpm wihich isnt much gain on the top end, did notice better fuel economy, if your installing them strictly for a performance gain I think on your engine unless you plan on doing other upgrades I'd say save the $$ and put more gas in the tank and enjoy your boat more, just my .02 Steve

[MOP]

On a 260 you may lose some bottom and mid range performance, headers alone without other modifications are nothing more than Bling! Phil

[fogducker III]

I have now had both, SM and EMI.....no noticable difference in performance with either, sound is better...:yes: IMO SM is better quality and finish and as Ed said, you get what you pay for......having said that, if you can get that set of EMI pictured for just over a G note, I would say go for it......:)

[mrfixxall]

rigging is no problem for all of them, lots of space in my gt. I can get a good deal on the EMIs (see pic), almost new for 1150$, but wonder if they are as good as the stainless marines. I agree with the hitek- they look strange, but what about the performance? Anybody tried them?


those are emi manifolds but the risers are not emi's,they look to be merc's 496 ho risers. i have emi's om my x for the last 10 yrs..no issues.

[jg480]

I put EMI's on my 18 2+3 and it was a pain in the butt. I ordered long tail pipes which ran directly into the power steering cylinder on the inner transom ring, had to switch to the short risers. The center to center distance between transom cut outs was about 4 inches greater. finally I had to have a 1/4" milled off the port manifold then the water passages on the gasket surface welded a re surfaced so the my hatch would close. So much for "direct replacment" as advertised by EMI.
Jim

[axelkloehn]

hmm, better sleep one more night before buying. Should use the winter to figure out a clear tuning concept. What I understand is it needs more than just the exhaust... they promise 10% power gain in the advertisement, this should be more than just 80 rpm!

[Ed Donnelly]

Axel.. Can't say about a power gain, as I went from a twin turbo to a tunnel ram
when I changed to the Stainless Marines....................Ed

[Kirbyvv]

I put EMIs on my stock 260 and they were a direct bolt on replacement. I didn't have any of the problems that jg480 had. I got the EMIs to replace my rusted stock units. No problems here. I guess it depends on the set up of the boat.

[VetteLT193]

hmm, better sleep one more night before buying. Should use the winter to figure out a clear tuning concept. What I understand is it needs more than just the exhaust... they promise 10% power gain in the advertisement, this should be more than just 80 rpm!

That number will vary depending on the engine. If you had a wild small block that needs to breathe better you could see that 10% number. For a regular 260 the stock exhaust isn't really a problem. They use the exact same exhaust through the 377 mag and 377 scorpion engines. On the Merc. reman engines they use it through the 383 / 350 HP Mag engine and I think they are actually rated through the drive, not through hull.

I'm not saying you won't see a gain, just be realistic. For the money swapping exhaust on a small block is one of the worst values.

[VetteLT193]

I put EMIs on my stock 260 and they were a direct bolt on replacement. I didn't have any of the problems that jg480 had. I got the EMIs to replace my rusted stock units. No problems here. I guess it depends on the set up of the boat.
I am guessing you got the standard risers?
I also had the long tail risers on the EMI's. they sounded great but were not direct fit. I think EMI says the standard riser setup is a direct fit and it causes much confusion.

The attached pics are when I was test fitting everything. As you can see the tip through the hull is no where near the alignment of the tail. If you call EMI they want you to test fit, take measurements, send them back and they cut / re-weld the tails to work on your boat.... for $$$$$$$

[osur866]

hmm, better sleep one more night before buying. Should use the winter to figure out a clear tuning concept. What I understand is it needs more than just the exhaust... they promise 10% power gain in the advertisement, this should be more than just 80 rpm!
That was my experience on a stock MX 6.2 rated at 320 HP, there's always a debate on the actual gain from aftermarket exhaust from stock, many think the aftermarket players measure the gain without water in the exhaust but I'm no expert, all I can say is I saw 80 rpm after the change and didn't change anything else. One postive thing is the 83lbs. I lost out of the stern did help handeling, I'm not sorry I did it but I wouldn't expect any gains on a 260 hp engine, and if ya do then I'd consider yourself lucky.

[Diamond Performance]

All the exhaust holes on Bravo transom should be in the same location. I have found that the guy running the hole saw from the boat factory can be off as much as a couple of inches. The engine/drive location on Bravo should be the same, causing the exhaust manifolds/risers being in the same location. The boat manufactures gets away with this using 3ft of rubber hose.

[axelkloehn]

there is plenty of space inside my GT engine room- any aftermarket exhaust will fit, no problems with too little space or tight fits I guess!

I heard more cons than pros- are they really worth the money for the performance you get? Looks like it is more the bling-factor or the last little feature in a complete tuning kit....

[Diamond Performance]

Here is a pro. The stock exhaust will leak down the road and water will get into your engine. Aftermarket exhaust ( EMI, Stainless Marine)has a jumper hose from the manifold to the riser giving it a dry joint.

[VetteLT193]

All the exhaust holes on Bravo transom should be in the same location. I have found that the guy running the hole saw from the boat factory can be off as much as a couple of inches. The engine/drive location on Bravo should be the same, causing the exhaust manifolds/risers being in the same location. The boat manufactures gets away with this using 3ft of rubber hose.

This really isn't true. To start off with Merc. makes different riser heights.

Even if the holes were the same, I compared off the boat the EMI's to the factory setup. Side by side and on top of each other. The EMI's are flat out not the same. At minimum they are wider and it has nothing to do with transom cutouts... this is the two manifolds sitting side by side. The 3 ft. of hose can compensate for that width on the standard risers but not on the long ones.