Doug Thorley Tri-Y Headers

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clint440

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Greetings,

Going to be installing the following in the next week or so:

http://www.dougthorleyheaders.com/t...e-ram-5.7l-long-tube-headers-(4wd-only)_15922

Quality seems to be great upon inspection. Attached some photos for reference.

Although mild steel, it is 14 gauge not 16 gauge and coated inside and outside. Also came with remflex gaskets. I'll see how they fit, but thinking the more compact fit of the tri-y design will help with clearance.

I'm not a racer so I couldn't really justify the much more expensive stainless steel 4 into 1 headers for my application. From what I read, various shorty brands can have some quality issues and the gains are possibly not worth the headache of install.

I'll provide updates upon installation and post-tune. I'll initially run it without Cats and I'm probably leaning to upgrading to a solo mach 44 or MF 22 to keep the exhaust civilized.

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Ohio5pt7

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They should work good I've heard good things about thorleys in the past

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Tim Garceau

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Take some primary flange and collector weld photos as these will surely be in the mix if quality holds up. The installation instructions even state that the chrome plate will deteriorate so may be a risk in the salt belt, however, 5 year warranty.

2-1/2” exits will be less obnoxious as you find what you can tolerate out the back end.
 
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tpk0999

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Had Doug thorley tri ys on my 2004. To me it was worth every penny. I miss that truck. I ended up wrapping it around a median one icy night.

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clint440

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Take some primary flange and collector weld photos as these will surely be in the mix if quality holds up. The installation instructions even state that the chrome plate will deteriorate so may be a risk in the salt belt, however, 5 year warranty.

2-1/2” exits will be less obnoxious as you find what you can tolerate out the back end.

The welds look good everywhere. The primaries are Tig welded to the flange from the inside with some spot welds on the outside of the flange. The collectors or the merger points have the primary tubes welded together where they touch and then encased by the v-like jacket. Basically the tri-y mergers are double cased. It's both beefy and refined.

I live in the Pacific NW where they don't salt the roads and the heavier 14 gauge being coated inside and outside gave me the confidence to move forward.

Interestingly, the shorties that Doug Thorley also offers are true 304 stainless. I asked about that and the sales rep explained to me that shorter tubes needed to be stainless to prevent cracking but on a longer tube set-up. The mild steel has less stress and if they did use stainless then they would have to charge a whole lot more for something not necessary especially when it's 14 gauge and coated.

Their shorties are real nice per the specs but you have to modify the factory y pipe so not a true bolt in.
 
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Tim Garceau

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Fantastic, keep us updated as I need to replace my garbage BBKs
 

Hemi 808

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Subscribed. I remember DT headers from the 80's.
 
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clint440

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UPDATE. Installed over the weekend.

The headers themselves fit in real nice. Lots of clearance around the pipes, engine/trans assembly. Didn't need to add any additional heat protection nor did I need to remove the steering shaft or dipstick (I just gently bent the dipstick to my liking, didn't take much effort).

In some ways the drivers side was easier to install as it just slides in and held up so you can get the bolts and gasket in. Passenger side has much more room which is great for clearance but holding the relatively heavy header and threading bolts in is a little more effort. I hand torqued everything using a ratcheting Snap-On wrench which is probably what made the header installation not too bad. Ratchets were just too clumsy and bulky for the most part.

By far the hardest part, was removing the factory Y-pipe and then installing the new one. Keep in mind, I'm in a my garage on a creeper, so no lift. You need to take the manifolds off first to get enough clearance to move forward on the y pipe and the Y-pipe takes some serious beating to slide out of the main factory pipe. Not to mention unplugging the 02 sensors or threading them out out with limited clearance....

Putting the new Y-pipe in was difficult as well as the 14 gauge steel is a hair taller than the 16 gauge factory Y-pipe. I had to cut slots in the factory main pipe, lubricated the new Y- pipe stub with soap and anti seize and beat it relentlessly with a hammer and block of wood. I actually ended up taking the most of the exhaust off the hangers to get the 1/4" clearance I needed. Very tight fit. My factory exhaust had a flowmaster muffler installed in it so maybe it lengthened the exhaust so maybe a true factory exhaust is more bolt in? I dunno...

Now the kit is mostly complete for hardware but didn't have bolts for bolting the Y-pipe to the headers, I dunno if it's implied to use the factory but I purchased some bigger diameter flange bolts (3/8 vs. 5/16 for a better fit). Also the kit uses U-bolts exhaust clamps which I didn't use for obvious reasons and bought the 2.5" exhaust band style from O'reilly's to connect the 2 piece y pipe. I will probably look at getting a 3" band for Y pipe and factory connection. The factory Y-pipe has a welded on U bolt.

INITIAL driving impression, was that it wasn't super obnoxious with no CATs and a little flowmaster 50. Smell isn't bad either. It's louder at start-up but once the engine warms up it's relatively tame. Sure when you get on it, it gets rumbly and probably a little raspy. Just cruising, you can't really hear it and I didn't detect any drone. Being so wet and rainy here, it's not really safe to get on it as the truck will go sideways in a hurry. Takes less throttle to get up to speed and seems maybe a little smoother for gentle acceleration/daily driving.

Now I have less than 30 miles on it so the verdict is still out there. I do plan on putting a SOLO mach 44 muffler on and still need to do some logs to get the tune more refined.

In summary, putting on headers is easy compared to the y pipe. So far I think the Doug Thorley Headers are an extremely good option. More compact fit, 14 gauge, coated inside and outside, comes with remflex gaskets.
 
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crackerjack1957

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Looks like the way to go to keep low end torque......definitely a towers option
 
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clint440

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Looks like the way to go to keep low end torque......definitely a towers option

Doug Thorley markets their header design for that purpose. I will also say it's definitely a hot rodders option as it flies up to 80 without much effort. It's definitely much more responsive at interstate speeds. The original JG tune woke up the sleepy hemi but the headers with the updated tune make it feel like a whole different engine! Kinda amazing that a factory stock near 400 hp truck can feel like a dog compared to the same engine with a tune and a tune on top of it with headers.
 
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Ohio5pt7

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Doug Thorley markets their header design for that purpose. I will also say it's definitely a hot rodders option as it flies up to 80 without much effort. It's definitely much more responsive at interstate speeds. The original JG tune woke up the sleepy hemi but the headers with the updated tune make it feel like a whole different engine! Kinda amazing that a factory stock near 400 hp truck can feel like a dog compared to the same engine with a tune and headers.
You should get a dyno done so we can compare these to arh.

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clint440

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You should get a dyno done so we can compare these to arh.

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Actually that article is what made me consider DT. No plans for a dyno and I don't have any baseline dyno info to compare against. I will try to do some rough 0 to 60s to compare my original Jay Greene tunes with manifolds to my current setup with updated Jay Green tunes. I'm not a racer so ARH would have been overkill for my application and use.

I wanted a high quality set-up that met my requirements and made sense with the dollars. DT are 14 gauge, not 16; the tri-y has a much more compact fit than 4 to 1; coated inside and outside; and I think (?) the tri-y is a little quieter by the design and the 14 gauge probably makes the headers sound a little less tinny. Value talks as well b/c after military discount it was well under $900 bucks.

I would say the main negative on the DT is that it is steel not 304 but I figured in my climate, being heavier built, and coated it offset that.
 

Hemi 808

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Thanks for the update. I'm considering installing headers after my warranty expires next year.
 

Tim Garceau

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Can you snap some photos of the Y-pipe merge installed? Me being in the salt belt there is a zero percent chance the factory Y-pipe is coming apart so I’ll probably need to cut and reclamp after.

Other money shots of the long tubes doesn’t hurt either, cant decide between these or JBAs.

what was the lead time ordering direct?
 
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clint440

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Can you snap some photos of the Y-pipe merge installed? Me being in the salt belt there is a zero percent chance the factory Y-pipe is coming apart so I’ll probably need to cut and reclamp after.

Other money shots of the long tubes doesn’t hurt either, can't decide between these or JBAs.

what was the lead time ordering direct?

I ordered direct, and they shipped direct the same day, UPS ground from CA. I'm in WA state so received them quickly.

I considered JBAs but it starts to add up with y-pipe, silver ceramic coatings, and adding better gaskets. I believe they also have flat faced flanges where DT has the socket connections. I would consider AFE as an alternative, they have a 20% off sale right now.

I did update my first post so pics are more accessible. Here are side shots. I will get underneath later.



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Tim Garceau

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You were able to just slip the dipstick bracket right under the top front bolt flange. OEM gaskets might need a little persuasion on the deflector or a spacer, but if the kit comes with ramflex I’ll replace the OEM gaskets.

DNA cloned and sells the y-pipe for $100, but I agree on the flanges.
 
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clint440

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You were able to just slip the dipstick bracket right under the top front bolt flange. OEM gaskets might need a little persuasion on the deflector or a spacer, but if the kit comes with ramflex I’ll replace the OEM gaskets.

DNA cloned and sells the y-pipe for $100, but I agree on the flanges.

No need to remove dipstick. It's mild steel so easy to bend, Just put a little arc in it at the middle and then bend top brocket to where you can bolt it on the flange. I did it by hand and has plenty of clearance.

The DT kit comes with remflex.
 
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