info on lightning headers

[woodster]

just looking for some input on changing over from stock exhaust mainfolds to the lightning headers. i have a ultra with a 502 chevy. will the headers give me any more power or speed? right now my boat does 63-64 mph with empty tanks and 2 people.just wondering if its worth spending the dough to upgrade. also do they make the boat any louder? im also thinking about adding a supercharger. any info would be appreciated..thanks.

[hack job]

i have lighting headers! they are great i love them i can tell you that i ran logs on my boat and they gave me a 500 rpm in crease wit out any tuning i would recommend them , i cant tell you that for a fact that they will help you ! but i would say that they have to help that motor breath! and they are considably louder! good luck email if you have any other questions! :D wink

[Froggystyle]

I have a 21'Ultra with Lighnings, and I seriously love them. They look nice, sound great and look nice! wink
I can't compare performance, because I bought it with them, but we run pretty strong.
Here's a pic...
http://free.***boat.net/hbcove/33/1/08.jpg
[ September 15, 2002, 11:19 PM: Message edited by: Froggystyle ]

[tripp]

Are these headers water cooled?

[Froggystyle]

Yes. Water jacketed in fact. They have an inner tube that contains the exhaust, and an outer tube that runs water. They combine in the down-tube and run out the back together.

[spectras only]

Froggy, I assume the picture [very nice]was taken when the boat was new!? How is the colour holding up on the headers? I'm contemplating to install them on my LS-6.

[flat broke]

Spectras,
The surface is Powder Coated, so unless you ding and scratch em up, it should hold up for quite some time. I know on Ty's headers, you can always touch em with your hands. You can't grab on and hold em for an extended period of time, but they stay relatively cool to the touch (about the same as my old Stainless Marine Manifolds) As long as the temps in the header stay relatively low, the PC will be just fine.
I've seen setups on boats with up to 5 seasons on them and they look pretty damn good.
Chris

[spectras only]

Thanks flatbroke.I guess as long as you have enough volume of water in them you're safe. It's the gage of the tubing that worries me.I had discolouring problems with exhausts on my vintage m/c's ,until I got heavier gage aftermarket ones,which never discoloured.Powdercoating is fine,but I've experienced orange peeling[scaling]on intake manifolds with short [200 degree] overheating periods.

[Froggystyle]

My water temp averages around 190, but goes higher on occasion.
Those pics were taken with about 20 hours on the motor, this year. The boat was about 6 months old at the time.
They look exactly the same now...

[spectras only]

Thanks guys!

[woodster]

hey froggy thanks for the info. what motor are u running in your boat? looks pretty sweet.also are they fairly easy to measure up and install or should i just take the boat over to mike at ultra and have him do it? also do u think the stock pump(setback dominator with A impeller) would handle a supercharger ok? im lookin at going with a procharger and cant seem to get any info on whether they work good on jets or not? everyone seems to run them on prop boats. thanks

[RandyH]

Hello Woodster,
Have you read this article.
http://www.ultraboats.com/ultra/html/reviews/hbfeb1999/22stealth.pdf
Its a 22 Stealth with the pro charger. I would follow Froggys lead on the Lightnings. I am not sure what degree Tansom you have but his seems to line up pretty perpendicular with the exhaust points.
I had Ultra put CMIs on my 21 Stealth and They had to have Dana make custom tail pipes to fit properly. They did it right and I give Mike a lot of credit cause it turned out perfect. But it did take extra time and expense.
I will try to post a photo , wish me luck, first timer. Good Luck on your Headers. I do like mine cause with a thin wall socket I can pull the plugs and also can remove my valve covers to adjust the valve lash without pulling the headers. It would appear that Froggy can do the same and thats a big plus . I think we both have the IMCO covers.
Randy
http://free.***boat.net/gallery/Gearhead_Garage/Motors_and_Drives/Cmi.JPG
[ September 16, 2002, 07:05 PM: Message edited by: RandyH ]

[woodster]

hey thanks for the info randyh.. i tried opening up that pdf file but it says access path denied after i download it? anybody know where i go to download the pdf file convertor? thanks

[RandyH]

woodster:
hey thanks for the info randyh.. i tried opening up that pdf file but it says access path denied after i download it? anybody know where i go to download the pdf file convertor? thanksWoodster, I think you can get a PDF reader free at Adobe web site. If not , Ultra has this article printed out and John can send it to you . I think ***boat did it and gave him a few thousand slicks. I think the 22 Hull has a different Hull and might be alittle slicker than the 21s.
Randy

[woodster]

great thanks again. actually i have the 22 so sounds like good reading.. thanks

[RandyH]

woodster:
great thanks again. actually i have the 22 so sounds like good reading.. thanksWoodster,
Found it on ***boats site in Text version. Check your email. I just sent it.
Randy

[hack job]

here is a pic of mine !
http://free.***boat.net/gallery/Gearhead_Garage/Other_Equipment/new_motor11.JPG
oh and mine are on a ford wink !
good luck! :D

[ultra tweaker]

I have some info for you on lightning headers. my machinest rod phillips new jay the owner of lightning when he developed his headers. they put a motor on the dyno and ran it with log style exhaust manifolds. they then ran the same motor with the lightnings and it registered 100 hp more. they scratched their heads and said there is a mistake here, so they switched them back and the motor registered 100 hp less! I am no sales man for lightnings but I trust my machinest and he's not full of crap.
I have lightnings on my boat and I love them! they sound bitchen and they work awsome. One word of advise I have for you if you have the ability, like I had, is to take your boat and motor combo to elsinor to jay and have him look at what you have. when he looked at my boat he said "you are going to have to have the rock out option if you are going to run those valve covers" which are the bread loaf style needed to clear my roller rockers and stud girdles. I have nothing but good stuff to say about them. and buy yourselk a 7/16 crows foot you'll need it.

[woodster]

hey thanks ultra tweaker.. but what the hells a 7/16 crows foot?lol also when u switched over did u get more revs outta your boat? which ultra do u have?

[Shmoolie]

Woodster,
I'm running the lightning's on my 22 Stealth and I'm very happy with them. I can't compare them with logs since I ordered the boat with the lightning's, but I'm sure you would see an improvement.
They will be louder. At a cruise speed they just make a nice rumble, not too loud for conversation etc., and when you stomp on it, they make beautiful music!

[Froggystyle]

Shmoolie:
Woodster,
I'm running the lightning's on my 22 Stealth and I'm very happy with them. I can't compare them with logs since I ordered the boat with the lightning's, but I'm sure you would see an improvement.
They will be louder. At a cruise speed they just make a nice rumble, not too loud for conversation etc., and when you stomp on it, they make beautiful music!Hmmmmmmm. Schmoolie huh? Rick?

[Shmoolie]

Froggystyle:
Hmmmmmmm. Schmoolie huh? Rick?Nope, Don't know ya Froggy. I've seen pics of your boat though, and have seen it running the river (Martinez area). It's art in motion.

[woodster]

hey thanks all for the info.. all three of those motor pics are sweet.. randy u have one nice lookin motor.actually they all are really nice lookin. randy and froggy where did u guys get those batteryholders from? and did your boats come standard with 2 batteries? mine only came with one and its in a plastic box cover. did u get those threw ultra? thanks

[RandyH]

Here you go Woodster,
I think they are both Dana Billet boxes.
http://www.danamarineproducts.com/PartImages/PIC00780.JPG
Billet Battery Box Group 24
These Boxes are Machined from 6061-T6 Aircraft Alloy and will fit most group 24 batteries.
$115.00
http://www.danamarineproducts.com/PartImages/pic00780b.jpg
Here is their Weblink...
http://www.danamarineproducts.com/
They have some great looking hardware.
randy

[woodster]

hey randy thanks again.. i just ordered a set..

[ultra tweaker]

woodster I run a 21 xt with the bottom straitened by jeff bennett. I have had a lot of problems with mine due to my set up. I starved the motor for fuel through three motors and now have it figured out. I assembled the boat from a bare hull I bought at the end of '99. I ran the logs first but due to the variation in the set up I can't tell you the rpm increase, wish I could. The boat turns 5150 rpm with an ab impellar and an inducer. right where I wanted it to. the motor puts out 460hp and 509fp of torque, dyno, if that is any help.