Larini / Tubi side-by-side header comparison

Since I bought both (Carobu graciously took the Larinis back - kudos) Larini and Tubi s/s headers for the 3.2 and qv, here is a unique look at these high end performance headers side-by-side.

The Larini headers are polished stainless steel, which looks spectacular -- but important to remembered that polished s/s may discolor after a few heat cycles. Overall the headers are a Tri-Y 4 - 2 - 1 design with differing length secondary tubes as shown in the photo, designed to spread the torque curve. The mounting flange is a piece of flat sheet steel with the oval qv ports to which the tubes appear to be slightly bent to fit and welded. The quality of the exterior welds is good, but there was some rough edges inside the flange. In the primary tubes there were noticible 'kinks' and narrowing in the tubing where it had been bent, some pretty extreme - some of these are circled in the drawing. While spectacular on first glance, the tubing kinks and flange mating ultimately made the Larini unacceptable for me.

The Tubi headers, which took months of waiting, were the opposite - not so impressive on first glance as it was not polished - but upon closer examination showed worth. Also a Tri-Y, the big difference in design to the Larini was the lack of secondary tubes on the rear header -- the collectors just went into the other. The flange was a nice cast and reinforced piece with a specific venturi-like mating surface and cast leaders into the primary pipes - very nice. The tubing looked to be hydrauically or mandrel bent - no kinks or deformations anywhere. The welding around the collectors also looked first rate. The Tubi also had the heat shield mounts, which the Larini did not - details, details.

The lack of polishing for me is n/a, as they will be ceramic coated.

I kept the Tubis - quite a bit more expensive, but it does look like you get what you pay for. The Larini headers were a bit surprising as their silencers are so very well done, I'm told. Again, kudos to Carobu for taking them back on their own suggestion.

Hope this is interesting for some.
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Will have some numbers on the Tubi in a couple of months, but the Larini never was installed.

If anyone is interested, the Larini is still unused at Carobu, & much less expensive than the Tubi.