No gaskets preferred, slip on male and female for me

V bands

Ive heard good things about Remflex. Haven't tried them yet.

Starting from scratch I would weld V bands on the collectors. I won't do an exhaust system without those ever again. I put some V bands in my exhaust so my mid pipe can be removed for transmission work. I bought some from Amazon and they have worked really well.

For real collector and header gaskets I like whatever TTI sells, I have never had a problem with them. My collector gaskets have been reused many many many times.

I have Remflex 2.5" gaskets throughout my exhaust system, about 6 points with Stainless 1/2" flanges, no leaks even 10 years later. I bought the header versions too because they are amazing but haven't installed them

I tried remflex , copper,the old plain gasket type & so far the aluminum ones have been in there a long time & still good.

Haven't had an issue in decades, even with the old whitish fiber gaskets, but the flanges have to be aligned & flat.

I'm building the 4" for my Ram with V bands so I can get the down pipe out to making pulling the trans easier if and when I have to do it .

I also built a multi piece headpipe for the Dart and I'm going to switch it to these for the same reason , doing a clutch

I too have a slip on at the collector, but I have a leak there because it is not a tight fit. I think a band clamp will fix it.

The Mr. Gasket CopperSeal Gaskets - they are made from dead soft copper and reusable - I have used these for years - well worth the price

Any cheap gasket will do if the mating surfaces are straight. A tiny smear of copper rtv helps if you still have issues. Copper gaskets combined with a little copper rtv is popular among racers as it's strong and re-usable over and over.

If you blow gaskets all the time you have a parts problem more than a gasket problem.

I've used the aluminum gaskets for years.

I found a couple pair of "dead soft" aluminum ones from Summit in my collector parts box this afternoon. Never run them before... IIRC I was using Mr. Gasket Ultra Seals the last time.

This is an existing TTI system, so no conversion to gasket-less joints w/ v-bands. However, I'm adding a second set of collector hookups between the mufflers and the tail pipes so I can drop the exhaust between the headers and the tail pipes to make trans maintenance (primarily) easier.

I'm also changing the collector config from the headers to use Flowmaster 3.50" to 3.0" tapered collector extensions, instead of the standard short TTI 3.5" to 3.0" collector reducer. It might not make a noticeable difference, but we saw some loss of torque when a straight 3.5" x 18" collector extension was tested vs a standard short 3.5 to 3.0 collector reducer with an 3.0" x 18" collector extension. Torque curve comparison attached below.

Exhaust system in driveway getting ready for re-installation

Some dyno testing doesn't lead you in the best way unless you follow up by testing at the track also
Been down that road more than once, the time slip and spark plug are your best tuning aids and information gathering tools

Closer view of Flowmaster 3.50" to 3.0" tapered collector extensions and standard short TTI 3.5" to 3.0" collector reducer that feeds into 3.0" x-pipe system.

Dead soft aluminum. Try them, they work great.

I have used the aluminum collector gaskets and they've always worked great. I have a set that's probably 15 years old on my dad's road runner. Been apart several times, still no leaks.

On my cuda I used the conventional flat fiber style gaskets that came w/ the TTI headers. I coated them in antiseize and installed them. They're still leak free since 2006, BUT THEY'VE NEVER BEEN APART. My exhaust system uses a flat band style connection, so I never have to unbolt the collector.

Those newer V band clamps look like the hot ticket if you're building something new.

Jegs house brand copper collector gaskets have always worked well for me and been reusable.

V bands are the way to go if building new, though.