Explanation of Shorty Versus Longtube Header

[07TR]

Hey guys I have been doing a lot of reading and searching and didn't seem to find a simple breakdown anywhere in our forum either about this topic.
I was just hoping that someone could explain to me the difference in gains through the power curve of shorty and longtube headers...

From my research so far, I am under the immersion that long tubes only have a low and mid range power gain and that if your building say a street rod that's gonna burn rubber from light to light you want long tube headers. However if you are looking for an effective method for relieving the exhaust gases on the higher end of the power curve you want to use shorty Headers. So based on this I'm assuming that the shorty headers are better for someone who wants to daily drive and do some performance driving with their car and not just be a burnout King.

Im hoping you guys can confirm my statements or confirm my theory thanks again

 

[eighty6gt]

Save your money, get a DOB supercharger setup and retain the stock exhaust up to the cat back.

Short tube headers will not make a significant change with an n/a setup. Long tubes will garner you 20 hp.

With the blower, you won't be pining for these meager gains.

 

[duststang]

I always thought that long tube increase was mostly low end and shorty was more mid to top end. shorty headers never increased HP as much. I know a lot of guys that run long tubes on their DD. Shorty are so much cheaper also. I need a set of headers but have not decided yet which I m going with.

 

[07TR]

Like I said Im really just trying to wrap my head around this topic and yes I know it all comes back to the faster you get the air in and out the more power you make but I really would love to know more about these

 

[skwerl]

Shorties are mostly for looks as the vast majority won't move any more air than the stock headers. In order to move more air you need to enlarge the bottleneck. The bottleneck is going to be the cats most of the time.

So unless you want to show off your purchase, your best bet for increasing airflow is to eliminate the cats. My Bullitt was well over 500hp before I began hitting resistance from my stock exhaust. At that point I relented and went to long tubes.

 

[eighty6gt]

It's too bad only Kenne Bell had back to back tests of a stock S197 H vs. an offroad pipe. They claim that deleting the factory cats did nothing for power in a blown application over 500 hp.

I believe you'd pick up some, as you don't have to worry about meddling with fuel or spark to keep the catalysts from melting down. 1 7/8" long tubes will definitely flow more than the factory manifolds. It's just.. why do that when you don't have to. When is enough enough when LT's and a midpipe cost $1500.

 

[UltraKla$$ic]

All you need to know is a 3V gains nothing from either









/end thread

 

[TenSpeed]

All you need to know is a hard parked S550 gains nothing from either









/end thread

Fucking fixed that for you.

 

[07TR]

He's gonna need some ice for that burn

 

[eighty6gt]

Don't feed the trolls!

 

[loots06]

All you need to know is a 3V gains nothing from either
:

I have shorty headers, gained only bragging rights to say that I have shorty headers! Oh they're JBA headers.

 

[JeremyH]

Hey guys I have been doing a lot of reading and searching and didn't seem to find a simple breakdown anywhere in our forum either about this topic.
I was just hoping that someone could explain to me the difference in gains through the power curve of shorty and longtube headers...

From my research so far, I am under the immersion that long tubes only have a low and mid range power gain and that if your building say a street rod that's gonna burn rubber from light to light you want long tube headers. However if you are looking for an effective method for relieving the exhaust gases on the higher end of the power curve you want to use shorty Headers. So based on this I'm assuming that the shorty headers are better for someone who wants to daily drive and do some performance driving with their car and not just be a burnout King.

Im hoping you guys can confirm my statements or confirm my theory thanks again

Longtubes make power/torque up high and as well as under the curve, not sure where you heard shorties make more power up top. Physics wise yes shorter exhaust runners are idea for higher rpm but this does not prevent the engine from making more power up top with a longtube. If you want the full technical reason of why look up exhaust pulse scavenging. A long tube will do individual cylinders just like a shorty, as well as pulse to pulse timing to create scavenging at the collector. Multiple points of scavenging is idea for and helps higher rpm in the end, so best of both worlds. This collector merge also creates more peak torque allowing to pull more power through the rev range. On a side note, a x pipes also creates bank to bank scavenging vice a h pipe which just equalizes banks. Hence why a x pipe will make a little more power than a H.

This multiple pulse scavenging affect makes more power than just relieving some back pressure and minor scavenging at each exhaust port on the head with shorties alone. Even a "tuned length" shorty is limited in room and distance to the stock collector location/size as well as all the additional twisting and turning which slows down the exhaust pulses. In the end the shorty is no match for a mid to full length long tube header throughout the power band. The 4.6 wth a rev range of around 6k tends to like a mid length long tube. Not that a full length longtube really hurts anything. Coyote stock headers tri Y design incorporates this concept further instead of 4 to 1 its a 4 to 2 to 1 design, so with 2 runners merging individually and then merging again at the collector (more points for scavenging). But again a longtube will still beat it out with the larger collector merge vice tube to tube merging.

My 2 cents, get longtubes if your staying na or blower, don't waste your time on shorties for the 3v. My first two mods were cai/canned tune and kooks longtubes on my 07. Went from 263rwhp bone stock to 315rwhp with those mods and a canned 93 tune. Kooks are considered a mid length long tube fyi.

 

[07TR]

Wow that was a lot of good info there I appreciate that...so when you put your long tribes in did you remove the cats and how do the impact the effectiveness of longtube headers

 

[UltraKla$$ic]

You ladies are sensitive here at MustangForum.com

 

[TenSpeed]

Nahh, we drive our cars here at S197Forum.

 

[eighty6gt]

Wow that was a lot of good info there I appreciate that...so when you put your long tribes in did you remove the cats and how do the impact the effectiveness of longtube headers

http://www.s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=126258&highlight=cats+negating

The problem with cats and LT's is I've seen countless forced induction setups blow up their aftermarket catalysts. I suspect the kooks green cats are "real" (based on their cost) and will survive. Anything else all bets are off.


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[07TR]

so basically cats with long tubes is a matter of opinion and it's quieter than off road x pipe and no cats

 

[eighty6gt]

Well, it's a matter of a blown motor or digging out rattling hunks of broken catalyst, in some cases.

 

[07TR]

Okay so let'I me ask this question with forced induction and long tubes you'd want to run cats then

 

[eighty6gt]

I'd only run the gold plated ones I posted above.