Looking at JBA long tubes

[Lawlessjay]

I am looking at maybe getting some long tubes for my 13 GT. The prices really range quite a bit. I looked at the JBA's cause they were cheaper priced but would like to have some feedback from other owners. I know kooks and some others are supposed to be better but not sure what makes them so good. And those prices are alittle too much especially since I just bought a clutch and flywheel.

 

[Boone]

I have JBA LTs on my '05 with a 5.3L 3V setup. I have 1/5/8" primaries and make 417whp NA. I took the headers to Jet Hot to get them ceramic coated. They were holding up well before the coating, and no issues after the coating. I also have the catted H-pipe, and no complaints on that piece either.

 

[skwerl]

I had JBA long tubes on my Bullitt. No complaints, they fit without too much fuss and my setup made good power. You can reuse about half of the factory exhaust manifold mounting studs but the other half you will need to remove and replace with the bolts provided with the headers. The bolts WILL come loose after a few heat cycles and WILL need to be retightened once or twice after you get some time on them.

When I installed the T56XL transmission I had to notch the oversize bell housing piece to clear the pipes.

 

[Lawlessjay]

Thanks for your opinions. I read american muscles website reviews and they all seemed good, but I wanted to ask on here.

 

[ghunt81]

I have JBA's. They went in fine, problem I had was that something was boogered up when they were manufactured- the passenger side collector is closer to the floorpan than it should be, sticks back further, AND is somehow just large enough that the end of the H pipe has to be slotted and jammed on there just to get it to fit. So it's all boogered up and apparently I'm the only person that has had this problem. If I didn't have $500 in these headers I probably would have tried another brand that actually puts the collectors in the right place.

Yeah I'm a little steamed about it.

 

[wabirch]

Jba offer any options?

 

[Wes06]

Agreed.

I have JBA's on my 06, they are a bitch to install in the bay, but same for any longtubes just due to tight engine bay's, but once installed theres clearance for all the things around them

 

[Grabber Blue 5.0]

The Kooks mid lengths are the way to go with their front o2 placement. All the other longtubes have the o2's at the 3:00 and 9:00 position and can cause problems. Especially if E85 is going to be used.

 

[ghunt81]

Jba offer any options?

Never tried contacting them because they were already in the car when I realized they were like that. I really should have contacted them about it...oh well, too late now.

The only thing that really annoys me about it is the fact that it's so hard to get the H pipe on the passenger side collector. The other stuff is manageable. I'm trying to find a fix for it that won't involve taking the header out.

 

[o2sys]

I had their ceramic coated on my 07. Passenger was hitting the k-member and the collectors were really close to the frame rails.

Also their coating started to peel and come off at the lowest point and started accumulating surface rust.

They are t409 underneath.

 

[skwerl]

Never tried contacting them because they were already in the car when I realized they were like that. I really should have contacted them about it...oh well, too late now.

The only thing that really annoys me about it is the fact that it's so hard to get the H pipe on the passenger side collector. The other stuff is manageable. I'm trying to find a fix for it that won't involve taking the header out.

Go to Harbor Freight and buy an exhaust pipe spreader.

http://www.harborfreight.com/large-tail-pipe-expander-69549.html

 

[skaarlaj]

definitely not taking nothing away from JBA's here, But I went with Pypes long-tubes and cat-less mid-pipe, and am very happy with the headers. The point is, you don't have to spend a ton of money to have a decent set of headers, and I'd bet those JBA's will be very good even if they don't cost a boat-load of money.

 

[07 Boss]

And depending on where you live you don't necessarily have to get stainless. I have coated mild steel Pacesetters on there with slightly larger primaries for almost 8 years now with no corrosion issues. Paid $525 with an OR H-pipe.

 

[ghunt81]

Go to Harbor Freight and buy an exhaust pipe spreader.

http://www.harborfreight.com/large-tail-pipe-expander-69549.html

No offense but that one there probably wouldn't do anything better than I could do myself some other way. I've tried that style of expander before and they're junk.

Lisle makes a really nice heavy duty pipe expander set that comes well reviewed but costs almost $200. I should just buy it because it's the sort of thing I always seem to end up needing anyway.

Oh and speaking of the money issue, I got a killer deal on my JBA's ($500), found my original catted H pipe used ($150) and JBA's off road H pipe is only $140, ATM I have both H pipes so I don't have that much money wrapped up in it. I love the sound of the off road H but the fumes are fucking terrible at stop lights.

My ceramic coating didn't come off but rust started to come through. In retrospect I should have painted the headers before install because ceramic coating doesn't stop rust. I did pull them the year after initial install and paint them. They still look OK, sure as hell better than mild steel headers, so I don't really care.

 

[RocketcarX]

I haven't tried the JBA header, although their reputation is top notch. I choose to buy the Pacesetter headers for my 08, the tubes are larger than any competitor at 1 3/4 and the price is crazy at $289.00. I had them ceramic coated in Houston at Polydyne and that cost $348.00. I think the cat-less mid-pipe was 140ish.
I just don't believe there is a better deal. They went in on jack stands easily following the directions.

 

[ghunt81]

There are a couple other brands with 1 3/4" primaries...MAC's are in the not-too-expensive range. Beyond that you get into the pricey ones...Dynatech, LTH, Kooks.

 

[NickD87]

I also went with the pacesetters, except I bought the pre coated ones (pretty sure it's jethot) headers are very nice welds etc are perfectly finished, the catted mid pipe on the other hand seems like it was made by another company and required some cleanup of welds etc.

 

[stang910]

I had jba's when I was supercharged and I wouldn't hesitate to buy them again. I even ran E85 and never ruined an O2 sensor. The only issue I had was the H-pipe wouldn't hold at the H connection so it needed to be welded.

 

[95ragtop]

I've had jba long tubes on my 3v since 08. Never an issue, besides installing them in my barracks parking lot.