LONG TUBE DEBATE...neep help!

[xander0561]

Ok guys, Im looking into getting Longtubes. That and underdrive pulleys are the only boltons I've got left to do to the motor. Give me your opinion on the best LT's out there. I know Kooks are great but I need something within a normal budget (under 700 blings). If anyone has first hand experience on how much power they will give let me know, and dyno graphs are great too. I already have the steeda UDP's picked out if anyone has them let me know about your experiences with them.

Thanks reading,

Xander.

 

[Red 97]

I just put some CAM headers on mine. They are polished 304 stainless steel which is good, and the mid pipe is also a lower grade stainless. I had to resuface the flanges do to being warped a bit from the welding, not to bad though. They sound great for sure, and for under 600 for LTs and mid pipe, both being stainless not a bad deal. They also tuck under the car well so clearance is good! I give them a 7 out of 10 :thumb:

 

[MustangMatt96GT]

Hooker Headers FTW... but i wouldnt do anything less than hooker or kooks. The reason why is hookers make the most power proven many times over, but on a NPI engine you arent going to see much but 5 horsepower... You need some cams in there... Again you get what you pay for.


BTW xander0567 what face plate gauges do you have? I have the same ones but i cant figure out what brand they are.

 

[WarHorse]

dont know much bout the LT's

but i got a set of Steeda pullies on to replace my stock messed up UD pulley, which was improperly installed. i havent had any problems with them at all, no charging issues or anything whatsoever just yet. and theyre SFI approved.

 

[xander0561]

Hooker Headers FTW... but i wouldnt do anything less than hooker or kooks. The reason why is hookers make the most power proven many times over, but on a NPI engine you arent going to see much but 5 horsepower... You need some cams in there... Again you get what you pay for.


BTW xander0567 what face plate gauges do you have? I have the same ones but i cant figure out what brand they are.

Well I've got The full PI swap, 75mm TB& plenum, and stage 1 CMS cams. So now all i need are the headers and UDP's


And im not sure what brand they are, all I know is that I ordered them from american muscle.

 

[MustangMatt96GT]

Then you should know... you get what you pay for...

Dont skimp out now. I also saw some on summit they were Hedman headers that i thought looked nice, but i got my hookers for a better price used.

 

[xander0561]

Then you should know... you get what you pay for...

Dont skimp out now. I also saw some on summit they were Hedman headers that i thought looked nice, but i got my hookers for a better price used.

What do you think about the BBK headers? Seems like everyone Runs them and like them?

 

[MustangMatt96GT]

I have more than one person that has had those and have had to take them off and reweld them more than once. And those cars get maybe 2500 miles a year. Im not a fan of any BBK product for a Modular mOtor.

 

[Willis_98GT]

I just put some CAM headers on mine. They are polished 304 stainless steel which is good, and the mid pipe is also a lower grade stainless. I had to resuface the flanges do to being warped a bit from the welding, not to bad though. They sound great for sure, and for under 600 for LTs and mid pipe, both being stainless not a bad deal. They also tuck under the car well so clearance is good! I give them a 7 out of 10 :thumb:

so they tuck up like macs and hookers? where as in you don't have to pull the drivers side out to mess w/ tranny etc?

also they clear the steering shaft too?

 

[ThePope]

I bought a pair of MAC long tube headers and I couldn't be any happier. No issues what so ever.

 

[97stanger]

SLP ceramic coated FTMFW! I would only ever buy SLP, Kooks, or Hooker.

 

[realitygt]

'm not sure where all this info is comming from but I generally hate everything BBK but their modular headers are the best on the market for the money....they offer the best ground clearance and fit much better than the MAC's.

If you ever remove the MAC's they are a pain in the ass to re-install as the flanges always warp and the bolts never line up. The Hookers are a PITA to get to seal where the slip fits go together and aren't near the quality of the BBK's.


Ignore the internet folklore and compare them all side by side and you'll quickly realize the "anti" BBK rhetoric that you see on the internet is from those without prior experience with other brands.

I've NEVER had a leak with BBK headers when installed correctly.

Just my .02

quoted from bobcat on stlmustangs who is one of the most knowledgeable people I know.

 

[97stanger]

dont you dare ever say that Hooker's quality doesnt compare to BBK's. are you kidding me?

As the old saying goes...you get what you pay for. Just keep that in mind.

I have had 3 friends with BBK longtubes. One had fitment issues. The other was happy with them. And the third had problems with leaks.

 

[98mstanggt]

Well I have Mac Longtubes couldn't be happier..... Plenty of clearance for the driveshaft too alone with a nice bump in horsepower

 

[97stanger]

there is always somebody who will put down "x" brand, and another who says they were the best.

 

[DropTopPony]

I'd like to know about ground clearance, the main reason i have not ditched my shorts for LT's is i'm worried about scraping then up. My car sits really low and i scrape on alot of crap being in NJ and destroying a $1500 Kooks setup would make me kill the first NJ road repair crew i ran into.

Do they sit any lower and has anyone had issues with ground clearance? Be honest :knuppel2:

 

[MustangMatt96GT]

To tell you the truth, I only had problems scrapping into my drive way and really really hard speed bumps. And so i ajdusted my coilovers so that it sat about an inch higher and all has been good now. Ill take pictures one of these days.

 

[97stanger]

I never really had a problem scraping my longtubes bob and i live in your area. i scrape on my intercooler the most.

SLP longtubes:

If you look you can see how nicely they tuck up. I mean, yeah they are LONGtubes so they will hang fairly lower compared to stock manifolds...

 

[navarro98gt]

I’ve had Hooker ceramic coated LT’s for the last 8,000 miles and they are RUSTING really bad. If I had to do it all over I’d go with something stainless like SLP.

 

[98mstanggt]

I have scraped mine plenty of times and my car isnt lowered at all u just gotta be a lil more careful pulling in and out places, hitting speeds bumps to fast, lol all that good stuff