lil love for the shorties

mhanksii

Member
Jan 3, 2006
336
0
16
Maryland
I know everyone hates shorties because they don't make any power compared to long tubes, but what about BBK's new tuned length shorties. They claim 8-15 ponies and 10-15lb of torque. I know these are not long tube number but they are nothing near the long tube price either. Does anyone know if these numbers are correct or not?
 
Mhankskii, you know you've got to take manufacturer's claims with a grain of salt. Well, maybe with a lot of salt. But, you could get some gain from the shorty headers. I had FRPP shorty headers on my '96, but I can't say they did much by themselves. When they were combined with a Bassani X-pipe (with Cats) and an FRPP cat-back exhaust, the whole system did some good.

These new Mustangs have a pretty good exhaust system right from the factory. The stock headers may not look like much, but they flow pretty well.

I would say that you might want to invest your money elsewhere. Underdrive pulleys will get you maybe 5-8 HP and cost about half of what the headers are going for. But, that's just my opinion.
 
So in mhanskii's case, would he be better off taking the money for the shorties+install and getting an aluminum driveshaft? To me, dropping apprx 40 lbs of rotational mass from your driveline would be much more beneficial then picking up 10 HP for close to $800. That would be the route I'd go considering the cost factor.
 
Shorty headers are a complete waste of money as the factory exhaust along with the stock manifolds on the S-197 Mustang flow very efficiently compared to the previous SN-95 generation..That being said, shorty headers may be good for up to 2-5 additional HP ? however IMHO the cost factor for that 2-5 HP just isn't worth it and could be put to much better use towards mods such as CMCV delete plates, UD pulleys and off road mid pipe in which each are good for up to 8-10 HP and also a hell of a lot cheaper than shorty headers as well..:shrug:
 
call me silly [or whatever just not in public] but i got the bbk shorties because i heard the way another guy's exhaust setup sounded [jwgroovin] and wanted the EXACT same setup. so i got em [and the bassani catted x and the mac axle backs]. according to the test that mustang monthly did, you get 17 extra PEAK lb/ft torque and if i remember about 10 PEAK hp over the stock stuff. here's the link and do with it as you please! my car sounds the way i want it to, and whether or not i got huge gains i don't really care that much [not yet anyways]: http://www.mustangmonthly.com/techarticles/mump_0701_ford_mustang_exhaust_headers/.
 
Long tubes are around 15hp and the shorties are worth about 3-5 hp. Install is what can really kill you at around $500-$600 in labor.

I've seen real world LTs provide a tad under 20hp, but the BBK shorties are only good for ~5hp (with torque about 3 times that figure). I have 'em, and sound great along with Bassani catted xpipe and Mac axleback!

John
 
I've seen real world LTs provide a tad under 20hp, but the BBK shorties are only good for ~5hp (with torque about 3 times that figure). I have 'em, and sound great along with Bassani catted xpipe and Mac axleback!

John

The torque is what I am looking for and the midrange power gains are also very impressive.


Thank you :SNSign: for your input and opinions.
 
i agree...

i put BBK shorties on my 04' and now my 07'! i have a o/r h-pipe and flows on my 07' and my car sounded like a ricer, slap a set of shorties and now it sounds like a true muscle car, plus it made my 3rd and 4th gear whoop ass!

taking it to the track this friday for test and tune! so hopefully i can turn
some good times.
 
i agree...

i put BBK shorties on my 04' and now my 07'! i have a o/r h-pipe and flows on my 07' and my car sounded like a ricer, slap a set of shorties and now it sounds like a true muscle car, plus it made my 3rd and 4th gear whoop ass!

taking it to the track this friday for test and tune! so hopefully i can turn
some good times.

Thanks for the words and good luck at the track!:nice:
 
I have a couple of questions. I am not a mechanic or extremely knowledgable with working on cars so don't flame me for this.

I have the Pypes Violators and no other changes to the exhaust system. Does the long tube headers change the sound any or is it just louder? I like the sound on my car but I wish it was louder.

How hard is it to install yourself?