98 4.6 long tube vs shorty's

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katrider

New Member

Oct 2, 2011

1

0

0

Oct 2, 2011

#1

• Oct 2, 2011

• #1

hi guys,,,glad i found this site,,,looks great,,,,bought a 98 gt 4.6 5spd,,,first mustang,,, swapping a 98 police engine into my car,,,after pulling the motor,,i see that trying to install headers at a later date would prove diffucult,,my question is what are the pros and cons of the long tube vs the shortys,,,any installation issues,,,as well as any tips,,,thanks again for the great site,,,

 

GDawg

Founding Member

Mar 22, 2002

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68

Nevada

Oct 2, 2011

#2

• Oct 2, 2011

• #2

My car is lowered and honestly I don't think I could put in LTs that wouldn't drag.

 

D

Deleted member 38176

Oct 3, 2011

#3

• Oct 3, 2011

• #3

Both are a pain in the as to install. Probably one of the most difficult jobs to do on these cars.

Short tubes do absolutely nothing. NOTHING.

Longtubes probably yield the most power of any "bolt-on" mod (around 20rwhp). After I installed mine it felt like I gained 30rwhp. The difference was incredible.

 

LarsD

Founding Member

Jul 2, 2002

2,680

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Texas

Oct 9, 2011

#4

• Oct 9, 2011

• #4

If you have the engine out now is the time to do them. Make sure to get a set that don't interfere with trans removal. Mine is lowered a bit and has Hookers on it. You will drag everywhere however.

 

D

Deleted member 38176

Oct 10, 2011

#5

• Oct 10, 2011

• #5

LarsD said:

You will drag everywhere however.

Click to expand...

+1

 

79'293stang

Active Member

Jan 5, 2003

505

11

29

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Oct 10, 2011

#6

• Oct 10, 2011

• #6

I installed a set of MAC Ceramic coated long tubes onto my friends 98, fitment was really good and he had no dragging issues on his lowered car.
It was a real pain, we had it on a lift. As far as install goes we had to remove the starter, steering shaft, dipstick, unbolt the engine and raise it several inches then remove the engine mounts. Once we got them in place getting the bolts in was a major pain but once we were done and everything reinstalled the payoff was pretty amazing, it felt like a fairly good increase in power. Overall time for install was around 4hrs with a lift and lots of swearing.

 

Rougestang

Member

Jun 12, 2007

59

0

6

florida

Oct 17, 2011

#7

• Oct 17, 2011

• #7

I put Mac Long tubes in my car by myself in one night. I will never do it again. To say it was A pain in the arse is an understatement. Unless your going with a forced induction, long tubes won't have huge gains in performance, but do sound a little different than stock manifolds or shorty's or mid-length..etc..etc... Of course, this is assuming you have a different mid- pipe for it as well. Mine makes it hard to take the tranny off, and pretty much do anything to remove the engine. My car is also lowered, and they do drag. I almost wish I went with shorty's. I would recommend visiting BBK's website. They had a video of all the different kinds of headers, and went over them a little. You might be able to find it on youtube as well.

 

Night Shifter

Well-Known Member

Dec 24, 2005

1,710

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Daytona

Oct 18, 2011

#8

• Oct 18, 2011

• #8

I have mac long tubes and im lowered well into the 2" range and I have yet to scrape my headers...even with portliness which were just a little higher than the coilovers I have now I never scraped

 

LarsD

Founding Member

Jul 2, 2002

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Texas

Oct 18, 2011

#9

• Oct 18, 2011

• #9

Night Shifter said:

I have mac long tubes and im lowered well into the 2" range and I have yet to scrape my headers...even with portliness which were just a little higher than the coilovers I have now I never scraped

Click to expand...

<------Jealous


I scrape pulling into my shop if I don't hit it just right.

 

LarsD

Founding Member

Jul 2, 2002

2,680

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123

Texas

Oct 18, 2011

#10

• Oct 18, 2011

• #10

Night Shifter said:

I have mac long tubes and im lowered well into the 2" range and I have yet to scrape my headers...even with portliness which were just a little higher than the coilovers I have now I never scraped

Click to expand...

<------ Jealous

I scrape pulling into my shop if I don't hit the correct angle just right.

 

Dark04GT

10 Year Member

Apr 27, 2008

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NC

Oct 18, 2011

#11

• Oct 18, 2011

• #11

With my exhaust my midpipe scrapes, not my lt's.

 

Dark04GT

10 Year Member

Apr 27, 2008

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NC

Oct 18, 2011

#12

• Oct 18, 2011

• #12

.

 

N8Dogg98

15 Year Member

Apr 4, 2005

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MN

Oct 18, 2011

#13

• Oct 18, 2011

• #13

If you're scraping with LT's you should consider replacing the engine/trans mounts.

 

0

007

Founding Member

Jan 29, 2002

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Broke

Oct 18, 2011

#14

• Oct 18, 2011

• #14

Shorties are utter crap.

 

Rougestang

Member

Jun 12, 2007

59

0

6

florida

Oct 18, 2011

#15

• Oct 18, 2011

• #15

I should clarify, it's my mid-pipe that scrapes, not the long tubes.

 

AZmustang98

Member

Oct 19, 2011

373

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19

Flagstaff, Arizona

Dec 11, 2011

#16

• Dec 11, 2011

• #16

I am looking at Macs. Do they allow for removal of the transmission to replace the clutch?

 

Three50won

10 Year Member

Jul 11, 2010

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Dec 14, 2011

#17

• Dec 14, 2011

• #17

katrider, shorties DO improve power and performance. I had them installed on my 03 a few years ago (not anymore tho) and I felt the difference they make...and I was skeptical back then. This was in a high compression engine. I felt it more in the upper RPM's. The car had a cleaner and easier pull. It's hard to look at stock manifolds in comparison to shorties (even crappy shorties) and say that shorties do nothing. They obviously are inferior to LTs but I doubt anyone would choose stock manifolds over shorties. The only issue with LTs that I know of are ground clearance and you might have to run a Flaming River steering shaft. You might need the steering shaft with equal length shorties as well. And the O2 sensors might not reach so you might need a pair of extenders. It's best to go ahead and get all these things beforehand so you're not stuck waiting for them. And you're obviously gonna have to get an X/H pipe for LTs if you go with LTs.

 

trinity_gt

10 Year Member

Jan 31, 2003

3,125

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Canada

Dec 14, 2011

#18

• Dec 14, 2011

• #18

Does anyone have dyno evidence showing the gains to be had with long tubes on an NPI-headed 4.6?

The exhaust port on those things stalls at something like 0.350" valve lift and I just wonder what the gain/pain ratio is when you uncork the exhaust system downstream of those lousy ports.