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,,,
98 4.6 long tube vs shorty's
- Thread starter katrider
- Start date
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.
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.
79'293stang
Active Member
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.
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
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
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
<------ Jealous
I scrape pulling into my shop if I don't hit the correct angle just right.
Rougestang
Member
AZmustang98
Member
Three50won
10 Year Member
- Jul 11, 2010
- 1,135
- 64
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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
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.
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.
