bbk or ford racing

Maintenance required for longtubes? Heck, it's going to be a PITA anyway to put them on, so why not do the headers that will actually give you a decent gain?

My recommendation:

1) Don't make multiple threads for the same question
2) Get longtubes
3) Refer to #2

I'll bet (and I'm sure others will chime in,) that you're going to be ridiculously angry at yourself for installing shorties or equals after you see how much work it involves.
 
What maintenance on long tubes? There shouldn't be any as long as they are installed correctly and you use a quality header and collector gasket.

does he mean taking them out? like maintenance time? that is my guess. i know LT's take the longest to do on these cars but are more worth it down the long road. i did equal length ceramic BBK headers on my old 5.0. the only problem i had was the passenger side fender well was hitting the header on start up. (headers are too thick and the notch/vert chassis are different from hatchback).

i agree with all...get some long tubes and get them installed! dont forget the correct mid-pipe for the job!
 
yaa but how much of a diff would it be for shorties then longtubes and im scared wit long tubes ima be going through gaskets left nd rite....

LT's are no harder on gaskets than any other header. To minimize gasket failure, pick a header with a single piece thick flange design. Those the use small, individual flanges like Mac are the ones that distort with heat and cause gasket failure.

Update us when you get them and we'll tell you how to put the on properly to make sure they remain leak free. :)
 
does he mean taking them out? like maintenance time? that is my guess. i know LT's take the longest to do on these cars but are more worth it down the long road. i did equal length ceramic BBK headers on my old 5.0. the only problem i had was the passenger side fender well was hitting the header on start up. (headers are too thick and the notch/vert chassis are different from hatchback).

i agree with all...get some long tubes and get them installed! dont forget the correct mid-pipe for the job!

Could be. I guess maybe he might be referring to servicing the clutch as well. But I have a hunch maybe he just thought LT's required more service maintenance which clearly they don't. Plus the extra power is a big plus.:nice:
 
I'm wondering about this set-up too. But I would prefer to stick with the shorties because I already purchased the BBK O/R x-pipe for my saleen and I have the Mac O/R H-pipe on my Mustang. Does anyone have any real opinions on either BBK Shorty Headers or the Ford Racing headers?
 
Real opinions....ok, all shorty headers suck and aren't worth the money....end of story! They barely out perform the stock manifolds and wouldn't even be noticed at most moderate power levels. They're there for bragging rights and ease of installation above anything else. Modular manifolds although not ideal, are no where near as bad as the factory headers that came on the old 5.0L Fox’s and SN95’s. A lot of people are under the old mindset that installing a set of short tube headers on their modular is going to wake up their ride, like it did with their OHV Mustang, when it really won’t.....and most aftermarket companies are counting on this mindset in order to help sell their product.

As far as your mid-pipe goes.....I'd personally either sell your current BBK pipe, or take it to a local exhaust shop and have it shortened and modified to work with a decent set of long tube or mid-length headers. And before anyone chimes in on how big of a waste of money it would be to hack up a perfectly good H-pipe, it would be an even bigger waste of money to drop $250+ on a set of shorty headers when you won't notice them anyway! :notnice:
 
So which one is better as far as collectors and flang thickness ? is thinker better ?

BBK-1541 VS
BBK-1533​

Collector Attachment : 2 Bolt Flang
Stock​
Flange Thickness(in): 3/8 in
1/4 in​
Primary Tube Gauge: 16 Guage
18 Guage​
Header Finish: Chrome
Nickel Chrome Plated​
Price $409
$429​
 
Well....I'd say considering that the 1533's are made to fit a DOHC Cobra, you'll probably want to stick with the 1541's..... ;)

....but it you can afford to pony up the extra dough, shoot for the 15410 Ceramic Coated versions. They'll help with exhaust scavenging, keep under hood temperatures down and the finish lasts longer to boot. :nice: