Header advice.

[02 281 GT]

I'm looking to get some long tubes for my Cobra, and I'm thinking about going with the 1¾" rather than the 1 5/8". I realize that the difference between the two is only 1/8", but how big of a difference does that really make? The engine is currently stock, so I'm not moving tons of air, but I plan to do top-end upgrades this year (AFR 165s or 185s, intake, FTI cam, etc), so should I just go for the 1¾" anyway since it would compliment those upgrades?

I've had my fair share of doing things twice on the same car, so I'd kind of like to just buy one set of long tubes for this car, y'know?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

FYI: I'm looking at the Hooker super comp long tubes for the fox body cars. I've done some research, and what I've found is that most fox body long tubes will fit '94-'95 except those specifically designed for the manual tranny foxes (BBK, JBA, etc.) because they are designed to hug the tranny. I had a set of the super comps on my '86 and I distinctly remember that they weren't designed that way (they were also awesome headers). The rest of my exhaust consists of a flowmaster catback and a BBK off-road h-pipe. I want to just cut the h-pipe and use it with the super comps. Anyone think I may run into any problems with this idea?

My main question here concerns the 1¾" versus 1 5/8" headers.

 

[revhead347]

With the AFR heads and FTI cam, you will probably be optimum with the 1 5/8" headers. However, it wouldn't hurt to have the 1 3/4" headers if you want to step up with a little more power later on. The two most common headers are the BBK and the Mac headers. Only Mac offers a 1 3/4" header for the SN specifically. The problem with running fox headers is that it usually rubs on the clutch fork, because it is in a different locaction on the SN than on the Fox. I think you have to modify the header to make it fit if it rubs. However, if you use a Tremec 3550 style transmission (3550, TKO, TKO500, TKO600), the clutch fork is in the fox location, and you can run Fox style headers. With heads and cam, it is a good idea to replace the transmission anyway.

Kurt