Can I expect from bolting on the BBK Shorty Headers along with the Catted X-Pipe on my 97 GT Auto. Also I live in Los Angeles, will this combo pass smog tests?
Read this months Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords. There is an article on putting in a Bassani BX mid-length headers (no collector), X - Pipes (street) and Cat Back Pipes.... all said and done dyno'ed out +17.3hp.
It's really hard to get a big pop in horse power cheap. Ford has done a pretty good job on the 99+ mustangs you can get there....300rwhp but it's going to cost you. hehehehe
281 cubic inches making ~260hp from the factory is amazing, that being said, it is hard to make a lot of power without a power adder like nitrous or a blower
ceramic coated are great"because the coating acts as an insulator, it keeps heat inside the headers and out of the engine compartment, where lower temperatures permit [denser] fuel/air charges to reach combustion chambers. At the same time, demand from power-robbing accessories is reduced. Also, by retaining heat within headers and smoothing header bores, the coating increases the velocity and reduces the turbulence of exhaust gases, leading to more effective scavenging of cylinders."
i agree with the fact that it is very expensive to make these 99 and up cars make power. however i disagree that ford did great with squeezing 260 hp out of the 281. i see all these 6 cyl. making 260 horse or more.