I want to swap out the JBA headers on my 03 for Kook's LT's. Does anyone know if a BBK h-pipe will bolt up to it? Anyone know of a good dealer on the east coast?
I want to swap out the JBA headers on my 03 for Kook's LT's. Does anyone know if a BBK h-pipe will bolt up to it? Anyone know of a good dealer on the east coast?
Yes, BBK makes an H-pipe for LT's and so does JDM I believe.
Can I ask what your reasoning is for switching from the JBA's to the LT's? You do realize the LT's will cause a few more problems compared to the shortys... just my personal opinion here, but switching to LT's will cause you to look twice at that driveway before entering, or that bump in the road. They will scrape on stuff and will make any future clutch work a real PITA. On top of that you have the added cost, Kooks are top shelf headers and they don't come cheap... all this for a minimal HP/TQ gain over your current headers. They do sound awesome though! I'm just not convinced they are worth the money or headaches.
I love my Kooks. They are great. I made a mid pipe out of my Basanni x with cats. When I got my headers they didn't make a mid pipe with cats. JDM is in Jersey and they are a dealer. I think Kooks is in the area too.
Yes, BBK makes an H-pipe for LT's and so does JDM I believe.
Can I ask what your reasoning is for switching from the JBA's to the LT's? You do realize the LT's will cause a few more problems compared to the shortys... just my personal opinion here, but switching to LT's will cause you to look twice at that driveway before entering, or that bump in the road. They will scrape on stuff and will make any future clutch work a real PITA. On top of that you have the added cost, Kooks are top shelf headers and they don't come cheap... all this for a minimal HP/TQ gain over your current headers. They do sound awesome though! I'm just not convinced they are worth the money or headaches.
There are a few reasons. I know right now at my power levels they won't make much if any gains at all. One of the biggest reasons is that JBA does not use studs in it's collector flanges. The passenger side can not be described as anything other than a nightmare when you won't to swap out a midpipe. If I had known, I would have welded a pair of studs in the passenger side flange before I installed them. I also like stainless steel. You'll never have to worry about the Kook's rusting.
I also plan on upping my power next year and I think the LT's will help.
I had BBK LT's on my 01 and I know you have to be carfull. I have Eibachs on my 03 now and it's pretty damn low on the front and I have to be carefull now. I've busted both my Bassani mufflers. Apparently when I rubbed across something, it broke the baffle plates loose from the cases. I had to pop rivet them to keep them from rattling like hell. As far as the clutch, I know my stock clutch is ready to be replaced. It has a ton of passes. I will probably go ahead and do a clutch at the same time. I do have an alternate plan though. I want a tubular k-member so I could wait till I did the KM and I could easily pull one header loose to get the bell housing off to do the clutch. I know some say you can get the BH off with LT's. And you can but what I witnessed on an 03 at a hi-po shop to get a clutch is not what I want to happen on my 03 especially if you have ceramic coated LT's. They tore his headers all to **** getting the BH off. They pryed on it with pry bars and other obscene crap. They could have easily have cracked a weld. I don't know if there is an easier way to get it off or some technique. All I can say is it wasn't pretty.
Well it sounds like you've researched this and you already know what to expect!
There are so many owners out there that spend a lot of money and time installing headers on their stang and then end up bitchin' about the leaks, scrapes, tranny servicing problems, etc. Lot of folks just don't realize that headers are NOT the best bang for the buck either, specially when you pay someone else to install them!!! I wouldn't even have the JBA shortys on my car if it hadn't been for the head replacement Ford did on my motor. I had them throw the JBA's on while the motor was out! Otherwise I'd still be runnin' the stock logs myself... are your JBA's the newer titanium coated ones by chance? Have you seen the new JBA LT's for the Cobra yet?
I have kooks longtubes and they are a three bolt flange pretty sure bbk and most midpipes are a 2 bolt flange so it wont work without welding flanges.Jdm sell their x pipe 365.00 plus shipping I figure on buying the bbk or dr gas and have the flanges changed