Long Tubes Versus Shortie Headers

X-Pipe, H-Pipe, and straight pipes will all affect power differently they will also change the tone of your exhaust same with the mufflers (kinda some mufflers have similar attributes which equates to similar power numbers) That being said you also have to look at pipe size. If your pipes are too large you have now back pressure but if their too small you have too much back pressure both of which affect overall power out put. Long tubes and shorties also will affect power out put. Shorties tend to provide more torque whereas longtubes provide more horsepower. you cant really look at just one aspect of it but the system as a whole. You are also correct that the article is scewed as to get an accurate reading in power difference they should have only changed the manifolds not the whole system.

So that being said it all depends on what you are looking to get out of your exhaust power/torque/sound? this will affect what you do to it. Also be aware that there are no restricitions on classic cars exhaust setups anymore as long as you arent violating noise restrictions which are usually around 95 decibals at 25' from the rear of the vehicle the decibal limit varies state by state.

long tubes vs short tubes, they both can increase power, but where they do it is key. long tubes tend to improve low end power, shorties up top. BUT understand that is not a hard and fast rule either. as noted tube size, length, collector size and length, and the rest of the exhaust system all have to be taken into account, along with the equality of tube length, most shorty headers are unequal length tubes,a nd the equal length shorties have some funky tube routing.

all that said, if this is a street engine, then it really doesnt matter which you choose, as the differences are not all that great. sure you might find 5hp with long tubes over unequal length shorty headers, but you will never feel that increase in power, and unless you are running on the ragged edge all the time, you will never notice it at the race track either.

in the end if you are buying headers, get the ones you like and that fit the best, usually unequal length shorties, and dont look back.

GNGREN said:

I actually have both already... I bought the shorty headers before I decided to do the T5, I got the long tubes with all of the T5 conversion pieces. It would be way easier to do the long tubes just because the magna flow system I have on it now was hooked up to a different brand of long tubes so be less fab work but they are not coated and JetHot wants almost $500 to coat them.

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then use what is easiest, no brainer.

Eastwood makes a DIY header coating product that looks decent and has 4 out of 5 good reviews. Seems it cures with exhaust heat, I haven't started the car yet so I wouldn't know. It was easy for my powdercoat guru to apply, he said.
http://www.eastwood.com/silver-hi-temp-coating.html

GNGREN said:

So I was looking at doing an online subscription to Mustang monthly. And I saw this article http://www.mustangandfords.com/how-to/engine/1406-long-tube-vs-shorty-headers-pipe-dreams/ While I was checking out the parent site. Is it me or does it seem a bit skewed? I am not saying that the power gains are bad, but I think swapping out to a completely different style exhaust and then saying the long tubes were the reason for them is misleading. Or am I mistaken and an X or H pipe and mufflers will have no affect the overall power output?

The reason it caught my eye is I am still trying to decide on the ceramic coated shorties I have or the long tubes I have that have had a tube modified to fit around the clutch cable on my T5.

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I will make this as short as possible. This is 20 years of tuning experience, but take it for what it’s worth:

Shorties will not gain any power over a

GNGREN said:

So I was looking at doing an online subscription to Mustang monthly. And I saw this article http://www.mustangandfords.com/how-to/engine/1406-long-tube-vs-shorty-headers-pipe-dreams/ While I was checking out the parent site. Is it me or does it seem a bit skewed? I am not saying that the power gains are bad, but I think swapping out to a completely different style exhaust and then saying the long tubes were the reason for them is misleading. Or am I mistaken and an X or H pipe and mufflers will have no affect the overall power output?

The reason it caught my eye is I am still trying to decide on the ceramic coated shorties I have or the long tubes I have that have had a tube modified to fit around the clutch cable on my T5.

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I’ll make it as short as possible. This is based on hundreds of hours of tuning exhaust systems over thousands of vehicles with tens of thousands of exhaust systems built over the last 20 years. Some of my clients are even international vehicle manufacturers. (Can’t name names due to NDA’s) But take it for what it’s worth. Maybe somebody else with a computer can help better

These general comments are not my theory, they are what I know based on being in the 400-500hp range range.

Shorties don’t gain enough over stock manifolds to show a difference on a Dyno, but they sure do on the street during daily driving. The low end torque loss is very noticeable and ruins the way that the car drives. If shorties are your only option, stick to stock manifolds.

Long tubes gain power across all rpm ranges. 1 5/8, 1 3/4 both have the same power gains, but 1 5/8 has better low end.

X pipe, h pipe, or no crossover have zero effect on power on the Dyno. You don’t see a difference between the 3 in back to back testing on several v8 engines and several manufacturers. Both efi and carb. But on the street, X pipe has more useable low end torque. With H pipe being a close second. No crossover is noticeably less low end than either h or x.

In a nut shell, long tubes are worth whatever it takes to put them in. Either 1 5/8 or 1 3/4 are fine.

Run an x pipe. If closer to 500hp run 3”. If closer to 300hp run 2.5”. This last paragraph assumes you’re running long tubes.

Dirty d, your a little late to the party(9year old thread) but thanks for bringing the good stuff.

Not to many people put on shorty headers and leave the rest of the exhaust system alone.
And I doubt that during those 20 years of testing ( I assume 2003- 2023) that 1986 5.0 stock manifolds were tested against aftermarket shorties.