LT's or shorties?

[Chowder Head]

What should I go with?

I was orginally planning on getting LT's to extract the most power from my car but is it worth it? Not only have I read that it's generally a pain to get on, and also that it would sound horrible with a x pipe, muffler combo (what I wanted to do) I heard a sound clip of a car with FMS shorties, Dr. gas x pipe and spintech sportsmens and it sounded REALLY good. Now if I get that extact combo but I put some BBK LT's in there, how will the sound differ? For best or for worst?

Any help is appreciated, thanks. As you can see, I tend to overthink things, lol.

 

[Camman]

What should I go with?

I was orginally planning on getting LT's to extract the most power from my car but is it worth it? Not only have I read that it's generally a pain to get on, and also that it would sound horrible with a x pipe, muffler combo (what I wanted to do) I heard a sound clip of a car with FMS shorties, Dr. gas x pipe and spintech sportsmens and it sounded REALLY good. Now if I get that extact combo but I put some BBK LT's in there, how will the sound differ? For best or for worst?

Any help is appreciated, thanks. As you can see, I tend to overthink things, lol.

The long tubes will give it a mellower, deeper tone at idle. but to be honest with you your question is along the lines of "Which color is better blue or red?"

 

[_jb_]

LT>normal and equal length.

 

[z2o_what]

i got bbk lt's and im dont regret it.....im running them with a o/r h-pipe and stock muflers and it sounds pretty good

they aren't that hard to install...the driver's side is easy , but for the pass. side you have to raise the motor a little (i removed the pass. motor-mount bolt and use a floor jack to raise the engine)

 

[Grn92LX]

Longtubes will make more power and yes they are harder to install (unless you have the heads off) Its up to you to decide if its worth it. I've had both and I think LT's sound better, but not to say shortys sounded bad.

 

[crazypete]

Longtubes will give that DEEP BASS ROAR that the musclecars of yore would make. No comparison. None at all.

As for install.....my advice....pay someone else to do this one. I did it with no k-member in the car at all, the frame on hydraulic jacks and the motor teetering on 3 scissors jacks and I still had to smack the passenger side with a mallet to get it into place!! With longutbes, you'll need a new midpipe too.

The plus side is if you ever need to drop the exhuast midpipe, it is easy as pie.

 

[harley02]

Long tubes. I put them on my first 95 and the install wasnt to awful bad. The only tough part was routing the dipstick back into the hole. I put MAC LT's and their Pro Chamber H pipe on the car and at idle it really quieted it down, but when getting on it it sounded awesome through the Flowmasters.

 

[Chowder Head]

Thanks for the answers guys, I have one further question I would like your opinion on.

How would this combo sound. BBK LT's, Dr. Gas X Pipe and Spintech Sportsmen mufflers?
Thanks for the replies thus far.

 

[QDRHRSE]

Try 1 3/4" shorties. The best of both worlds. Better performance, price, and ease of installation. I like the sound of X-Pipes!

 

[crazypete]

1 3/4 is going to lose all of the scavenging effects of the exhaust and some bottom end too. 1 3/4 is too big. 1 5/8 is more like it

 

[vikingpower]

1 3/4 way too big for a street 5.0, unless you're pushing 500HP. Go with LT's 1 5/8 and do it right, they mean business and sound awesome. More torque too from much improved scavenging

 

[_jb_]

Try 1 3/4" shorties. The best of both worlds. Better performance, price, and ease of installation. I like the sound of X-Pipes!

Better performance than LTs?

 

[Chowder Head]

Another question for you guys, lol.
Let's say I went with the combo I listed above. Now is this the correct Spin Tech that will fit my car?
http://www.partshopper.com/shop/Spintech-Sportsman-Street-Muffler-GT-m234.html
And does this JUST include the mufflers or tailpipes as well? I would really want something new and shiny to replace the old stocker.

And if I do go with the BBK LT, Spintech muffler, Dr. Gas X combo, which Dr. Gas pipe is the right size? Here's the URL.
http://www.spintechmufflers.com/spintech/spintechindex.asp
(Whoops, looks like you have to go to accesories, then choose Dr. gas X pipes to find the page)

Once again, thanks for everything guys!

 

[90mustangGT]

You will love the sound. Harder to install LT's, but anything worthwhile takes effort.

 

[89CopCoupe]

LT's are good at cooking starters too ... so take that precaution.

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

I'm just gonna add that it really doesnt matter what exhaust you use, the engine is the biggest deciding factor in what your exhaust note sounds like, even more so than the mufflers. I have a friend with the exact same exhaust setup as me, only he's running a 408 to my 302, and his car doesnt sound even similar to mine. Another buddy of mine has a typical bolt on 302 with an h/c/i combo, and he's running a plain old H pipe/Flowmaster combo, and i swear to you this car sounds meaner than any car i've ever heard, and doesnt even sound like Flowmasters.

 

[Black 93 Fox]

I like my Mac 1 5/8 shorty unequal headers they sound good and dont give alot of problems like the long tubes do(heat soak, pain in the butt to install) Depends what you want down the road as for power. I say unequal shortys.

 

[igotyofire]

bringing back for a related question, i always hear people say long tubes give more torque feel then shorties...but what about power, surely with torque there is more power, how much power over shorties are we actually lookin at here

 

[Lyncher]

bringing back for a related question, i always hear people say long tubes give more torque feel then shorties...but what about power, surely with torque there is more power, how much power over shorties are we actually lookin at here

according to the manufacturers it basically works like this.... Shorties give you 7-10hp and lts give you 15-25...do you actually get that much power?...no but lts will definatly give you a little more, maybe like 7rwhp lol

 

[5spd GT]

To the original question.

Pros of longtubes:

Longtubes will make just a bit more power over shorties.

Cons of longtubes:

Starter heat soak (messes with starter and causes slow hot starts), less ground clearance, especially if you ever become lowered, harder to install for sure, and you have to buy a matching midpipe rather than just bolt up shorties to your stock h pipe for example.

So you could pay closer to $500 bucks for longtubes which provide a bit more power or you could pay $150 bucks for shorties that have all the opposite of the cons above.

Is it worth it to you? Could be...and might not be...up to you