LT's or shorty headers

[Mustanggt108]

Whats the difference between them ? will i see more gains with LT's ?? and how much more??
I know the instalation of LT's is a major PITA, unlike the shorty headers whith wont recuire any slight engine lift or too much unbolting underneath the car just to instal them like the LT's will .

but my question really is , how much of a gain difference will i see between LT's and shorty's?

 

[White Stang]

LT its good for a few more horses and mid lengh headers are just as hard to install.

 

[tomustang]

depending on where you are and who you know, LT's aren't ideal for inspection checks

 

[Enter Username]

Whats the difference between them ? will i see more gains with LT's ?? and how much more??
I know the instalation of LT's is a major PITA, unlike the shorty headers whith wont recuire any slight engine lift or too much unbolting underneath the car just to instal them like the LT's will .

but my question really is , how much of a gain difference will i see between LT's and shorty's?

From what other people have said:

8-10 from shortys.

20-30 from lts.

 

[ADRENLN]

i have heard the only shorties that get decent power are the jba's. never knew where this info came from or if it is true. also that i believe is with a power adder.

long tubes will still make more. they are a pain in the a$$ not only to install but to changs tranny or clutch.

 

[mity2]

i have LT. happy with it...


Until i had to pull tranny our...


Twice in 1.5 week....


I have no idea how am i gonna get her to pass inspection this comming year....

Shoty has has some good. just non are power related. Shorty is inspection friendly, little(not buy much) easier to install, and you'll love them if you ever need to pull transmission out ..

 

[vld]

20 to 30 hp from long tubes? is that right? if i remember correctly in the 5.0 i used to drive wisdom was shorties for low end and Lt's for top end. but i am discovering that the 4.6 is a whole new beast.

 

[jasonh_86]

+1 for long tubes

 

[Gearbanger 101]

Why not split the difference between the two and get yourself a set of mid-length headers like I did.

All the benefits of a long tube and still plenty of room to access the transmission if need be.

 

[WOT]

If you are staying NA go LT's.

Forced induction deosn't matter. Maybe 10 HP between the two.

 

[03ghoststang]

if where you live has strict emissions laws like here in california then shorties would be a good choice to stay legal but LT are the best choice due to the power increase they give

 

[streetstang03]

LTs and then bribe the inspector!

 

[Fubar02GT]

LTs and then bribe the inspector!

 

[03ghoststang]

its getting harder to do bribing the inspectors

 

[hotmustang331]

Midlenghts are not the same as LTs. The LTs gain power due to keeping the exhaust gasses seperate longer and preventing any turblence between each cylinders exhaust gasses for as long as possable. So thats the basic reason why LTs make the most power. Shortys really wont do much because their runners are a tad longer than stock and allow the exhaust gasses to stay seperate a little longer..equal length shortys are better than regular shortys as they help keep the exhaust gass pulses from interfering (sp) with eachother when the exhaust merges....again, even they dont match the HP of LTs. SO go LTs.

 

[Mustanggt108]

LTs and then bribe the inspector!

loooooooooool man u seriously read my mind.I think thats exactly what i'm going to do.See you can do that here STILL . bribe the inspectors that is
but can anyone seriously tell me how much HP i will see with LT's

 

[hotmustang331]

One guy here installed LTs and UD pully and got 16RWHP. BTW he already had a catted midpipe...then added LTs with a new catted midpipe....so the gains were ONLY from LTs and pullys and not from a midpipe too.

 

[Gearbanger 101]

Midlenghts are not the same as LTs. The LTs gain power due to keeping the exhaust gasses seperate longer and preventing any turblence between each cylinders exhaust gasses for as long as possable. So thats the basic reason why LTs make the most power. Shortys really wont do much because their runners are a tad longer than stock and allow the exhaust gasses to stay seperate a little longer..equal length shortys are better than regular shortys as they help keep the exhaust gass pulses from interfering (sp) with eachother when the exhaust merges....again, even they dont match the HP of LTs. SO go LTs.

Actually, I remember reading an old Super Ford exhaust issue a while while back that showed testing that documented as long as the header had at least 27" primary tubes, going any longer with them before they merged didn't make an difference for scavenging purposes.

Most mid-length headers still cover this length and that's why they're now starting to gain so much popularity. The reason that a lot of the companies still go with the full length header design is because it's easier to complete the rest of the exhaust system after it's cleared the engine bay and is running horizontal along the bottom of the car and it's not costing any power in doing so. A lot of mid-length designs still leave the collector up near the bottom of the firewall beyond the access of the engine bay and make it a real bear to route the rest of the exhaust. It's a b**ch to get to it from the to and a b**ch to get to it from the bottom.

 

[Robuilt]

how about torque numbers? any difference there

 

[Gearbanger 101]

That I know of, between the mid-length and full length, there are none. Between the shorties and the mid/full length, the shorties tend to fall slightly short and are also moved a couple notches higher in the power band.