MAC Shorties vs. Stock Tubular
- Thread starter dubbsix
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ninety15.0
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- Mar 10, 2004
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not much...if i were you i would just save up for a nicer set of long tubes. Not only will peak HP be increased but the area under the torque curve will be the biggest improvement...right where you want it! BBK's can be had for ~$250 and there are other reasonably priced LT's out there. good luck man
ninety15.0
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- Mar 10, 2004
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i guess if you live in cali you should opt for a nice set of equal length shorty headers like 1slo306 said. They are the best of both worlds i guess...they are legal and they flow better than un-equal length shorties. Apparently the stock manifolds are not all that restrictive until you are making quite a bit more power than stock! good luck
Roland69
Sergeant Tangnet
the stock headers are good till around 300 HP.....if your stock they are almost a waste of money. The stock ones do the job good on a basic stock 5.0
jtfairlane
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- Mar 5, 2006
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I have a dyno sheet in front of me here, for someone's '89 LX 5.0 and T-5 combo. With an otherwise stock motor with the following minor mods : K&N Filter, March Underdive Pulleys, Paxton Fuel Pressure Regulator, Mac 2-1/2" cat-back, and a Mac 2-1/2" catalytic H-pipe....that combo made 210.0 hp and 276.6 lb/ft of torque at the rear wheels.
By adding Mac's standard un-equal length shorty 1-5/8" HTS coated headers, there was a peak total increase of 5.2hp and 8.3 lb/ft of torque, for a new max of 215.2hp and 284.9 lb/ft of torque.
FWIW...
By adding Mac's standard un-equal length shorty 1-5/8" HTS coated headers, there was a peak total increase of 5.2hp and 8.3 lb/ft of torque, for a new max of 215.2hp and 284.9 lb/ft of torque.
FWIW...
not to be an ass but i would like to see the sheet. i wouldnt think a auto 5.0 with them mods would lay that down to the wheel cause the lose roughly 5% more then the 5spds
Maryland Stang
Active Member
Maryland Stang
Active Member
Change the exhaust and the intake and you may very well pick up 25 hp. The stock intake on a 5.0 is pretty bad especially on cyl. 1 & 5.
jtfairlane
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- Mar 5, 2006
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As maryland stang pointed out, and as I said in my original reply, this was for a T-5 car not an auto.
If you want to check it out for yourself, knock yourself out. You can see the dyno sheet and step by step results in an old Hot Rod Magazine article titled "Bolt-On Dyno Thrash, Shooting for 300 Naturally Aspirated Rear-Wheel Horsepower" by James Lawrence.
I'm sure you could get a hold of the same article/dyno sheet if you contacted Hot Rod Magazine or did a search online. The copy I have is in Volume 6 of "The Best of Hot Rod Magazine" book series on High Performance Small Block Ford Engines.
The stock headers are the best for performance. They are good till 250-270HP then you wanna change em. Till then I'd keep em on. They retain that low end torque. An intake plus a catted x pipe and cat back exhaust along with gears will net you the best results without digging into new heads and cam.Also a 65mm TB and power pipe would compliment the above mentioned mods.
90_Red_LX
Member
I put mac 1 5/8" shortys on myn and picked up .1 in the 1/8th mile. Cost effective no, but I got a deal on em and put em on. Didn't make the car much louder like I expected though. All in all I was happy I put em on because it certainly didn't hurt. That was before my intake, so my only major mod was 3.73s, along with midpipe and cat-back.
kpack5982
Yeah, it was pretty stiff, but eventually a buddy
I love the mac unequal shorties I put on mine just a couple weeks ago. Definitely not a good horsepower gain, but it totally changed the tone and helped lessen the drone of the flowmasters. Plus wot it sounds outstanding!!! Would recommend, but only if other options like the rest of the exhaust and or intake are upgraded.
