Open Headers?

Open shorty headers = bad. Open LONG tube headers = loud and smelly, but okay.

No torque, God-awful loud (and not even loud in a good way, they just sound gross), serious risk of killing yourself with CO gas poisoning after just a minute or two (at least longtubes are under the car and pointing backward - shorties would pretty much just shoot exhaust right into the passenger cabin), and ... maybe someone can confirm/correct this ... I think there's also a risk of engine damage, as well. I know that running with NO headers can result in burnt valves and such, and shorties aren't all that much of an improvement over that - not enough tubing to carry it away from the motor adequately.

At least leave the downpipes off the headers attached, and cut 'em off at the cats (if they're on there at all). I mean ... unless that's what you meant, to begin with...?

HOLY CRAP you have no idea what you're getting into...this was maybe the FIRST lesson i learned about Mustangs....



I was doing my first header swap...'88 Fox GT...i had the whole stock exhaust off and had just finished up a set of MAC shorties and i said to myself "Fin yeah, time to romp on this bitch with open headers!" So i fired it up....DAAAAAAAAAMN THAT'S LOUD!!!!!





Put it in reverse and backed out of my parking spot and idled out of the parking lot and onto a side street....WOW is this awesome i thought.....soooo loud and racey....people are all looking....damn i'm cool!!!!



I pull out onto the road in first...check for traffic.....it's clear....smash the gas and drop the hammer!!!




THERE'S F'IN FIRE SHOOTING OUT FROM UNDER MY CAR!!!! AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!



Yeah. To make a long story short....shorty headers are TOO SHORT to run open because they're too close to the heads...your exhaust starts out has basically firey exhaust gases, and running them open is pretty rediculous. If you've ever seen how a Funnycar shoots fire out the headers....it's like that. Seriously though, you could set your car on fire....don't do it.


I do however play round any time i have my exhaust off now since i have full lengths. You can still shoot fire out but it's not as crazy as with shortys.

bynummustang said:

I had a feeling that shorties would be bad.

I'm wanting to hear it as loud as bleeping possible. I wouldn't want to cut the X pipe if I didn't have to. My stroker motor has an F cam and I want to be able to count the hits. I really want to be able to count every single lope.

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It won't hurt to start it up for a second and rev it once or twice, just don't take off down the street like a jackass like i did

bynummustang said:

I was gonna drive it to school 2 miles. But I guess that's a big no-no. I may get back under the stroker, make up an idea of how I can run a pipe and weld that to the header.

What do you guys recomend to get the open header sound, but not do open headers?

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Full length headers with electric cutouts after them/before your mid pipe (H or X or whatever). That way, you can drive with full exhaust like normal but when you wanna be roudy you can flip a toggle from inside the car and your cutouts open and you're instantly in open header mode. Also full lengths sound better open than your shortys will. If you truely want that sound, that might be your only option.

Actually you could cut a section out of your H or X around where full lengths would normally "bottom out" under your car, and put the cutouts there and get a similar result.