Open Headers?

[bynummustang]

Before I pull the motor of my stroker car, I'm gonna take some part of the exhaust off, and run it for 1 day in great weather.

I was just wondering if there is any problem with running shorty headers by them selves? Would heat get to too many things? Any other problems?

I'm going for as load as I can make it, so any ideas?

 

[Darkwriter77]

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...?

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

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]

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.

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

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.

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]

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?

 

[bynummustang]

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?

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

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?

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.

 

[bynummustang]

Eh, it seems like its not gonna be worth my money nor time to get my stupid sound. Oh well. I need to get a camera so I can show some pics of my motor swap/rebuild.

 

[mob]

Just unbolt your catbac, its LOUd and sounds like crap... Best loudest sound is get an o/r mid pipe, weld in some bullets with no tailpipes.

 

[bynummustang]

That might be my set up after I get the motor swap done.

 

[Foxfan88]

running open shorties isnt a good idea. could damage the valves.

think of dumping hot water on a frozen windshield. it cracks. its the same for the valves. they are super super hot when u shut it off and much much lower temp air comes in very quickly with just a header there.

 

[MikeC]

If you run with just shorty headers, where does the O2 sensor go?

 

[MikeC]

Oops.

 

[mob]

If you run with just shorty headers, where does the O2 sensor go?

Duct tape then in the pipe, lol , I was thinking the same.

 

[NFGTragedy]

If you run with just shorty headers, where does the O2 sensor go?

If I remember correctly your car doesn't use the o2 sensors until its warmed up (open loop?)... so as long as you didn't hit optimal temps for the motor then it wouldn't really matter. Maybe I'm wrong though?

 

[Stangdriver627]

I have long tubes that have exhaust cut-outs right where the cats would normally go, when i wanna be loud i open em up, close em and it's much more civilized, but it doesn't sound like a pro-street car anymore haha.

~Alex

 

[stangzroastrice]

Honestly I couldn't afford a new exhaust just yet when I did my T5 swap (had to unbolt stock exhaust, rusted to all hell), and I drove my car for 2 months straight (daily driving to school, friend's houses, etc.) with the open stock shorties lol. Car has 165k on it (89 notch 5.0), and still runs great although now has 1 5/8 BBK shorty equal length headers, o/r x-pipe, and mac catback with 3" tips which sounds absolutely beautiful. And yes, when you get in the higher RPMs the car will sound sick for like 2 seconds and will be loud as ****, but at idle, it sounds like a dump truck (at least mine did with the bone stock motor), but just showing you that my motor surprisingly ran fine with them and I had quite a few races with the open headers haha. Although the torque department leaves much to be desired compared to having a full exhaust.