Shorty Headers

Very little with short tubes. Then again....you're not really backing it with enough breathing mods right now to make much of a difference anyway. Start saving up for a few more power mods before you decide to go any further with the exhaust.
 
how about some BBK shorties on my car? would i be getting very decent power gains? or would it be worth it to buy long tubes and get my prochamber fabricated to fit long tubes?.. sorry bout the questions, i was just wondering because it came up last night when i was looking at a buddy's 351 w/bbk shorties..
 
As far as I'm concerned....short tube headers on a 4.6L of any power level are a waste of time and are only convenient for fitment or if you're not able to run Long tubes because of emissions compliance in your State. Yeah, you'll gain a couple of horsepower over the stock manifolds, but nothing compared to a set of mid-length or long tubes. Not to mention the broader torque curve you’d get with the LT’s. :nice:

So…if you’ve got no other choice, then yeah shorties are better than nothing, but given the opportunity, LT’s are your best choice.
 
I just installed BBK Tuned Length Shorty Headers on my 03. Here's an article in 5.0 about the HP gains on a stock 4.6L 2V.

Go here for how to do the install.
http://www.stangfreak.com/content/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=52&Itemid=1

I will be doing a dyno on mine the end of this month and will let you know how mine came out. I did a baseline run last month just so I would know one way or the other if shorty's are worth it. IMO, it was worth doing the mod just for the challenge of doing it.

BBKShortyDyno%23's.webp
 

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Rocketman said:
I just installed BBK Tuned Length Shorty Headers on my 03. Here's an article in 5.0 about the HP gains on a stock 4.6L 2V.

Go here for how to do the install.
http://www.stangfreak.com/content/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=52&Itemid=1

I will be doing a dyno on mine the end of this month and will let you know how mine came out. I did a baseline run last month just so I would know one way or the other if shorty's are worth it. IMO, it was worth doing the mod just for the challenge of doing it.

BBKShortyDyno%23's.webp


I'm so pissed that people keep posting that article. Those numbers are made up. AT A SPECIFIC RPM, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO LOSE TQ AND GAIN POWER OR VISA VERSA. Look at the relationship between tq and power if you dont understand. Their numbers are junk. Ignore them. :bang:
 

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i got the FRPP's, nothing spectacular, put deffinatley a noticeable pull a little more on hard accell. and made it sound a little meaner, also looks a lot more attractive than those damn rust bucket manifolds, i wasnt goin for power, i got them cheap and installed them while the motor was outta the car last month....I like them because its a lot less hassle to install and work around them, but long tubes are a nice touch, especialy when looking under a car :) .
 
worked v6 said:
I never understood why LT's produceed more power? Why is that anyway, aren't they pretty much the same? I mean they don't have bigger openings or anything, thy're just longer...right?
-=NightHawk=- said:
i think it has to do with the longer time the air is able to expand or something like that....midlength vs LT? difference is...?
NightHawk is correct. In more technical terms, the "longer time" that is allowed when merging toward and within the collector, the better the scavenging effect it has on exhaust gases. Better scavenging actually helps draw exhaust gasses out of the system and also provides some pulse reversion protection itself. In doing this it promotes a broader power band and the ability to produce power and torque at all RPM. It's said that ideally, primary tubes should be at least 27" for best results on a street engine. The rule of thumb seems to be short tube headers for more horsepower up top and long tube headers for more power down low. But recent dyno test (over the last several years) have shown that LT's actually increase horsepower and torque at all levels on your average street motor and not just down low like most think.
 
IMO

Shorty's are only a half way measure. Personally I would either go the whole way or not bother at all.

It is proven that LT's will produce more bhp than stock, but it all depends what you are after. You are likely to see similar gains with an electric water pump which would be cheaper and easier to install.

Unless going for the extra noise or a fully built engine after every single pony you can find I probably wouldn't bother changing from stock manifolds.

At the end of the day how much are they worth? If you go FI, say a 9spi twins screw setup, a set of LT's will probably only net you in the region of 10rwhp (according to KB anyhow) compared to stock manifolds. Well in all reality 10rwhp on a 400rwhp car is nothing to worry about.

Same goes for shorties on a relatively stock engine, even it you get 2-5rwhp increase it will not likely make any real diference to performance yet still have cost you BIG in money and time.

My vote would be save the money for something else, as there are more worth while mods out there for the 4.6

However, its your car and money so the choice is yours.