Well I have some tri ys on the way to me and I looked under my car this weekend and noticed I had some longtubes already.. they are no good.. but what is the difference in performance between the tri y and the long tubes.. im not really into peak HP performance I like lowend torqe..
The Tri-y's will give you more low end torque than the long tubes will. The long tubes are best for high end horsepower, where the tri-y's tend to provided a stronger mid range power.
I always thought shorties gave higher hp with a loss in torque, longtubes had more torque lower with a loss in upper hp and tri-ys had a strong mid range.
The Tri-Ys will give you good low end power.
The LTs give better mid and upper power.
I don't know why, but this is the second thread I have seen tonight where someone posts supposing that shorties give better upper rpm power than LTs...
If that was true, alot more drag racers would be ditching their big primaries and tuned collectors in favor of shorties. It just doesn't happen.
Dave
There is middle ground here. I use a full long tube but I use Headman graduated headers or 'step-tuned' headers where they modify (reduce) the header tube in diameter on its way to the collector. It is supposed to be a balance between them both.
The biggest difference I have found is in the PITA factor. A 289 in a classic coupe requires that you raise the engine slightly to install, remove driver's side header to drop the tranmission, etc.....shorties are a little easier to manage.
Looks: I think thermally coated long tubes look outstanding under the hood, under the car, etc.