who's running MAC shorties?

bbk shorties fit better

I ran the mac shorties on my e7 heads and the fit perfect. Just keep a tab on your bolts.. My afrs fit them a little different though, even though they still work.

big frank said:

That's what I thought, and the BBK's have a solid flange, where the MAC's dont.

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Exactly and that makes a world of difference. I've installed at least a dozen of them though and for the money they're decent headers though. Along with the rest of the exhaust they'll help wake up a stock engine. I really like BBK equal lengths although some people complain about fitment and changing/burning plugs, but if you have the right plug wires and tie them up right it's not a big deal.

Ive had bbk shorties and Mac shorties, I cant tell the differences between either, both had similar power gains and sound the same, they both fit just the same and both dont leak...the only thing I remember is bbk seem to not rust/ loose their color as fast, possibly because bbk are higher quality...

I had macs now I have ford racing, only cause of the flange I took them off a couple of times and hated fighting to get the bolt lined up on the flanges. once you've run them for a while they get hot and get harder to line up. They work good once they are on I just hated taking them off and on.

90mustangfan said:

Ive had bbk shorties and Mac shorties, I cant tell the differences between either, both had similar power gains and sound the same, they both fit just the same and both dont leak...the only thing I remember is bbk seem to not rust/ loose their color as fast, possibly because bbk are higher quality...

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It's not so much a matter of quality as a matter of coatings.

The two most popular options on Mac Headers are the standard HTS silicon based coating (which you find on their basic $170-$200 shorty headers) and the much better ceramic coating. Almost everyone who buys Mac headers just buys the standard stuff, a lot of people aren't very aware that Mac even offers an actual ceramic coating. This situation is made worse because so many people mistake the "silver paint color" of Mac's HTS coating for a ceramic coating, which it certainly is not. This coating is similar, though slightly longer lasting, to the generic black paint you find on inexpensive headers. It's purpose is to keep the steel from corroding in the box before it reaches the customer, not to keep the headers from rusting on the car. Heat from the exhaust eventually burns off the Mac HTS coating just like header paint, and for people who don't expect this it can be a surprise.

BBK, just like Mac, has two main options. The difference is BBK's budget option is a Chrome coating instead of a silicon based coating. BBK also offers a ceramic coating. While the chrome won't burn off like header paint or Mac's grey-silver high-temp silicone, it will blue very quickly and will not retain its shine. Surface rust also develops fairly quickly if driven often.

The moral of the story: Whether you buy budget headers with black paint, Mac HTS, or BBK chrome, the finish will also corrode, peel, or generally deteriorate. A ceramic inside & out thermal coating, either from the factory or done by Jet-Hot or HPC, is the best way to prolong a header's finish and the best way to protect it from corrosion.

I wanted to give examples also:

BBK Chrome:



BBK Ceramic Coated:



Mac HTS (High Temp Silicone, NOT a ceramic coating):



Mac Ceramic Coated:

I would vote for BBK 1515's if you just want a good quality cheap stock replacement headers that fit like factory....

MAC HTS's here...took 15 minutes to install...been on for 2 months now and not a single problem

big frank said:

15 minutes? Do they have a flange where you bolt them up to the heads, or are the individual tubes?

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individual tubes...bought them and an offroad H with Flows and turndowns for $75....took me about 30 minutes altogether to install

had em for 3 years, no problems . They just suck to install becuase of the non solid flange as stated before.