Are longtubes a waste at.....

[GoatSlayer]

I have researched and read a lot but for some reason i cant find a final answer.
My question is, are longtubes a waste of time and money at power levels of 500rwhp?
I have heard people say that it will pick like 15-20rwhp, and some that i will lose a little bit of boost and thus loss in power.

I am planning on running a posi race port, 2.76 upper only, some type of a catted X pipe and the mods in my sig. If i was to run the longtubes, K-member is a must.

Thanks

 

[TRBO VNM]

Ok, typically I would say search and read more. The info is out there. But I am in a good mood today. hahaha, it is Friday right?

Anyway, aftermarket K is not needed for longtubes. You should pull the AC line up on the passenger side that is attached to the frame rail. I have seen them pop from getting hot.

I personally wouldn't bother with them at 500hp, 550+ I would. The problem is that you could pay a lot for the install if you aren't doing it yourself and the gains are minimal. Kind of similar with cams. You pay a lot for the cams and then even more for the install, but the gains won't be that great for the $$ spent. Again, depends on if you are paying for labor or doing it yourself.

And yes, you will or should lose boost. Your are opening up the exhaust so it flows better. Boost is a measure of back pressure. Increase in exhaust flow decreases back pressure.

 

[Posi]

I put headers on my car when it was a little under 500hp. It picked up like 8hp and 12ft lbs of torque. The exhaust change pretty much made me happy I did it lol.

 

[Teej281]

Yea, unless you're running big power, 9 times out of 10 longtubes are going to give you more sound than power, if that makes sense. At higher horsepower levels, I can see how longtubes would be beneficial. Longtubes reduce the backpressure as said above, dropping boost while still making more power. This does help, and in these areas how much I have no clue. But one could think of it as the superchager is now spinning just as fast, but making less boost, which can equate to less heat, so it makes the setup more efficient. I mean there are trickle down effects, but this is just what makes sense to me. I could be entirely off my block, but longtubes are a worthy upgrade if you look at them as a mod in its entirety, which will yield a slight gain in power, but an awesome gain in sound.

 

[bgfrulla1]

I agree. I love mine for the sound alone. HP gains are minimal at about 5 with slightly more torque around 10. Shorty's have the opposite effect as far as hp and trq #'s. It is really a personal decision that you need to decide. Is 1500+ worth 5-8 hp with a kickass sound?

 

[Sniperdog]

I agree. I love mine for the sound alone. HP gains are minimal at about 5 with slightly more torque around 10. Shorty's have the opposite effect as far as hp and trq #'s. It is really a personal decision that you need to decide. Is 1500+ worth 5-8 hp with a kickass sound?

1500+ damn!! did not know that

 

[TRBO VNM]

1500+ damn!! did not know that

depends on what brand you go with.

 

[Sniperdog]

depends on what brand you go with.

If you're gonna do it, you might as well go with the best.,,.,. who would that be btw :-D

 

[ttk53]

1500+ damn!! did not know that

can cost that much if you go with stainless. my mac's where like 400.




I wish in threads like this, only people that have done LT's would post. I did mine and I think its more than worth it. I dont have any data because I thru a 4# lower on at the same time. but with the lt's and a lower I didnt get much "peak" numbers but picked up 40hp under the curve.

 

[unit213]

1500+ damn!! did not know that

It could be more than $1,500 too if you already have an x-pipe that isn't compatible to the headers...unless you hack up your existing x-pipe.

IMO, headers aren't a great bang-for-the buck mod. I'm still running stock manifolds, but they are holding me back now quite a bit.

 

[Posi]

Video of my car doing a burnout with the headers. I love the sound myself.:thumbsup:

[ame=http://s269.photobucket.com/albums/jj57/posi1/?action=view&current=MVI_0019.flv]

[/ame]

 

[svt4me38]

just got a quote for my 03 for new kooks longtubes with offroad x pipe for 1200 shipped!!!

 

[TRBO VNM]

If you're gonna do it, you might as well go with the best.,,.,. who would that be btw :-D

Well, the best is open for interpretation imo. It really will be more personal preference really. I like the MAC ceramic coated. For a garage kept, nice day car, these are great. I have never had issues with leaking, where as I have removed more than a couple of other brands for people because of the leaks. I have turned business away from people that want other brands because I do not want to be responsible for redoing an install because of leaking headers.

I hate the slip tube and collector type. IMO, that just gives more opportunity for leaks.

And the MAC, the price is right as well. going with a full stainless, which you should do if you drive the car in any weather or the car sits outside. but then you pay the price of stainless. I am a firm believer in stainless on the turbo kits, but for longtubes, I go with what works based on the application. So I will be picking up a set within a few months for my car with the prochamber midpipe.

 

[Sniperdog]

Mine is a DD , so stainless if I do it thanks for the info :thumbsup:
Also, I am getting bored with the car, but not sure if I wanna drop big coin, I keep tossing the idea of cams around too, but haven't pulled the trigger,., it would be different if it wasn't already such a badass car to drive as is :shrug:

 

[GodStang]

It could also be less. I have 1-3/4" Kooks with off road X-pipe. Paid $1014 shipped to my door BRAND NEW. You just have to find the deals. Also ARH are great with a great pipe.

 

[svt4me38]

It could also be less. I have 1-3/4" Kooks with off road X-pipe. Paid $1014 shipped to my door BRAND NEW. You just have to find the deals. Also ARH are great with a great pipe.

DAMN... who was that through?

 

[Sniperdog]

Are long tubes an issue with lowered cars, my neighborhood installed speed bumps to quell the speeders :nonono: (I was not the problem) and I currently scrub a bit with my mac power chamber (I know it is a pretty thick)

 

[cobracide]

I agree. I love mine for the sound alone. HP gains are minimal at about 5 with slightly more torque around 10. Shorty's have the opposite effect as far as hp and trq #'s. It is really a personal decision that you need to decide. Is 1500+ worth 5-8 hp with a kickass sound?

Shorty's have the opposite effect as far as hp and trq #'s? The gains are less than long tubes but shorty headers will NOT decrease hp/tq as compared to stock logs.

 

[Fat-cat]

I have Kooks on my car and like said the power gains are minimal at even 600 wheel. However the car sounds BA and they did reduce some of the under hood heat. ( i had mine ceramic coated )

 

[vladSVT]

Pretty much agree with the above posts. Its not worth it unless you are above 580. I had my old cobra with longtubes (with 2.76 upper, KB BAP, etc supoprting mods) and it picked up 6rwhp and lost around 10rwtq. But that was with the stock catback so I assume there would be better gains if I had an aftermarket catback. But overall it is not worth it IMO, unless you do it yourself and have nothing else better to do lol.