JBA Shorty Headers

[fordracerguy]

How much HP and/or Torque do you gain from installing the JBA Smog Legal Shorty Headers on our cars? My car's details are in my sig. I understand it may not be worth the price of the headers, but I am still curious on power gains.

Chris

 

[Tom's_03SVT]

Honestly, there are better ways to spend your $$$. JBA shorty leak and there is a guy on socalterminators.com that had one of the welds crack on his set. If you are looking for a meaner sound then get a catted midpipe or a little more power, than add a lower pulley to your current set up.

Tom

 

[fordracerguy]

Wow, thanks. That's pretty crummy for how expensive they are!

 

[Uncle Meat]

I have a set of JBA shorty's on my '03. They have not cracked nor do they leak. I picked up a little on top, but most my gains were in the midrange. You can see the differences in my dyno charts posted in this thread: http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?t=423965

U.M.

 

[Tom's_03SVT]

I have a set of JBA shorty's on my '03. They have not cracked nor do they leak. I picked up a little on top, but most my gains were in the midrange. You can see the differences in my dyno charts posted in this thread: http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?t=423965

U.M.

nice gains, but how much of that is from temperature and air quality? Sept to Dec is a big difference in outside air temp.

 

[Sniperdog]

I have fords shortys, no leaks :thumbsup:
but mine were put on same time as KB , no help on power

 

[IronTerp]

It is still highly debateable on the improvements that can be attained by long tube headers, especially on applications under 600 RWHP. Very few Terminator owners have gone the shorty route and it appears that they are nearly equal in flow to the stock exhaust manifolds.

 

[GetBitBiatch]

If you're going to spend money on headers go all out and get Kooks long tubes

 

[Uncle Meat]

nice gains, but how much of that is from temperature and air quality? Sept to Dec is a big difference in outside air temp.

Moot point since all the numbers were SAE from the same dyno facility.

U.M.

 

[Tom's_03SVT]

Moot point since all the numbers were SAE from the same dyno facility.

U.M.

Either way JBAs shorty are a waste of $$$. Save for long tubes if you want headers.

 

[Uncle Meat]

Well in my case they weren't.

U.M.

 

[SlowSVT]

it appears that they are nearly equal in flow to the stock exhaust manifolds.

Did you actually come to that conclusion after comparing the two?

:dw:

 

[Uncle Meat]

One thing for sure is they reduce underhood temperatures when compared to the stock cast iron logs.

U.M.

 

[IronTerp]

Did you actually come to that conclusion after comparing the two?

:dw:

No, that's a conclusion I arrived at after studying the issue fairly extensively for the past 4 years........Heck, I'm hesistant to go with long tubes and at least they have some credibility depending on who you listen to.

 

[SlowSVT]

I think your referring to horsepower production rather then "flow". All the runners on the stock cash iron manifold dump into a common plenum which is "wavy" shaped down the length. The last two exhaust ports actually discharge in the opposite direction of the other 6 cylinders. I don't think you want to use the term "flow" and "stock exhaust manifold" in the same sentence.

The JBA shorties allow each exhaust port to dump into an individual mandrel bent tube into a common collector. Even though it's not "tuned" I would consider it to be a low restriction manifold if nothing else.

I did a write-up on the JBA which I will try to dig up. They are a nice set-up but could use a bit of rework before installing them.

 

[RAZRS EDGE]

Go long tube or do not bother.

-Graycen

 

[SlowSVT]

FYI, here is the post I was looking for:

"Headers of any veriety don't seem to add much power on these cars unless your putting down big numbers. With the amount of mods I am putting in my car kept me looking at the stock maifolds shaking my head. Those things look soo restrictive. I was having a hard time with bolting that back in with the bigger intake, blower and free flow exhaust on my Cobra.

My plan is to keep this car emission legal which ruled out mid-lenghts and LT. Plus I did not want to deal with clearance issues and scraping. The JBA have a C.A.R.B registration No. and with my JLT catted H-pipe should help get me through a smog test.

For me the JBA SS shorty headers is the best choice. They need a bit of re-work before you install them to maximize flow and minimize the chance of leaking.

One thing you need to do is take a die grinder and smooth the area where the exhaust enters the flanges. On the rear most port there is some nasty metal overlap that needs to be ground away which will improve the flow on that port quite a bit. I'm an sure 90% of the guys overlook this and just bolt them on. I'm sure cleaning up the JBA will allow the pipes to make more power them what most people have been measuring. They will also allow you to swap mid-pipes because they mount up just like the stock cast iron manifords. With LT your choice here is rather limited.

The other problem with the JBA is that the flanges on each port are not level. I put a straight edge across them and measured as much a .025" between them. That is where your future leak will occure. A friend of mine has a 4' diameter disc grinder. I put the flanges across that and ground them till they were level within .005".

The re-work is a bit of a hassle but at the end of the day you will have a nice set if headers that should be easier to live with.

JBA won't make as much power as the LT will but they have advantages over the LT and should be considered."

 

[whyte_03]

How much HP and/or Torque do you gain from installing the JBA Smog Legal Shorty Headers on our cars? My car's details are in my sig. I understand it may not be worth the price of the headers, but I am still curious on power gains.

Chris

i will sell you my JBA shorties for 200 dollars... there is one small catch to it though.. i am having them fixed for free so they will work like new..

http://www.socalterminators.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13930