Kooks Shorty header

[NickSezz]

No, the requirement for a tune with these headers is only if you remove the cats.
at least that is what has been advertised.

This is correct.

On N/A applications we saw gains of 10-15 whp from 3800 and up. Once we added the off road pipe the gains shot up to 20-25 whp.

We would expect to see more on boosted applications.

See this graph:

Run 2 is the stock exhaust
Run 4 is the stock exhaust with Kooks added
Run 5 is the Kooks and Lethal O/R pipe

 

[beefcake]

You shouldn't need to tune if you don't remove the cats.

Again,

if your planning on removing the cats, and going through the time of a header install, I would do a full long tube.

 

[Chameleon76]

I will be setting up a dyno day for my car with the kooks super street and lethal H pipe shortly.

 

[sleek98]

I will be setting up a dyno day for my car with the kooks super street and lethal H pipe shortly.

This is pretty much the setup I want to run for a while. Hopefully the numbers are good.

 

[NickSezz]

I will be setting up a dyno day for my car with the kooks super street and lethal H pipe shortly.

What numbers did you put down before the Kooks and Lethal H?

Same tune?

Same dyno?

 

[Chameleon76]

What numbers did you put down before the Kooks and Lethal H?

Same tune?

Same dyno?

Only did a stock baseline run 368/366.

 

[BlackDragon]

Thats great. I'll probably pick up a set once they become readily available and more info/testing is done.

On another note, I wish kooks would release a 3" cat to axle system. I'm starting to hate my jegs setup. I believe there is a big hole in the market for a nice clean fitting 3" cat to axle setup.

 

[Nocturnal'14]

Only did a stock baseline run 368/366.

Mine was at 369/350....but that was with ROUSH CAI & GT500 mufflers (Not stock but Im sure those didnt really add that much!?)

 

[BPatterson]

Has anyone thought about comparing these to the BBK or JBA shorties that are already on the market, and have been for a while? They're both much cheaper, but are 1-3/4" vs the Kooks 1-7/8". Which, in all honesty, on a shorty application, isn't going to make that much difference. Just throwing that out there.

 

[NickSezz]

Has anyone thought about comparing these to the BBK or JBA shorties that are already on the market, and have been for a while? They're both much cheaper, but are 1-3/4" vs the Kooks 1-7/8". Which, in all honesty, on a shorty application, isn't going to make that much difference. Just throwing that out there.

Doing such a comparison on the dyno is asking for a lot of time and effort in order to conduct a successful test.

We did however compare the Kooks Shorty Headers side by side with BBK headers. The fit and finish on the Kooks is clearly superior in regard to welds and pipe alignment.

When in my own hands, the BBK Shorty Headers felt heavy and clumsy. The Kooks were lighter, sleeker and seemed capable of flowing exhaust gases more efficiently.

If you examine the images of the Kooks product VS the competition you will see what I mean.

From a previous write-up:

When it comes to increasing horsepower with a performance exhaust set-up on the 5.0L Coyote motor, nothing compares to a quality set of long tube headers.......UNTIL NOW.
Kooks Custom Headers now offers their all new Super Street OEM Connection Headers for the 2011+ Mustang GT/BOSS 302. These headers are designed with performance in mind. The OEM manifolds that “look like” a nice header design actually falls short on flow. Once the stock manifolds are removed, it is easily noticed how the 2-3/4 connection chokes down to about 2-1/2 in the OEM collector and the 1-3/4 primary tubes are in a try-y configuration. The try-y configuration is not optimal for high flow due to the multiple bottle necks before the exhaust gases reach the collector. Kooks Super Street Headers maintain the 2-3/4 connection right into the collector for increase air flow and more horsepower. Combine this with the one-piece, 1-7/8 primaries and you have one high performance street header.
When examining some competitors “shorty” headers, a few key flaws were discovered in their design. As seen here

on the Competitor’s shorty headers, the multi-piece tube design is not carefully welded. You can clearly see how the pipes are poorly aligned ultimately hampering exhaust flow. Another quality issue noticed is how the primaries align in the collector. As seen here

each primary ends in the collector at a different length. This incorrect alignment will negatively affect the efficiency of exhaust savaging in the collector. Finally, the welds on the header flange are not smoothed out on the Competitor’s headers. Bumps and protrusions here will create turbulence in the primary tubes and maximum performance will not be achieved.
In comparison, Kooks did not miss any details on their Super Street Headers during the design process. See here

how the Kooks 1-7/8 primary tubes are a one-piece smooth design. This is what a performance primary tube should look like. Notice how all of the primary tubes sit evenly in the 2-3/4 collector for maximum flow.

Finally, Kooks took the time to smooth out the welds on the header flange so there is little to no turbulence when the exhaust pulse leaves the engine.

When the exhaust valves on your Coyote open, you can be sure that there is nothing holding your engine back with the all new Kooks Super Street headers!

And then there was weight savings…huh? Yes that’s right. We weighed all three sets of headers just because we can, and what we found was rather interesting. The stock manifolds weighed in at a total of 18lbs. The Competitor’s shorty headers weighed in at 21.4lbs. And, wait for it…The Kooks Super Street Headers weighted in at only 15.2 lbs!! That’s nearly a 3lb weight savings over stock and over 6lb lighter than the competition! While this might not seem like much, we know that every pound counts to you track junkies.

Now, you must all be wondering by now how these headers perform in some real world testing….Numbers! We want numbers! And we know you do! Thanks to JDM Engineering in Freehold, NJ numbers you will have my friends. JDM Engineering tested the Kooks Super Street Headers on a 2012 Mustang GT. Base line runs (run file 02) were done with a Steeda CAI, GT500 mufflers and JDM Tune. All other power train components remained stock. In run file 04, all factors remained unchanged with the addition of the Kooks Super Street Headers. On run file 05 the high flow H-pipe was added.

Initial testing of these headers showed an increase of 10 rear wheel horsepower and 8 foot pounds of torque at peak, and an average of 14 rear wheel horsepower and 13 foot pounds of torque in the mid range!! Not too bad for being hooked up the STOCK mid-pipe and catalytic converters. When combining the Kooks Super Street Headers with a high flow H-Pipe, JDM recorded an increase of 8 rear wheel horsepower and 10 foot pounds of torque at peak and even more (10-15) in the mid-range power band!! Add these figures up and you’ll see a gain of nearly 20 wheel horsepower and 23 foot pounds at peak and 25 horsepower and 30 foot pounds in the mid-range!! Now you’re in long tube header power gains!!

So…why not buy a set of long tube headers? Long tube headers are great, but they do not meet the goals of every person trying the squeeze every last drop of power out of their Mustang. Let’s say you want your Mustang to be a daily driver or weekend warrior, be competitive at your local track and still pass emissions in your area when the time comes. With even a high flow catted mid-pipe, many of the 2011+ cars will still have a hard time passing an OBDII emissions test even with proper tuning to avoid a CEL. Kooks now offers a cost effective way around this problem. The Super Street headers allow you to easily change your high flow mid-pipe, used for off road use, for a stock catted mid-pipe for every day street use. With proper tuning, your Mustang will not have issues when it comes to inspection time either. If this where a long tube header car and you have issues passing inspection, removing the headers will dampen your weekend if you are a driveway warrior, or burn a hole in your packet if you are paying someone labor for uninstall and re-installation of the long tube headers.

Either way you look at it, the All New Kook Super Street OEM Connection headers and a great way at add horsepower safely and legally to your 2011+ Mustang GT or BOSS 302!!

 

[BPatterson]

Awesome! Thank you sir!

 

[dlaude]

Doing such a comparison on the dyno is asking for a lot of time and effort in order to conduct a successful test.

We did however compare the Kooks Shorty Headers side by side with BBK headers. The fit and finish on the Kooks is clearly superior in regard to welds and pipe alignment.

When in my own hands, the BBK Shorty Headers felt heavy and clumsy. The Kooks were lighter, sleeker and seemed capable of flowing exhaust gases more efficiently.

If you examine the images of the Kooks product VS the competition you will see what I mean.

From a previous write-up:

When it comes to increasing horsepower with a performance exhaust set-up on the 5.0L Coyote motor, nothing compares to a quality set of long tube headers.......UNTIL NOW.
Kooks Custom Headers now offers their all new Super Street OEM Connection Headers for the 2011+ Mustang GT/BOSS 302. These headers are designed with performance in mind. The OEM manifolds that “look like” a nice header design actually falls short on flow. Once the stock manifolds are removed, it is easily noticed how the 2-3/4 connection chokes down to about 2-1/2 in the OEM collector and the 1-3/4 primary tubes are in a try-y configuration. The try-y configuration is not optimal for high flow due to the multiple bottle necks before the exhaust gases reach the collector. Kooks Super Street Headers maintain the 2-3/4 connection right into the collector for increase air flow and more horsepower. Combine this with the one-piece, 1-7/8 primaries and you have one high performance street header.
When examining some competitors “shorty” headers, a few key flaws were discovered in their design. As seen here

on the Competitor’s shorty headers, the multi-piece tube design is not carefully welded. You can clearly see how the pipes are poorly aligned ultimately hampering exhaust flow. Another quality issue noticed is how the primaries align in the collector. As seen here

each primary ends in the collector at a different length. This incorrect alignment will negatively affect the efficiency of exhaust savaging in the collector. Finally, the welds on the header flange are not smoothed out on the Competitor’s headers. Bumps and protrusions here will create turbulence in the primary tubes and maximum performance will not be achieved.

It doesn't say what competitor those header pictures are from, but I can say from experience that they are not the BBK ceramic tuned length shorties. Those things are beautiful.

It is nice to know that the shorties are nearly as good with the gains as the long tubes. In deciding to stick with the stock cats, that was very reassuring for me.

 

[grnenvy]

yo

Rick Anderson from Anderson performance did a compare years ago on a 1-5/8 motorsport 5.0 shorty against the Bassani 1-7/8shorty the bigger pipes made about 8 hp more and if my memory is right equal tq. That put the large tube shorty once again in the territory of the full length. For the money the shorty is the way to go. If your going to build an 8sec car well then maybe the longs are worth it.

Has anyone thought about comparing these to the BBK or JBA shorties that are already on the market, and have been for a while? They're both much cheaper, but are 1-3/4" vs the Kooks 1-7/8". Which, in all honesty, on a shorty application, isn't going to make that much difference. Just throwing that out there.

 

[BMR Tech]

I do agree, a large-tube shorty is a very good choice. If I was going to run a shorty-header, I would choose the one with the largest primaries and best engineered collector, or, the excuse of a collector.

 

[blackbeast12]

When i' m ready these are the ones for me. I will bolt them right up to my cats , and I won't need a retune, that's the beauty of it!

 

[grnenvy]

Hey

When u ready??

I do agree, a large-tube shorty is a very good choice. If I was going to run a shorty-header, I would choose the one with the largest primaries and best engineered collector, or, the excuse of a collector.

 

[BMR Tech]

When u ready??

When u are. :banana:

 

[NickSezz]

It doesn't say what competitor those header pictures are from, but I can say from experience that they are not the BBK ceramic tuned length shorties. Those things are beautiful.

It is nice to know that the shorties are nearly as good with the gains as the long tubes. In deciding to stick with the stock cats, that was very reassuring for me.

You are correct. The comparison was done with the BBK Chrome Tuned length headers. We installed a set these on a customer car about a year ago and sent back two sets before we received one that we were happy with.

 

[dlaude]

You are correct. The comparison was done with the BBK Chrome Tuned length headers. We installed a set these on a customer car about a year ago and sent back two sets before we received one that we were happy with.

AH okay, thanks for the clarification.

 

[dlaude]

Has anyone thought about comparing these to the BBK or JBA shorties that are already on the market, and have been for a while? They're both much cheaper, but are 1-3/4" vs the Kooks 1-7/8". Which, in all honesty, on a shorty application, isn't going to make that much difference. Just throwing that out there.

My BBK ceramic tuned shorties should be done now, and the shop is doing a before and after comparison. What's unfortunate is that he only went up to 6500rpm on the before pull because it's only got 1000 miles on it. He said he'd go to 6700 or 6800 on the after pull though. If I get the charts I'll be able to compare area under curve though (if there's any difference lol). As to not jack this thread, I'd start my own, but keep an eye out for it in the next day or two.