Long tube headers . . . Should I buy them?

White&BlackCoyote

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I have an opportunity to pick up a pair of used kooks 1 7/8 long tubes for $675. Only have around 2k miles on them. Seems like a good deal but am still split on whether it is worth the money + headache of installing them. Mods in my sig below. N/A now but have plans to go forced induction in a year or two, or sooner ;) What say you?
 

Zemedici

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WAY worth it, especially when blown.

Snag em up, and prepare for a shitty weekend installing! hahaha but sound / power gains will be worth it! Good bolt on modification.
 

CobraBob

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The sound alone will put a grin on your face. And you're getting a good deal (basically new) on a quality LT. Yeah, installation is a PITA, but in the end you'll be happy that you pulled the trigger.
 

11Sec_Lx

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I was offered some cheap, BBK longtubes and an X for $300, so I jumped on them. I dyno tested before
/after and at over 800 rwhp at the time, I gained 7 rwhp. Maybe a more legit header would have gained more?

I didn't notice much of a sound difference. Hard to tell.

Just my $.02
 

Coz

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If you intend to keep your cats and midpipe, check if this version is compatible. The, or one of the, Kooks 1-7/8 states it must be used with a Kooks X or H pipe.
 

vortecd

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I was offered some cheap, BBK longtubes and an X for $300, so I jumped on them. I dyno tested before
/after and at over 800 rwhp at the time, I gained 7 rwhp. Maybe a more legit header would have gained more?

I didn't notice much of a sound difference. Hard to tell.

Just my $.02

I picked up good dyno numbers with long tubes but at the track 0.

As far as the install it isn't as bad as some make it sound. Dropping the k-member will save hours. It took a friend and I the first time 6 hours. The second time we dropped the k-member and did it in 4 hours
 

blownstang4.6

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That's a great price for Kooks especially if midpipe is included. IMO, headers are not worth the hassle unless you have a cammed motor. As some of the guys above mentioned the gain is minimal. Cams plus headers show nice gains. Headers alone do not do much. You do not need them on a blower car as the car will not make much more pre and post header install. I only have experience with headers on a 2v (na and boosted) , but now have a boosted 4v and will not be doing headers. Seems like the coyote motors respond similarly.
 

White&BlackCoyote

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Thanks for the responses! You had convinced me to buy them but unfortunately (or fortunately for my bank account) the guy had already sold them. More money in the savings account toward a supercharger I guess.
 

blownstang4.6

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Thanks for the responses! You had convinced me to buy them but unfortunately (or fortunately for my bank account) the guy had already sold them. More money in the savings account toward a supercharger I guess.

Perfect. If your plan is blower and you're already saving for one then definitely put that money towards it and don't waste it on bolt ons.
 

fuelforfire87

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That's a great price for Kooks especially if midpipe is included. IMO, headers are not worth the hassle unless you have a cammed motor. As some of the guys above mentioned the gain is minimal. Cams plus headers show nice gains. Headers alone do not do much. You do not need them on a blower car as the car will not make much more pre and post header install. I only have experience with headers on a 2v (na and boosted) , but now have a boosted 4v and will not be doing headers. Seems like the coyote motors respond similarly.

NA yes the headers won't make that much of a difference, but boosted you will absolutely gain power. Also Kooks sells a green catted mid pipe that will pass inspection without the need to run o2 spacers or whatever other hoops you would have to jump through to pass. Also Kooks has the best o2 sensor placement in case you want to run E85 and not deal with constantly burning out your upstream o2 sensors.


Perfect. If your plan is blower and you're already saving for one then definitely put that money towards it and don't waste it on bolt ons.

Yes getting a blower is a much better bang for your buck, but even with a blower you will want more and headers are an easy way to free up HP that would otherwise be lost going through the stock manifolds.

As for the install I would recommend a shop install them unless you've had previous experience because kooks is probably the hardest header to install. I installed mine with the help of a friend and his lift and it still took way longer than what a competent shop could do.

good luck OP and get those headers installed, you won't regret it.
 

PC03GT

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Yes, it's worth it, especially when boosted. I have the same headers, I picked up 40hp compared to just having an o/r h pipe.
 

fuelforfire87

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I was offered some cheap, BBK longtubes and an X for $300, so I jumped on them. I dyno tested before
/after and at over 800 rwhp at the time, I gained 7 rwhp. Maybe a more legit header would have gained more?

I didn't notice much of a sound difference. Hard to tell.

Just my $.02

Not sure why you only gained 7 hp going from stock manifolds to BBK headers, but I used to have BBK headers before I switched and the BBK's are crap (in my opinion) in comparison to the Kooks. The Kooks are much better built and will last a lot longer than BBK headers. Not that you can't make power with either one, but Kooks is definitely superior and is why they cost much more.

Like they say, budget products = budget results.
 
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blownstang4.6

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NA yes the headers won't make that much of a difference, but boosted you will absolutely gain power. Also Kooks sells a green catted mid pipe that will pass inspection without the need to run o2 spacers or whatever other hoops you would have to jump through to pass. Also Kooks has the best o2 sensor placement in case you want to run E85 and not deal with constantly burning out your upstream o2 sensors.




Yes getting a blower is a much better bang for your buck, but even with a blower you will want more and headers are an easy way to free up HP that would otherwise be lost going through the stock manifolds.

As for the install I would recommend a shop install them unless you've had previous experience because kooks is probably the hardest header to install. I installed mine with the help of a friend and his lift and it still took way longer than what a competent shop could do.

good luck OP and get those headers installed, you won't regret it.

Tell it to the guys who were already boosted and then added headers and gained next to nothing. On a blower car they're even more useless. You need a nice cam to get the most of headers. Otherwise you're looking at a measly 15-20hp gain and others gain even less.
 

Zemedici

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Tell it to the guys who were already boosted and then added headers and gained next to nothing. On a blower car they're even more useless. You need a nice cam to get the most of headers. Otherwise you're looking at a measly 15-20hp gain and others gain even less.

uh....

not sure where you're getting your info.

But its incorrect.
 

blownstang4.6

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uh....

not sure where you're getting your info.

But its incorrect.
Yes some cars gain and some don't. I had ARH headers on a previous Mustang prior to adding a Vortech and my car did not make any more power than other Vortech cars running similar setups but with stock manifolds. Another local guy had a blower and blower cams on his car, then added longtubes, and gained 8rwhp. Multiple other people have had similar results. I'm running 12psi on a 4v 10.1 compression on E85 and have no intention of doing headers even when I up the boost and timing, unless someone gives them to me for free (I got the ARH's for free from winning a raffle). Yes you're gaining a few hp, but you're never going to feel the difference, or sometimes even see the difference, on a car that is already making a butt load of power. Headers are absolutely not needed on anything making under 700/800rwhp that is boosted, unless you have them paired with some nice cams. My cousins 2017 GT made 720rwhp with ease on 9psi Paxton. He's not running out to get headers even when he bumps it to 900 with a little more boost and E85 headers won't be a priority. Money can be spent better elsewhere or put towards a bigger mod fund. If someone is looking at a max effort setup, whether it be na, boost, or nitrous, then definitely throw headers on the list.
 
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11Sec_Lx

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Not sure why you only gained 7 hp going from stock manifolds to BBK headers, but I used to have BBK headers before I switched and the BBK's are crap (in my opinion) in comparison to the Kooks. The Kooks are much better built and will last a lot longer than BBK headers. Not that you can't make power with either one, but Kooks is definitely superior and is why they cost much more.

Like they say, budget products = budget results.

Maybe you should go back and re-read my post. lol.
 

White&BlackCoyote

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Possible some of the confusion coming from peak HP vs area under the curve gain? My understanding with LTs is that most of the gain comes from area under the curve and actual peak HP is not going to be all that much higher. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Either way, the guy sold them before I could pull the trigger and at this point I'm not willing to pay full retail price. If I see another good deal of some I may have to pick them up though!
 

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