Difference between Long Tubes and Shorties
 

I have a 2002 Mustang GT and I've been looking around for headers since I'm thinking about getting my exhaust done. A question I have is what's the difference between the long tube and shorty headers? I've been trying to figure out the difference but have had no luck. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Rob

dude, this isnt off topic. please post in the appropriate forum next time...
bryan

You pretty much supplied your own answer.

Longtube/shorttube means the length of each primary. On shorttube (like stock exhaust manifolds) the primarys are really short and the collect very close togehter. Longtube, each primary comes almost to the firewall before meeting the others.

Ok I knew that part so much, I was just curious if there was any other difference I was missing at all. Thanks.

i'm sure it has to do with turbulence in the exhaust flow. i'd imagine that long tubes are less turbulent because the collector is farther down the pipe, but i'm sure you'll get a more solid answer from someone with real experience with a normal non-horizontally opposed engine.
bryan

From what I can remember from my mustang days:

Long tubes make more power if you have a higher HP car or want to extract every bit of performance, but if you are just going to have a mildly modified car, use shorty's plus installation is easier. Then there's the battle of equal length vs unequal length shorty's? Equal length make more power because the exhaust gases arrive in the collector at equally space times reducing back pressure generated by the other cylinders using the same collector. Equal lengths are more difficult to install than unequal lengths and provide limited access to spark plugs and bolts. With equal lengths you get more heat in the engine compartment than you would get with unequal.

Long tubes get you more grunt out of the hole. If Hooker make a set of Comps or Super Comps for your car, get them. Its that simple. You cant go wrong with long tubes and a large collecter.

http://www.corral.net/forums/

the search option. use it. learn. go fast

i'm pretty sure the point was to get an answer on this forum, not give a link and say 'search'
thanks though...

it depends on his combo and his intentions with his car. which is why i would search the corral forums because there are 100's of threads on there about that topic alone that he could probaly learn alot from. Maybe he should search those forums, find the info that he was looking for and post here his results for anyone else curious.

Long tubes deff have more down low power and are a better header then the shorty, but on a 00 and up mustang the engine must be raised to get the headers on. Its a very hard install and expensive if you have someone else do it. If you have the money go for it. Even shorties are verry hard to put on those cars. Just my 2 cents tho

you will make more whp and tq with long tubes than shorties. since fords love the x pipes the longtubes really wake up v8 fords. shorties are more for inexpensive, easy installs. if your serious about making more power throughout the entire rpm range, long tubes all the way. most chevy owners have to use an X pipe with their long tubes but the cars arent designed for the X pipes so they have very little ground clearance. if you wanna but out the money for long tubes you wont be dissapointed.

and yes the install on fords is extremely difficult