Headers

[irishrt5.7]

Ok i know i am going to open up a can of worms here but what are better lt headers or shorty?

I am looking for a good sound good performance that wont break the bank. I currently have the JBA catback and i know they make 3 different sets of headers but out of the 3 why such difference in prices?

What does the difference in the materials do as far as performace and sound?

[aliveguy5]

You will get better sound with long tubes. I have shorties and gutted cats though and my car bellows.

[dudeiwin86]

only difference in materials is gonna be longevity....
and your in the north.. stick to stainless steel.... that snow/salt will eat nonstainless alive.

long tubes are going to support high levels of power from the engine, where shorties could become a choke point on a car making big power..

longtubes tend to shine with more torque and horsepower throughout the RPM band, where as shorties generally only shine in the one rpm band...
(some argue thusly due to equal length primaries, or at least longer primaries, you see a better scavenging effect and distribution thru the collector and down the pipes when the gases first start flowing out of the head, thus giving better combustion on the low end. once the revs are up and the exhaust is already moving, shorties dont need the long primaries to assist this in the top end, and you see similar gains.

others say the opposite, in that shorties help on the low end, but are choked up on the top end because they dont have long primary tubes. you see more low end torque from the increased back pressure.

ive seen evidence supporting both, and to be honest, im not sure which i believe, but i tend to lean more towards shorties for the high rpms..... long tubes for ALL rpm gains...

long tubes are going to sound better because you have more separation in the ehxuast pulses and the long primaries change the tone for the better.

bottom line is....

long tubes ARE better. Period.
but theyre more expensive,
and the gains may be insignificant if you cant take full advantage of them (lets say.. having a cam?)

or

you live in cali and long tubes are illegal. which obviously inst a problem for you

if you can afford long tubes, do it and dont look back because you have nothing to regret... me? i have jba shorties... i wish i splurged in the start and didnt get em because now i want long tubes to support my engine mods that i thought id never have..

[Popeye's Hemi]

Oh Danny Boy the Questions you ask Lad, performance wise I would say long tubes particularly if you plan to swap heads and cam in the near future. But there are many here that have Great running rides that use the SRT8 Stock headers and after market shorties are a good option as well. With the JBA catback you have now you could buy JBA shorties around 375 and JBA catless mids 250 no cutting or welding and that will sound and perform very good. And when needed at emission time re-install the OEM mid pipes for the inspection takes maybe an hour and switch back to the catless when you pass. Just my opion.

[irishrt5.7]

Thanks guys.... Keep it coming please...

I am looking at doing a cam in the future...

[Popeye's Hemi]

If you are planning on a cam in the future then definitely due the headers at the same time. Much easier to get the headers on right with the heads off the car. I did it lying on the ground on my back and the car on a set of ramps and jack stands. Not the easiest way as I'm very close to getting my Spartan cam installed.

[stevesrt8]

why not save some dough and get some SRT8 take offs?

Our member Jaak runs 11's N/A with the stock headers and cat back, just hi flo cats added!

They'll make plenty of PROVEN power.

[Super T]

why not save some dough and get some SRT8 take offs?

Our member Jaak runs 11's N/A with the stock headers and cat back, just hi flo cats added!

They'll make plenty of PROVEN power.

B/C the SRT heads have a different port shape than the RT... Not sure you gain anything w/o reworking the heads.

The guys have pretty much covered it. Stock engine, shorties will be enough. But if you plan on a cam, you'll eventually do heads too (it works that way ;-) ) and even if you stop at the cam, longtubes will definitely benefit you.

[Chris Shades]

I think anything is better then stock exhaust manifolds on an R/t, for the money i think the Jba's are a great header plus there stainless steel. There isnt gonna be a difference in performance or sound between regular stainless or ceramic. The only difference is ceramic keeps the heat down. If you dont wanna break the bank i say JBA all the way but if you've got plans for a monster motor wait until everything comes together and get long tubes. Alota people that do cam only swaps are running good #'s and power with Jba's & or high flows or catless mids. just my 0.2

[aliveguy5]

To go with his .02 I run jba with catless mids and my car is a bear. I have a Spartan cam and don't see LT's helping here yet.

[stevesrt8]

[quote=Super T;1892872]B/C the SRT heads have a different port shape than the RT..Not sure you gain anything w/o reworking the heads.[quote]


There's plenty of dynos to support what I said. Most of the SRT8 header users are on this forum.

The mis-match doesn't seem to hurt the power output, and that's what we're all after. If you want, of course longtubes are nice, but they are extremely expensive and give small gains.

Maybe he's not made out of money?

[rander]

Since everything has been already discussed, i like the LT's because when the gasses escape the head, it makes this real cool sound only LT's can give you.