As you all know I have been discussing headers for a few months now, and I am getting my decision still between two sets of headers.

Hookers:

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

Doug Thorleys:

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

Both headers are very nice, both there two different breeds....My assumption is the Hooker headers are way more badass of a header, and probably produce more horsepower, but I bet the Doug Thorley’s are a nicer quality header, but are probably a little lame duck compared to the Hookers...I want to have the most power I can squeeze out of these things, so which do you guys think? The Thorleys’ are actually $650 because I don’t need the y-pipe ect...I think Banks is out of the question, there too expensive, and they don’t look nearly as power producing as these two. Any help is appreciated...

 

The tri-y design of the Thorley's and Banks headers are designed more for low end power. The tri-y is supposed to give more low end than straight tubes, which is desireable for heavy trucks. The thorley's and Banks also have smaller collectors which in turn will produce more low end than the larger collector designed toward high end horsepower. I don't think you could go wrong with either design though, either will be an improvment over the stock maifolds. I'm shure adding the headers will change your exhaust note some as well.

 

Hmmm, very interesting points. My desire would be to get some better off the line power, and I think I could earn that with the tri-y in that case. Why did hooker make a header for a 460 one ton truck, if the truck is mostly used for pulling heavy loads, not top end. In my case I rarely use this thing for work, but when I do I like knowing the powers there. I like to go around town and be able to hit the gas and have instant power, which i feel like the hookers will give me. Do you think it wont be overly noticible in the differnce in power gains between the two? What would you choose? My curent true dual set up consists of 2 1/2 inch piping, so wouldnt in some essense, the 3 inch collector on the Hooker be voided out if it was dumping into a more resitrivive 2 1/2 piping?

 

Honestly I don't think there will be a big difference in low end between the two. The tri-y is just a design to enhance low end. The smaller collector is more desirable for the truck application as well but is not mandatory.

By looking at the above pics the Hookers would be easier to hook up to your true duals than the Thorleys. Notice the bend in the one Thorley header right above the collector. That bend is to line up with the Y-pipe which is designed to hook up to the stock exhaust. You obviously don't have the stock exhaust so that bend will just be a PITA and possibly a restriction point for your exhaust. You may have to go with the Hookers due to what I said above about the collector location. I missed that bend in the Thorleys at first glance.

Come to think of it the headers (Not tri-y) on my dinky 74' F-100 302ci have 3" collectors and 2 1/2" duals and low end wasn't hurt too bad, of course that is a Reg cab short bed so its a fairly light truck.

 

Your making really good noteable points. I guess what I like to do more than anything is be going say 30 mph through town, and then when I come across someone who wants to race, I like to get on it, and when I do that, I see the Hookers as just being like opening the race gates for the 460 to explode alot of energy all at once and zoom off into the distance. I sort of see the tri-y as like your daily regular driver who just wanted to compliment his stock rig with a set of headers, I dont see them being overly aggressive. I think I would be angry with myself to not get the Hookers, they just seem to fit the badass theme of the truck you know? I just dont want to shoot myself in the foot either by getting a header that will actually hurt the towing performance of the vehicle too. Well not even towing so much, but "off the line" power. I want the truck to still be able to move itself better than it can now, but once it does so, I want it to be able to flow like the Hookers.

 

If any low end is lost with the Hooker headers (I'm shure little to no loss) it will be made up in the in the mid to upper rpm range. I've found that Ford trucks are pretty choked up in the upper rpm range from the factory. The headers really help. On my 302 with the cast manifolds the power dropped off pretty good at 4k rpm, after the headers and exhaust it still has some pull at 5500rpm.

Since I got my Thorley's on my 04' and the leak header fixed (Busted Gasket) I'm going to be taking my truck to be dyno tuned. The air/fuel ratio from factory is on the lean side and mods like the headers, exhaust, intake and etc. only lean it out more. By having the air/fuel ratio fattened up a little I should be able to pick up a little extra power as well as lowering the exhaust gas temps some.

 

Cool I am sold thanks dude!

 

Try www.landlproducts.com . Great headers I would use them again.

 

I always wanted a LandL, but those headers require a lifted truck, its to bad because i guarantee they would be top header seller if they would make a header for stock trucks.....

 

I would go with the Tri-y desing. Most any header will gain hp and torque over stock manifolds but the tri-y will pick up more across the board over a big 4-1 desing. The 4-1 is a great top end desing but on the bottom end it loses some torque compared to a try-y. The tri-y desing is starting to come back around as a popular desing, alot of nascar teams are using the desing because of the wider and not so peaky power bands. Masarati originally developed the tri-y in the '40s, My dad studied it and developed it for the small block chevy in '57, started producing it in '58. It's an old desing that has been around a while and is a good one for across the board hp and tq gains. Thorleys are worth the $$.
Jerod Jardine. (I don't have any thing to do with Thorley.)

 

The Thorley Tri-Ys do make great power as you said. The set on my 6.8l improved the low end greatly, even over the aftermarket y-pipe I had with the stock manifolds. Power is strong and smooth throughout the entire powerband.

Do you have any connection with Jardine Performance?

For FORDF350Baby's setup the Hookers will fit better with his custom exhaust due to the fact that the Thorleys are designed for the stock single exhaust.

 

We used to be Jardine Header co. My dad, Jerry Jardine, sold the company to summit ind (not the catalog guys) in the mid '80s. So thats our old company. Summit also owns Doug Thorley headers (not dougs headers). Sold and installed a lot of thorley headers when Betty Thorley still had the company.
We've been doing R.V. exhaust since under Pinnacle Power Exhaust. We are mainly doing 4" diesel stuff right now, but we're devolping some gas headers again. Just got done running some 6.0 litre chevy headers on the dyno. Some promising numbers, Have to do some more tweaking though. Fords are the next on the list.
Thanks, Jerod Jardine.

 

True on that last point. If it were my truck, I would run Try-y through the supplied y pipe,3" back to a single Magna flow then dual it out. On the dyno you'll see quite an increase over a true dual running. I think it sounds alot smother also. But to each his own, Either way it'll be a big improvment over the stock stuff. I had a '90 f350 with a 460. The headers and stuff sure made it a lot more fun to drive. Milage should also increase, I was getting about twelve if I drove it nice.
Thanks, Jerod

 

Excellant guys, thank you very much. I am confused tho, wouldnt it be ok tho DFK, to run the tri y even tho they dont fit my true dual set up? Because right now I would have to hack into the left side exhaust pipe to extend over and connect to the driver side header, if the the THorley already goes towards that direction, wouldnt it be easier to tap into it? I want to make sure I get this right. Howcome the Hookers are $150 more if there not as good? The Dougs are $600 without the y pipe, the hookers are like $750

 

I'm not sure the way your pipes are routed, depending on the way they are routed and bent they may hook up to the Thorley's better than the Hookers. I have a mental picture in my head of the way my 74' is routed, pipes run straight out the back of the headers. Is yours set-up like that? Do you have a pic of the way your exhaust is routed.

The Thorley's have 3/8" Flanges and 14Ga. steel tubing, they are well built. You'll have to compare them to the Hookers specs.

The oly problem I had with my Thorley's (Other than a Bad Gasket) is two of the pipes were dinged up where they slip together.(Y-pipe) I had to bang the dings out and grind some material out of the I.D. to get them to fit. Otherwise they are solid headers.