I know this topic has come up many times and I have my flame suit on.
My question is, with stock manifolds, stock Y-pipe, stock cats, and a magnaflow muffler currently instally, will going to shorty headers make the exhaust sound much louder? would it change it any?
I know long tubes are the way to go for power, but I'd prefer to keep my single exhaust and not have to do any custom fabrication.
I'm curious about sound alone. Will it be affected and if so, how will it change?

 

My experience says no, there will be zero difference in sound level or tone with shorties. Those factory converters are a VERY effective muffler as well as bottleneck to airflow.

Budget for shorties as well as an aftermarket y-pipe with a modern single high flow converter.

 

will these flow better than stock
MagnaFlow 93307 - MagnaFlow Direct-Fit Catalytic Converters - Overview - SummitRacing.com

 

Yes that'll flow much better then stock. But honestly go for the LT Headers. I just installed pacestter LTs on my bronco and had a Y-pipe made with a single exhaust and a flowmaster super 44.

My cost were about 220 for the headers, 60 for a Hi flow magnaflow cat, and 120 for a custom Y made and everything put on the truck. Here's a vid of what it sounds like. granted I have a 5.8L

95 zebra bronco 351w headers exhaust - YouTube

 

I am assuing you're using this truck as a DD.....A work truck...Never gonna hit 6k rpm.....

Go with the Longtubes as Edgethis said....It'll give you more OOMPH in the rpm band you NEED it in...Shorties are for higher revving engines IMPO....

 

Shortys are not really for higher reving engines. They are actually for mid range power. Long tubes scavange better at low and high rpm. I got this straight from Conanski in another post.

When I rework my exhaust for the new motor later, I'm going with shorty headers.

 

Ok then.....I've just always seen shorties on mustangs, etc....Stuff that really cranks the RPM's....lol

Thanks for the info though...It's goin in the ol' mental notebook...

 

Shorties are easier to fit on Mustangs

That's why you see them more often.

 

i seem to be seeing somewhat conflicting viewpoints on whats to be gained with shorties.

has anybody on here actually used shorty headers on their trucks?

 

I have shorty headers on my truck with custom mandrel 2.5" y pipe, no cat, into magnflow with dual outs. I am very happy, although I could maybe gain a 5-10 more horsepower and 5-10 more ft lbs with a long tube setup. Someday when exhaust needs to be reworked may go for the longtubes, but overall satisfied. They were standard issue on the Gen1 Ford Lightnings as well.

Here is some general info for the reading.....

Argument for smaller collectors
Ever see a car header with 1 5/8" primaries that had a 2 1/2" collector? Hooker makes them for trucks, but you don't see them for cars. But that is the optimum diameter for many street headers. Run that right into a 2 1/2" exhaust and you have a sweet system with lots of torque where you need it, and better fuel economy to boot. The collector should have a smooth, gentle shape from the four tube area down to the final diameter to keep things moving smoothly.

If you have very healthy big block, are running a blower, some turbo, or have a ton of nitrous, a 3" header may be appropriate. However, about the only street application of the monster 3" diameter pipe is when you count on having an engine with large gobs of top-end power. Otherwise, velocity is king in exhaust and 3" is probably too big to keep the speed of the gases up in the exhaust, and there goes that bottom end torque again! Many recommend either 2 1/4" or 2 1/2" diameter pipe for street V-8's.

Argument for larger collectors
A larger than needed exhaust won't necessarily "kill" your low end torque. Any respectable engine that makes low end power will continue to make low end power regardless of the sewer pipe exhaust. SOME power may be lost, yes. Usually not enough to make a difference on MOST V8 engines that are even close to being tuned right. Even a stock big block can make complete use of a 3" single exhaust system. Some even come with that size STOCK.

The majority of "lost" torque is now in the midrange of the engine's powerband. This will help with highway driving and towing, and provide better passing power when needed. This more powerful midrange will always make the low end seem less powerful, simply because the engine pulls better in a different part of the RPM range. Most people that "think" they lost low end power are simply noticing that the engine pulls better in a different way, even if NO low end power was ever lost.

Summary of header design principles
1.A "shortie" or a "block hugger" flows better than a stock manifold, and helps to produce more power than stock. However, it is not technically considered a header. They are easier to install in a stock style exhaust system, which makes them attractive.
2.Bigger diameter primary tubes are NOT better in most street applications.
3.The torque/power boost available from a header will occur at a specific RPM that can be easily determined. The price paid for this boost is likely lower power at other RPMs. All engine design is compromise.
4.Equal primary tube length is very important for tuning and power output, but not to the point of obsessing over it. A regular Tri Y or 4-1 header will work wonders over the stock manifolds.
5.A long and smooth collector is a good thing.
6.Just like header tube size, be reasonable with the size of your exhaust system.

 

Some interesting reading here: Let's get technical. The biggest controversy in header design is the "equal length" versus "shorty" styles - which is best?

 

I don't see any conflicting info here, you just need to remember that the results you get with headers also depends upon what the rest of the system consists of, and the stock cats are the biggest restriction in the stock exhaust so you won't see any gains until they go.

In order of magnitude from least gains to most here is the list.

0) Stock manifolds with stock cats.
1) Stock manifolds with aftermarket cats or straight pipes.
2) Shorties with aftermarket single or dual exhaust.
3) Longtubes with aftermarket single or dual exhaust.

Note: The presence of aftermarket cats in a single or dual exhaust makes very little performance difference so there's no point adding more options to the list IMO.