Okay, now that I know my motor is in great condition I am going to upgrade my exhaust.

Has anyone used Summit's headers on their F-150 5.0?

I will be adding headers, dual pipes with high flow cats and
Flowmasters.

I tried a search on headers for these 5.0's but there hasn't been a mention of exactly what headers were used.

I know long tubes are prefered for low end torque but can't seem to find any for this application. So I will settle for shorties.

I plan on getting a chip burnt for it because of the cam and header swaps so my SD should work fine for it. (it actually may be fine as is)

Okay guy's "whatcha got?"

 

Header selection is pretty big. I stayed away from the long tubes because I have always read and been told long tubes were for top end power. I see lots of people using them on here though. BBK, Summit Racing, Gibson, Bassini and now Edelbrock make shorties. I went with BBK, 1 5/8's tubes, 3/8's flange, I really like them. I had to get new ends made for my Y-pipe and new pipes to the cat. The Gibson's are not as neat to me. The flanges have slits in them by the bolt holes, they are smaller pipes, they do however bolt right up to the stock Y-pipe perfect, unlike the BBK's. Bassini's are to much $ for me but they are the best in my opinion. I have heard great things about the Summit headers but have never seen them in person. Edelbrock just started making them a couple weeks ago and I would have tried to get some of those because I like their products. I know Dynomax makes some also but the muffler shops sell those so I stayed away from them. If I had a stock setup I would not get the 1 5/8's because you loose some low end, I know this from installing them on a Mustang. It isn't that way if you have nice heads and different cam. The Gibson's on a stock truck are really nice but I just didn't like those slits in the flange. The guy I know who bought them hasn't had any trouble with them but I just didn't like the slits, I ride in his pickup all the time and I could really tell the difference. He also tows a camp trailer and on his first trip pulling it with the headers he reported he was able to run in 4th geat a lot more where he couldn't before. Earl's performance makes the best header gasket by far, Stage 8 locking header bolts are a must! They have a washer that fits over the head of the bolt, it is flat on one side and the flat part rests on the header pipe like a little wrech holding the bolt in place, you then install a C-clip on the outer part of the bolt that holds the washer from falling off. I have a picture of them in my gallery, I haven't had to touch my setup since I installed it. My Mustang gaskets burned out in 6 months and the bolts would never stay tight. I also heard from an old timer after I installed my headers if you wipe them down with WD-40 before you run your truck they will discolor evenly and look really good (chrome versions). I don't know what I think about that? I think it would also stink like crazy!

 

I built a motor for my truck last summer. It had great power and I could not afford an exhaust at the time. For Christmas my dad got Headman shorty headers and told me he would also get a good exhaust for me. after putting on the headers we got two flowmaster 40 series and an x-pipe to hook them together. I wanted true duals but there is only one oxygen sensor on speed density vehicles unlike mass air.( I have been told) Even though I could not have true duals I noticed a huge amount of power that was gained. Hope this gives you some ideas.

 

Thanks guys.
I pretty much know what to expect performance wise, if all things work out right.

tripndrag -
It looks like the BBK's are the winner. Not too bad - $250 for the chrome. Did you get the chrome or Polished Ceramic Finish? Do they still look good? I'm tired of putting painted headers on and then look at the rust a short time later. I'll give the chrome a shot for this one.

 

I could only afford the chrome. They discolored up by the head but they still look totally cool. My buddy has the ceramic and they lasted for a couple years but finally discolored also so I am glad I didn't spend the extra money on it. I think the Bassini's would be the best for lasting good looks. I think they carry a million mile waranty and are full stainless. I wanted those and their Y-pipe but 250 bucks for the BBK's and a 100 bucks to get my Y-pipe modified with new pipes worked out much better.

 

That sounds good to me.

I'm not keeping the Y-Pipe so I'll have to have new pipes made for it anyway.

Thanks again!

 

i have the summit headers on my truck, havent noticed much of a diff because i put them on a brand new engine. only problem is they wownt bolt up to the downtubes so i now have to spent more money to fix that, and also summit headers are actually pacesetter, and be sure to paint them when you get them big mistake if you dont. its ugly.

 

I've had FRPP headers on my truck for about 5 months and like them alot, 0 problems, nice power increase and they sound awesome when you get into the loud pedal . Like mentioned in an earlier post use the stage 8 locking bolts and never have to worry about retightnening header bolts.

The only draw back to the Ford racing Headers is they come unfinished with no chrome plating or ceramic coating but they are made out of stainless steel so they won't be rusting apart. On mine I just used ultra high temp header paint and they still look real good.




Keep on truckin' ...Mike

 

The Ford Racing headers were no longer available for my pickup. I did install some on my B-inlaws 97 Mustang, man was that a pain in the neck! Had to pull the engine because there is only about 1/2 or less space between the shock tower and header and the shock tower is almost the same width of the header and no way to get to it from under the car. Anyway We didn't paint his and they still look good after 2 years, his were stainless also.