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I have been thinking about getting some headers for my 95 f-150 5.0 but im not sure what are the best headers for my engine under 220 dollars and how much affect would they make on my speed or acceleration or hp.
The summit truck hedders are probably the best ones for you. They are the only ones that bolt right up to your stock exhaust without any modifications. I don't know anything about performance gain but I'm sure it's better than stock...
You may notice an increase, but only a slight one. If you get headers I recommend that you aluminum or copper gaskets. The paper ones you get with the headers will blow within a 3 month time span if you run it hard. Thats my opinion on the take. Do I run them..yes.
I have heard minimal gains from headers but just the other night I was talking to a very knowlegable guy and he said the best mod you can do one a 302 is headers. He said there is a guy in town with a truck like mine except for a 4 speed manual instead of 5 and stock drivetrain that had headers and true duals. That is it, just stock engine and there isn't anyone in town that can beat him. This guy that told me this is a Chevy man too so that just adds to it. I think the headers on this other guys truck are the long ones though, supposedly they make more HP? Im not completely sure but that sounds right. I might look into getting a set.
[updated:LAST EDITED ON 12-Jan-02 AT 02:09 PM (EST)]You HAVE to get long tube headers to get the proper amount of exhaust flow out of your truck. Shorties (short tube headers) are usually designed for space and to allow engine swaps. The long tube headers use exhaust wave propegation to help draw exhaust out of your engine, thus reducing the amount of work that the piston has to do to force the exhaust out. Shorties may even have a negative impact on your engine performance. Tri-y headers are an even better design for truck engines. I use them on mine and LOVE the difference they have made. I gained alot more low end torque with them.
I've seen several articles on the performance of hedders. Not much regarding trucks but several regarding mustangs. I've seen where they quote a 15 hp gain with equal length shorty hedders. I used hedman hedders because they were pretty cheap and offered a better (looking) flow than any others. The bigger the port the better the flow (I would think). If you plan on doing a complete exhaust job I would recommend a high quality set of mustang equal length hedders. The long tube ones usually don't last as long and several people have had problems with leakage. I have never had a problem with leaking and I've only torqued the bolts down once since installation.
You can only get the mustang ones if you are going to have exhaust work done. The stock exhaust will not mate up to the mustang ones. If you want a pair of hedders to mate up to the exhaust the summit ones are the way to go!
For the money , the Mac equal length headers are the way to go. They bolt right in and work well. I paid $219 at www.mustangwarehouse.com. They are a direct fit for the truck(not the mustang). No other exhaust changes required. I had a set of JBA's before these, and was happier with them, but they would not fit my new heads so I had to change. JBA's are expensive though. Thats my 2c's. See a pic of the headers I used in my gallery. Good luck.