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93 1/2 ton swb 5.8 4.56 gears e4od 3" exhaust no cat magnaflow K&N fipk 35" tires and the SD friendly cam from comp.
What would you fellers suggest for headers?
It would be easiest to use the short "bolt-in" style..... but is there much gain for going long tube?
Long tubes will give you more torque shorties will give you more HP
I have been running long tube headers in my truck for the past 3 or 4 years and they are a pain.....can't keep the flange gaskets from leaking, so now I just live with it sounds like **** but I have had enough...as soon as I get the $ I'm changing over to shorties
Keep in mind of the installation differences; long tube headers vs. shorties (equal length). With long tubes you have to modify your stock mid pipe section and weld flanges on them. Most shorty headers are bolt-on and go type units. The long tube headers will shine over the shorties, but they do require more to install them.
If you're looking to get the most out of your exhaust and you're willing to modify, long tubes all the way. If you're looking for a mild gain and tone, along with easy installation, then go with shorties. If you go with the shorties, I wouldn't go any smaller than 1 5/8 on the primaries.
Where is your front diff and driveshaft with respect to aTTB setup? Lontubes come back to the engine/tranny mating surface and usually tuck pretty close to the lower portion of the motor. If your solid axle is further away then what the TTB would be then I don't see it being a problem.
the only problem w/ long tubes that I've seen is they don't like to stay sealed (the flange keeps working lose) ant least that was my experience w/ a set dynomax's on a 77 El cameo
I posted this bit here, seems like the question of long/versus short comes up often, I even asked a while back.
From that article:
In conclusion, there’s more to selecting a header than the power it makes. If you are making 350 hp or more, and live in a state that allows the use of two-cat H-pipes or off-road H-pipes, then the long-tubes are the header that will make the most power. However, if you have a stock or mildly modified car, live in a state that requires the stock H-pipe, or just want the simplest installation possible, the short-tube would be the best choice.
I'm calling the exhaust guy today, see what he would charge for adding the EGR, and O2 fitting to a set of longtubes, and the cost of fabbing the pipes from the collectors to the cat.
For my rig, the 96', to keep the EGR, O2, the shorties would be more than a budget set on longtubes and the fabbing the connection pipes IMHO.
We shall see.
Thanks for the info.
Last edited by 78bigunns; Oct 10, 2007 at 12:20 PM.