Are shorty headers worth it on the 3.7L?
#11
BBK's, still running the stock Cats and Resonators with the FRPP Cut and clamp X-Pipe.
I did not Dyno mine but I have seen dynos with the BBK's with a 20+ midrange bump from just that mod. You do not gain a lot in the top end (Long tubes are 5-7 more max HP on the top end) but I don't run my car around at 6500 RPM very much driving down the road.
Short tubes do not help in the top end like long tubes do, way more power pick up in the Low to mid ranges, I have then and I know where the pickup was.
And they helped my MPG unlike gears that take it away.
I did not Dyno mine but I have seen dynos with the BBK's with a 20+ midrange bump from just that mod. You do not gain a lot in the top end (Long tubes are 5-7 more max HP on the top end) but I don't run my car around at 6500 RPM very much driving down the road.
On the butt dyno you'll notice the gears way more than shorty headers. They will free more HP than shorties will gain.
Shorties really only produce gains at high RPM's so unless your doing top speed runs you won't notice them.
They might "smooth" out an idle or help it rev faster, but gears give the engine a mechanical advantage over the weight of the car. This occurs at all RPM levels, not just high.
Shorty headers aren't going to compete with gears period on the butt dyno.
Shorties really only produce gains at high RPM's so unless your doing top speed runs you won't notice them.
They might "smooth" out an idle or help it rev faster, but gears give the engine a mechanical advantage over the weight of the car. This occurs at all RPM levels, not just high.
Shorty headers aren't going to compete with gears period on the butt dyno.
And they helped my MPG unlike gears that take it away.
Last edited by Siber Express; 10-31-2014 at 06:16 PM.
#12
^ I am so far with Sier on this
I was on the fence and finally broke down and bought the BBK short tubes and just got them on this week
I already had the mod listed in the signature line
So this is strictly going from before the shorties to after.......no other changes at all
I only have about 100 miles driving it since doing it, and winter is nearly here so doubtful I will do much more driving with it this season....but
It does seem to pull much better right from a stop or when you just roll on the throttle at 2000 rpms in top gear and pass....
I also had the trailer hooked up for nearly half of the miles I use it after the BBK shorties were installed and I definitely noticed an easier time leaving stops and accelerating or holding speed on hills
I too was really up in the air on whether to do or not do, and would it be worth the expense and trouble....
Well I am glad I did (thus far...besides the 10% back from BBK is not a bad deal either) and if I gain a little mpg as a side benefit even better... but so far I am happy with them, and the rest of the exhaust is stock- and the noise difference is insignificant, but there is a little difference.
I may or may not try an X pipe.....another one of those on the fence deals- and was really tempted to do at the same time to save some of my own time and effort, but alas....I opted to only go after the short tube headers first and see how that works.
Did I notice a difference, yes- yes I did. Was it huge, no but it is noticeable (and disclaimer.....I have only driven it about 100 miles since install so not all conditions, I guess a real test will be when I go back to Road America with it. See if my laps times are lower and speeds are higher
I was on the fence and finally broke down and bought the BBK short tubes and just got them on this week
I already had the mod listed in the signature line
So this is strictly going from before the shorties to after.......no other changes at all
I only have about 100 miles driving it since doing it, and winter is nearly here so doubtful I will do much more driving with it this season....but
It does seem to pull much better right from a stop or when you just roll on the throttle at 2000 rpms in top gear and pass....
I also had the trailer hooked up for nearly half of the miles I use it after the BBK shorties were installed and I definitely noticed an easier time leaving stops and accelerating or holding speed on hills
I too was really up in the air on whether to do or not do, and would it be worth the expense and trouble....
Well I am glad I did (thus far...besides the 10% back from BBK is not a bad deal either) and if I gain a little mpg as a side benefit even better... but so far I am happy with them, and the rest of the exhaust is stock- and the noise difference is insignificant, but there is a little difference.
I may or may not try an X pipe.....another one of those on the fence deals- and was really tempted to do at the same time to save some of my own time and effort, but alas....I opted to only go after the short tube headers first and see how that works.
Did I notice a difference, yes- yes I did. Was it huge, no but it is noticeable (and disclaimer.....I have only driven it about 100 miles since install so not all conditions, I guess a real test will be when I go back to Road America with it. See if my laps times are lower and speeds are higher
#14
There was a noticeable gain after installing my shorties as well. It wasn't huge, but it was noticeable at the lower end. Now, comparing gears with shorties is like comparing an apple with an orange. The gears are going to make you feel like you gained more power but you're going to lose MPGs. If this is your daily driver, I wouldn't consider gears as an option. One of my buddies installed a set of 3.73s from 2.73s and said he lost upwards of 4mpg! lol Then again you'll have the people that argue "these cars are not meant for mpg blah blah blah." Okay well to each their own. When I'm getting 30mpg on the road and hanging with GTs, I'd bed to differ. As for the shorties, you're going to definitely gain in power, sound, and possibly MPG. Possibly. For me, in the real world, I'd choose shorties over gears any day. Gears are a Win/Lose. You're going to notice a nice power "increase" but you're going to lose your a$$ on mpg. Shorties are a Win/Win. You'll notice an actual power increase and bump in sound and possibly gain mpg. I'm saying possibly because if I say it does, you're going to have a bunch of engineers who need to feed their enlarged ego and argue that aftermarket mods don't increase MPGs because there are no "controlled tests." They're also the ones who don't believe the oil company and car manufacturers work together. :P But that's a diffferent post.
#15
Hey JB-Good question and you're definitely right on the decibel level as it can honestly be ear piercing pending the axleback (In your case with the Roush it would probably wake the dead!) I have a few customers that had BBK's Shorty's and one said that paired with a throttle body it really:
"smoothed it out. Its from the headers down low but once you hit 3500 it keeps going there's no drop off and I believe that's the throttle body helping out "
If you didn't want to go that route I can personally attest the night and day difference that a set of Ford Racing 3.73's has as it will literally make the car 100% different! Let me know if you have any questions and if you don't have our discount code let me know and I'll get you set up!
Alex
"smoothed it out. Its from the headers down low but once you hit 3500 it keeps going there's no drop off and I believe that's the throttle body helping out "
If you didn't want to go that route I can personally attest the night and day difference that a set of Ford Racing 3.73's has as it will literally make the car 100% different! Let me know if you have any questions and if you don't have our discount code let me know and I'll get you set up!
Alex
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