Riptide

Kenne bell says right in their technical documentation that long tube headers don't produce gains.

I'm dead serious. Scroll to page 2 and look at what it has to say about headers.
http://www.kennebell.net/techinfo/fo...gtTechTips.pdf

Now are they full of ****? Probably.

But I have read about people who got almost zero gain out of a header install. I have no idea why some cars would get almost zero gain but it's happened.

808muscle

KB just wants us to spend our cash on his products, supercharges, not headers! LOL

I had read hundreds of posts about headers and plenty of people talked about how little HP increase they produced. I am very happy with mine.

Pypes arent for everybody. If you want ARH or Kooks, go for it, I am happy for you.

patrick

Mikes_BLK_GT

Ive read quite a few threads where shorties were mentioned to not do much of anything, but I havnt read many derogatory comments about LT's other than quality. Personally I think if you dont like the pypes your not likely to like the kooks since the pypes are modeled after kooks. I'm taking anything away from ARH or Kooks they are 2 of the best if not the best but at thier price range I have to think twice and the pypes are a cheaper alternative I'm considering.

replica

I'm glad you're pleased with the LT's but that two tenths gain could just be from driving better. I'm still not sold on LT's at all.

distantsoldier

Slightly off topic but same idea...Innovators West makes a Lower Pulley that generates 4lbs of boost. Cost about $650! Anyone would agree that 4lb of boost would generate HP, but I've seen several independent tests done where the car picked up less than 10rwhp.

A lot of it depends on your setup, some things work together, some things dont. And some of it is the people behind the wheel. 2 tenths isn't something you're going to feel in everyday driving...everybody knows a guy who's bought something, and bad mouthed it because he couldn't "feel" noticable gains. Some guys buy LTs and give them amazing praise because they sound good, when in reality they don't know if it helped their performance or not. it's all subjective to the person.....

Riptide

What bugs me about the long tubes is the controversy regarding the gains. Well, that and the expense and labor intensive install.

I guess I'm one of those people who's been guilty of "bad mouthing" things at one time or another. I have been disappointed about the intake/tune and also the delete plates - and I haven't been shy about stating as much.

I'm with replica. I may end up doing these eventually anyway. But at this point I'm waffling. If and when I do install the headers I'm going to have very, very low expectations about feeling any gains especially with an email tune.

One thing that's nice about the stock exhaust other than the fact it flows fairly well is the sound. It's pretty good with just an axle back like boom tubes. No trumpeting or any problems like that. I've heard that having long tubes, even with high flows, can cause problems like trumpeting which means more exhaust work to fix.

replica

Another thing that annoys me about the idea of LT's is fitment. NOTHING fits as well as a stock part or is made as durable. I really don't want to have to fk with my LT's once a year when the develop a leak, I have to pull them off for warranty/emissions, or have rust in a weird spot. I know the rebuttal will be "Oh, well buy the $1,400 ones!" How about no! $1,400 for 10-15whp? It's like we're modding Hondas or something. lol. The only headers I would consider are the FRPP shorties if I was in a position to easily install them when doing something else. Otherwise, I don't see the point.

Mr. Riptide, I actually took an unusual path with intake/tune and went with JUST the tune. I still use my stock intake because I don't think an intake does much. I felt a pretty good difference, most of it being a fix of that sloppy stock drive-by wire feel. It's the only power mod I have and I'm trapping 104. I'm even on the 3.31 gear.

Doesn't the occasional stock 05+ GT run low 13's? Again, I don't mean to poop on your parade here. I think there's a market for LT's, it just won't be a pragmatic cheap *** like myself.

liberty911

I'm familar with Ken Bells statement on 0 gains with "headers." However, the KB site also says "Stock Exhaust (HP will finally begin dropping off at 550 hp)"

Does this means aftermarket headers will prevent the drop in HP since the factory manifolds are the limiting factor? If not, what else would remedy the drop off?

The link cited above goes on to say "Stock Headers, Cats, X Pipe (saw NO HP gain *or boost loss at 785HP) Don't believe it? Have someone else test them."

Also, the GT doesn't come with "Stock Headers" so this is really where the confusion really comes in. Are the "Stock Headers" referencing the OEM GT exhaust manifolds and just a typo, or does it reference FFRP headers? I'm no expert by any means on this issue, just someone who reads with a critical eye and the explanation provided is unclear.

replica

Header = Exhaust Manifold. So whatever magical part is getting exhaust out of the motor.

Riptide

I completely agree. The cost of the two higher end options for headers - ripoff. And the fact some people have to bang on their brand new aftermarket headers to make them fit, even the $400-600 ones, is asinine.

People with other v8 cars are paying way, WAY less for headers than we are. These 3vs are spendy cars.