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HP Gains: Stock to LTs to Tuned

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Old 01-28-2009, 12:28 PM
  #1  
Blk N Wht GT
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Lightbulb HP Gains: Stock to LTs to Tuned

I dyno'd my car before and after headers to see the actual difference it made. Then I dyno'd after I got it tuned. When each was installed/applied, the butt dyno could definitely tell something was there.. but how much?

Well my baseline dyno with BBK CAI, Accufab 70mm TB/Plenum, and Magnapack Exhaust was 230.5rwhp and 259.7rwtq.
After install of BBK Longtubes with O/R H-pipe, I pulled 242.7rwhp and 267rwtq.
That's an increase of 12.2rwhp and 7.3rwtq. However, the curves are both much fatter throughout the entire rpm range and it pulls a lot more at higher speeds.

It cost me 700 for the parts and 600 for the labor. I wouldn't say that for the power alone it's worth the 1300, but the sound, OMG THE SOUND, I LOVEEEE ITTTT!! My GT sounds sooooo much more beasty! Here's a link to the sound, http://youtube.com/watch?v=FBMU4FpSuXU (I also put on an O/R X to see the difference and I like that one better http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp7fy0l72W4).

Then I got my SCT X3 tuner and had my car dyno tuned by GTR High Performance in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. He advanced my timing, changed the spark a little bit, and adjusted the cooling fan operation temperatures. I ran 253rwhp and 287rwtq.
That increased 10.3rwhp and 20rwtq with the tune for my peak hp but the midrange was where I noticed the power increase the most. It just PULLED constantly up to redline! That put a smile on my face and definitely woke up my car.

So going from my baseline run, adding BBK LTs, O/R H or X, and tune, I gained 22.5rwhp and 27.3rwtq (and ~15-20ish hp/tq throughout the powerband as well). Not too bad

*EDIT*
The audio quality on the videos may be somewhat deceiving as the X and H pipes do sound similar.

The H pipe was louder than the X, however around 2500rpms, the H gets a raspy sound almost all the way up to redline (dies off at 5000ish when the exhaust is just a huge boom haha. The H will give you that rough, muscle car sound with lots of backfire.

The X pipe is still loud, but in general, it is a more refined sound. The rasp is still there around 2500rpms but only lasts till about 3000rpms. The sound inside the cabin is smoother and not quite as loud, but it still has a decent amount of backfire. I like the X better, personally, because it is a cleaner sound but still retains that V8 rumble. I get compliments on it all the time.

If you go with the catted pipes, however, the rasp is eliminated. I have the catted X pipe as well, but I haven't taken any videos of it. When I get it on, I'll post up a couple videos so you guys can hear it. It's definitely much quieter and there's not very much backfire.

Last edited by Blk N Wht GT; 01-29-2009 at 10:18 AM.
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Old 01-28-2009, 12:32 PM
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DreamerGT
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yeah long tubes are a good mod
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Old 01-28-2009, 01:21 PM
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BlackStallion98
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Car sounds SUPER beefy lol. No other sound like it, good choice on the exhaust.
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Old 01-28-2009, 01:25 PM
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mustangcat
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NICE exhaust man

I'm suprised you saw an increase in power with BBK...Most of BBK's products(induction, UDP's, etc.) are inferior.
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Old 01-28-2009, 01:25 PM
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hpwrestler220
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thanks for providing your own input and personal data on this topic.. now people can read up on how much the gains are/could possibly be and if its worth it to them or not..

thank you

and congrats... car sounds good and i bet you are loving the newfound power it gave you
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Old 01-28-2009, 01:50 PM
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stangalator
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wow, never thought a tune held so much power, sounds delicious!
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Old 01-28-2009, 02:03 PM
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Mustang_NTriangle
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Cars sounds sick! Thanks for the figures it is really interesting. I am willing to bet going from a stock h pipe to o/r h pipe yielded you half that gain with the tune.
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Old 01-28-2009, 02:16 PM
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SilvrStang
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Sounds about right. We just diud longtubes on my buddys GT hes taking it on the dyno this week. SHould be some nice numbers.
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Old 01-28-2009, 02:30 PM
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steve0914
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man i would love to see a difference between a aftermarket o/r x with shorties and then with longtubes, sounds awesome man, congrats
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Old 01-28-2009, 08:17 PM
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Blk N Wht GT
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Thanks for the comments on my exhaust guys.

Originally Posted by steve0914
man i would love to see a difference between a aftermarket o/r x with shorties and then with longtubes, sounds awesome man, congrats
Ideally, that would be super nice to have. However, installing headers is definitely not a fun job and doing it twice would be a PITA in labor and you'd have to have both headers and midpipes as well.
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