brian2906

I was like you, torn between JBA and BBK. But when JBA reduced the price a while back it made the deal for me. ($460 shipped from Auto Anything) I had a 10% off coupon from an air filter bought for my wifes Passat. I had seen dyno tests of the JBA's and they made more power on the low and midrange than others. I think it's due to the tuned equal length design. It seems that equal length headers improve exhaust scavanging the best. (I saw a great write up on all that somewhere) Even some 'full' length headers aren't tuned equal length, and I don't run around at over 5,000rpm much! Also GTBob had a great write up on the whole subject a while back, maybe a search would find it. As soon as the shop gets the dyno going I'll make some runs. I'm as curious as you guy's! Then while it's still strapped to the dyno I'm thinking of doing the delete plates, and then a few more pulls. I'll keep you posted........
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HazardSports

Can't wait for your dyno sheets !

bolivianpimp

So in your opinion long tubes is not worth it for the HP/$? How much you get for each? This stuff probably voids your warranty huh?

jz

I wouldn't say that LT's are not worth the money. From what I've read, it really seems to come down to what type of power upgrade you're looking for. LT's seem to make the most difference up top in the power band, and I've read a few posts from people that claim to have lost some low end torque. Shorties seem to make their power in the low to mid range, which is where my car spends most of it's time so it seems to be the option best suited for my driving style.

Also as far as voiding the warranty, nothing technically voids your warranty. If the part installed can be proven to have caused the damage to a Ford part then they can deny that warranty claim. But simply putting headers on a car does not mean you have voided your warranty. I don't remember what pages in the owners/warranty manual refer to this but you can look through it and see what I'm talking about. There are a few pages that specifically refer to installation of aftermarket parts and the effect they have on warranty issues. I marked these pages on my manual so in the event that a dealership gives me a hard time for the stuff on my car, I can refer to manual for clarity.

brian2906

I have an appointment next Thurs. for a dyno test, so if everything works out I should have some good before/after JBA shorty headers results.
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jz

Can't wait!!! I was starting to think you forgot about us.

brian2906

Nope I didn't forget! But got postponed until tomorrow afternoon. They had a tech in the hospital, so work got backed up. ...I hope it works out tomorrow!














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rugedraw

OP:

I have the "mystery headers" from eBay installed on my car, and I'm using the stock motor mounts.

I noticed a gain across the board, and they smoothed out the "trumpet" sound the exhaust makes after you put off-road h or x-pipes. I did get the ceramic coated version. They went on with no leaks, and no major clearance issues. I did have to remove both motor mounts, and jack up the engine off of the car to get them in, but they fit just fine. Also, I think my oil dipstick was stuck in the block, because I couldn't get it out. I got an air tool, attached a cutter to it, and cut a 1 inch piece of metal off of the driver side header between two of the runners so I can install the header around it. Again, no problems with the modification; it took minutes.

I wouldn't say the install is easy, though. I though it was a huge PITA.

I can't provide dyno sheets, but I can tell you the headers are quality parts and you won't be disappointed. I am VERY happy with that move. It saved me hundreds, and I got the same results anyone else with shorties got. If I had to it all over again, I'd go the same route. I am skeptical about no-name parts myself, but I figured the headers don't have moving parts, so I'd try it out. Good move.

brian2906

(I posted this as a new thread on the main V8 specific page, but thought you might not have seen it)
A couple weeks ago I had JBA ceramic shorty headers installed, before that had made some pulls on the shops Mustang Dyno. I had planned to make more pulls right after the install, but the dyno computer crashed so.... Now that it's fixed I'm hoping to get some runs in soon. (before and after runs on the same dyno are obviously the best) However I had a chance on Sat. at a Mustang Club Dyno day to make some pulls on a Dynojet, and since I had made some runs on a different Dynojet in April.....(Like I said, not the best way to go) check out the results below. Keep in mind that the pull in April was done on a cool day (I didn't make note of the air temp. but I needed a jacket) While Sat. the temp was in the mid 90's with a humidity to match. Also the run they printed out was my 3rd, on the first two runs I went to WOT to fast, and the car downshifted. Also the Dyno operator said that cars were losing 3-5 hp on each back to back run due to the heat. Lastly, both sheets were printed in MPH But 5252 rpm (where the torque and hp plot crossed) was around 104 mph. My scanner isn't working so this chart will have to do for now. When I get that 2nd run on the shop's Mustang dyno I'll find a way to post the complete graph. (before and after runs on the same dyno)

MPH Stock hp JBA hp
70 153 170
75 162 188
80 179 219
85 195 238
90 209 249
95 223 258
100 242 270
105 253 282
110 262 281
115 269 282
120 274 278
125 276 277

While far from scientific I think the general trend is that the shorty headers do make more power down at lower to mid rpm's/mph. (On my car, your results may vary) Also even though both runs used SAE smoothing of 5 there will be differences, no 2 dynos will read the same. So I wouldn't make any direct comparisons. I hope to make some pulls soon on the shop dyno, and will post results then. For me what I noticed most with the new headers was a much improved sound. The blub..blub...blub.. boat motor sound is gone, replaced with a real nice V8 muscle car sound. Right after Sats. dyno runs I hade several guys ask about the exhaust system, they said it was the best sounding S197 they had heard.[align=left] [/align]

rugedraw

Wow.....nice gains! I didn't feel that much of a gain when I put mine, but I did notice the exhaust got smoothed out and it sounds much better.......lol@boat motor sound.

Thanks for the post, though. Maybe some of these guys that think long-tubes are the only way to go will see this. I love my shorties!