i hear mixed results.. even some logical ones like, engines need a certain amount of back pressure. some even say you dont notice much of a difference.
im thinking of putting some on my 97 4.6 for a slight HP gain. i also have magnaflow cat back dual exit exhaust. and a K&N aircharger.

so final question is, is it worth it? for those of you that have done it how much HP do you think you gained with upgraded exhaust? i know a chip would be a better investment and that will be done in time too.

 

Long tubes + tune = a noticeable increase.

Everything else = nothing much

 

longtubes is what i want. so il probably end up getting a custom tune from troyer and tell them what i have so they can make ay adjustments

 

I wouldn't do it myself......again. I had a set of edelbrock shortys. Pain in the *** to install! After 6 months they leaked through the gasket. Put ford OEM gaskets on, seemed to do the trick. Then the weld failed where the tubes all met in the middle. I pulled them off and put the stock ones back on. I must say I did notice the difference once I put the stocks back on. Biggest bang for the buck and simple to do is a programmer.

 

ok but if you personally had cat back magnaflow exhaust and a K&N aircharger, what would your next mod be? your choices are, say you had enough money for any item,longtube headers,troyer (or other brand) custom tune, or a supercharger and all its parts for a complete install.Supercharger would probably be the last item.
i also plan on getting a slightly bigger body lift or bigger tires and wheels.

 

ya I hear you, don't get me wrong headers do make a difference. I just didn't have good luck with mine. I really like a programmer or a tune the best part is making the truck shift faster and firmer.

 

So you're sayin you did notice a difference with the shorties? If so, was it just in sound, performance, or both. Lookin to replace my leaky manifolds this summer and can't decide b/t just gettin manifold replacementsor shorty headers. Thanks for the help!

 

1)Custom Tune.
2) Longtubes
3) Supercharger, maybe.

I'd look at doing cams before a supercharger, get teh most out of your truck before adding boost.

 

Whoever told you an engine needs back pressure is a moron. Any amount of back pressure causes the engine to work harder to push the exhaust gasses out of the cylinder and using up HP to do it. The best you could hope for is zero back pressure but that is just not gonna happen and still be street legal.

Adding any type of higher flowing exhaust will help by allowing the gasses to get out faster and more complete there for allowing more air/fuel mixture in creating more power. Alot of people add higher flowing headers but completely screw up the effects by running straight pipes. You must have an X or H pipe midway through the exhaust for scavenging. With straight pipes the exhaust gasses cool and lose velocity creating back pressure. With an H or X in the system it creates a vacuum effect pulling exhaust gasses out of the cylinder, speeding up the exhaust gasses and eliminating back pressure. Same thing happens if you use to large of an exhaust pipe. No more then 2.5" on any engine producing under 800hp.

On all modular motors the exhaust manifolds are very efficient and shorty headers really don't flow any better. They only sound better due to the materials used and the shape of the tubes. Long tubes is the only way to go for a performance improvement.

 

so how much work is involved with putting on a set of long tube headers ?
is it something you can do at home or do you need to have new exhaust pipes custom bent to match the collectors of the long headers.
atleast the shorties bolt up to an existing flange without another trip to the service station.

 

i know it is best to have a custom tune with the headers, but what kind of gains will i get with the headers, and a 93 canned tune. i have a superchips 1715 with only canned tunes. also will i have any A/F problems with this

 

As long as your tuned for the long tube headers, your A/F ratio will be just fine.

 

Your a/f ratio will not change with or with out a tune. The o2 sensor is still reading the same gas as it was before. The only problem that can arise is a CEL for the o2 test which will do absolutely nothing to the performance. It only means the o2 is taking longer then normal to heat up due to it being moved further back. You can get it removed with a tune.

 

Your a/f WILL change with a tune what do you think fuel tables are?

 

Where are you finding long tubes for a 4.6??? I haven't seen any and would love some