[seXXXpac]

I've been racking my brain for ages, trying to come up with the right combo for my first mods. I know that it will consist of a CAI, exhaust and a tune, but I can't decide on a type of exhaust set up.

I'm new to the 'new school' Mustang world, as most of my time has been spent dealing with the good ol' 5.0's of the past. Back then, headers were a no-brainer. Especially being dirt cheap! Now, however, that simply isn't the case.

I've been looking at the BBK 1-3/4" Ceramic LTs, but upon further inspection, the LTs from other companies all appear to be 1-7/8". Would the smaller diameter BBK's actually be better for torque? Would they sacrifice a considerable amount of top-end HP?
At the price (~$650), they seem like the best value for the $, as other brands can range upwards of $1000. But I'm still not convinced.

I don't see many people doing headers, and the labour involved in doing LTs would probably cost me a fortune, as I don't actually work on cars. So, with that in mind, would shorties be a better option?
The cost for those is slightly lower, but then the price of the X or H-Pipe increases, almost balancing it all out.

I know for sure that I want to go catless, but still haven't decided between an X or H-Pipe. My Fox roots make me lean towards the H.
I also know that I want my car to be LOUD. Like.. wake-up-the-neighbours loud.

Can someone please set me on the right path? I'm starting to feel like this guy.. :taz:

 

[devildog011]

I can't tell you the right path as everyone has their own views on what's right but I'll tell ya my .2 cents for what it's worth lol
If your doing headers you might as well do longtubes. Shorties really don't produce enough power to warrant the price tag and your gonna pay just as much for install so might as well go big. I went with the 1 7/8 ARH longtubes with o/r x. Their big enough so that you have room to grow and you lose nothing on the bottom end. BBK is cheaper but I really have to question why all other longtubes require a tune but theirs dosent, maybe they don't flow as well idk. And kooks to me is more like a glorified mid-length header as I'm pretty sure their not as long as the ARH's. But a great product none the less. I ended the system with Borla ATAKS and it is wake the neighbors loud and drone free. To me it was well worth the price. Keep us updated on what ya go with and how it turns out for ya

 

[zilla8]

Devil dog gives some great info
+1 on the ARH 1 7/8 longtubes they really let this beast breath and you lose zero TQ

here is what I would suggest and this is from personal experience.If you don't plan on going beyond bolt on's just keep the stock headers and go with o/r X or H pipe and your choice of catback or axleback.

I know the ARH and stainlessworks LT headers are not cheap but man do they fit great and make some serious power with other supporting mods.

The good thing with the longtubes is if you add a blower down the line man o man do they strut their stuff

you can make over 400rwhp with stock headers,CAI,tune and if you want more just get the blower of your choice.

I happen to be fond of the Kenne Bell 2.8 liquid cooled supercharger myself :winks

 

[seXXXpac]

Thanks for the feedback, guys.
I'm glad you point out that these headers don't sacrifice torque. On a motor that has a low TQ output as it is, every little bit counts.

Truth is, I was sold on the entire Stainless kit when I first saw their videos last year. I wanted the retardedly loud setup that they had. Unfortunately, all those videos are gone, and it seems as if they don't offer that kit anymore.

Do you guys know the one I'm referring to?

 

[jcap]

Are you aware the car already has shortys on it from the factory? there is no reason to consider shortys, long tubes are awsome but not really needed unless you are going forced induction

 

[manolith]

Are you aware the car already has shortys on it from the factory? there is no reason to consider shortys, long tubes are awsome but not really needed unless you are going forced induction

they are not shortys like the bbk shorty headers. they bbk shorty are tuned length while the stock shortys are a 3 into 1 design. the collectors on the bbk shortys are much better than the stock design.

 

[Dimera]

here is what I would suggest and this is from personal experience.If you don't plan on going beyond bolt on's just keep the stock headers and go with o/r X or H pipe and your choice of catback or axleback.

This. This is my plan and exactly what I would recommend to others. CAI, tune, and the above. You have plenty of bang for buck with all of these. LT's are just way to pricey for the gains IMO. I can see getting them if you are going beyond these mods with a blower, etc.

 

[zilla8]

Do you guys know the one I'm referring to?

yep I know the one and you can reproduce that sound with a few different combos.When you go longtubes with o/r X and a chambered muffler you will have that sound:bigthumbsup

 

[JohnRichard]

You can purchase up to three types of aftermarket headers for the 2011 Mustang GT with a 5.0 (302) engine…
Shorties, Long Tube and Full Length…
Spend the extra money and get the Full Length 1 7/8… They will support whatever mods you put on the engine…

 

[adroc]

here is what I would suggest and this is from personal experience.If you don't plan on going beyond bolt on's just keep the stock headers and go with o/r X or H pipe and your choice of catback or axleback.

Which o/r X pipe would you recommend to use with the stock headers? Also is there a way to fool the emissions guys when running an o/r X?

 

[zilla8]

I would go with the Leathal o/r H or X pipe
to be honest if you dont plan to supercharge right now you can go with one of the X pipes that replace the stock H and keep your cats or run some highflow's and you will still see a nice gain with the CAI,tune.

I would get a SCT tuner with any of the mods because you can turn off rear o2 sensors if you need to.I had Magnaflow HF cats with X-pipe and threw a code and had to disable o2's

now after all of that I'm going to say something that might sound crazy lol

forget about all the exhaust and other mods and save up for a blower.The prices are comming down and some people are already upgrading to larger blowers and selling the 5psi kits

you could install a blower with stock exhaust and a good dyno tune and you will be very happy.

 

[seXXXpac]

I would go with the Leathal o/r H or X pipe
to be honest if you dont plan to supercharge right now you can go with one of the X pipes that replace the stock H and keep your cats or run some highflow's and you will still see a nice gain with the CAI,tune.

I would get a SCT tuner with any of the mods because you can turn off rear o2 sensors if you need to.I had Magnaflow HF cats with X-pipe and threw a code and had to disable o2's

now after all of that I'm going to say something that might sound crazy lol

forget about all the exhaust and other mods and save up for a blower.The prices are comming down and some people are already upgrading to larger blowers and selling the 5psi kits

you could install a blower with stock exhaust and a good dyno tune and you will be very happy.

I would LOVE to get my hands on a Whipple.
That said, they are still very expensive, and they don't solve my main problem.. My car is TOOOOO quiet! lol

Future plans will eventually include a SC, but that is a long way from happening. Besides, I will pretty much need all three of these mods when I eventually do upgrade.
Looks like I may just stay away from the headers for now. Unless I can find some dyno numbers that show a solid increase (at least 15hp), then I just don't think it'll be worth it right now.

Thanks, everyone!

 

[seXXXpac]

Are you aware the car already has shortys on it from the factory? there is no reason to consider shortys, long tubes are awsome but not really needed unless you are going forced induction

The old Fox bodies had factory headers, too

 

[kona-Blue]

BBk claims there shorty headers made 276 rwhp with the factory cats and BBK 2 3/4" after cat x-pipe. I would think ditching the factory cats and adding the lethal 3" off road pipe would be worth at least 10 rwhp.

 

[Jeepis]

The old Fox bodies had factory headers, too

From what I read about the Coyote 5.0, Ford did a decent job with the factory headers. I remember reading something about how the engineers had to argue with the bean counters to ensure that the headers made it through into the production Coyotes.

With that in mind, are there better alternatives out there? Sure, but being as how the headers that come on the car are pretty decent, I'd find plenty of other places of the car to upgrade before the headers.

Also, they come installed for free.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[adspru]

From what I read about the Coyote 5.0, Ford did a decent job with the factory headers. I remember reading something about how the engineers had to argue with the bean counters to ensure that the headers made it through into the production Coyotes.

With that in mind, are there better alternatives out there? Sure, but being as how the headers that come on the car are pretty decent, I'd find plenty of other places of the car to upgrade before the headers.

Also, they come installed for free.

Just my 2 cents.

Headers are worth it to me. I gained at least 25 lb ft across the entire RPM range. The engineers should have saved the fighting of the bean counters for some other items, I have a few suggestions if you can't think of any. It was just my 4,000,000 cents:bigthumbsup.

 

[drivewfo]

What diameter are the stock shorty headers? What's the size of the collector?

 

[aquill1]

Do you have an a/b yet?

 

[wproctor411]

LT Header install is around 450.00 the engine has to be lifted a bit or K member dropped. I will have mine installed on 8/11. I am going BBK Ceramic with O/R X and was told a tune is definitely required to keep A/R correct with the Steeda CAI. Brenspeed said 30+whp and TQ is typical. 30 WHP for around 1500 is not bad and the TQ is up through the entire rpm range. With dyno tuning more power is possible. Steeda is sending over a revised tune before my journey to Brenspeed. I will let you know how it goes. The 3 hour drive home will be interesting. If time is available I will get before and after dyno runs but it's already going to be an 10+ hour day which gets expensive at performance shops. But worth every penny :bigthumbsup

 

[Dimera]

LT Header install is around 450.00 the engine has to be lifted a bit or K member dropped. I will have mine installed on 8/11. I am going BBK Ceramic with O/R X and was told a tune is definitely required to keep A/R correct with the Steeda CAI. Brenspeed said 30+whp and TQ is typical. 30 WHP for around 1500 is not bad and the TQ is up through the entire rpm range. With dyno tuning more power is possible. Steeda is sending over a revised tune before my journey to Brenspeed. I will let you know how it goes. The 3 hour drive home will be interesting. If time is available I will get before and after dyno runs but it's already going to be an 10+ hour day which gets expensive at performance shops. But worth every penny :bigthumbsup

That's the thing. You can pay $300 and get an offroad H or X and get half the gains as the above with 1/4 of the cost. It all comes down to your long term goals. As others have said if no forced induction, then probably not worth it.