I am wondering which one is best, the pros/cons and the differences. Also the difference between Offroad x-pipe and h-pipe. Basically, i need suggestions on the whole exhaust system from the headers to the tailpipes at the far end of the car to improve the sound of my stang. Thanks!

 

long tubes for best all around gains

 

Well you see:

Headers: Longtube headers will be the best performance and sound wise, that being said they are also the most expensive. They can cost an arm and a leg for install. Or if you do it yourself, it can be a pain.. They also usually require a tune of some sort.

Midpipe: If you go with longtube headers you will need a "shortie" mid pipe, if you dont get longtubes, then you get a regular/ standard length mid pipe. The x pipe has a very slight performance gain over the h, and has a race car raspy sound. The h has a muscle car sound.

Catback: I have no good recommendations for ya hear, anyone want to chime in?

Also, it is always a good measure to get the same brand all the way through, well at least headers and mid pipe. That way you know it will all fir together...

 

Cat back is all personal preference. The real hp gains are from the headers an x or h pipe.

Ppl like the basic muscle car sound flowmaster provides, some ppl like the bark from bassani and slp's. YouTube different systems, the cat back is all about sound specific. No real gains there like ppl think there is

 

Since I'm known to be more of a technical type of person . I'll answer it more indepth.

Headers.

what is "scavenging" ? it is an over looked term by most but important. For the sake of exhaust...when the combustion takes place the spent gases are pushed out of the exhaust port by the push of the piston and low pressure in the exhaust port. A good designed header will create more of a low pressure and aid in the scavenging effect thus helping pull exhaust from the cylinders and increasing the pull of the incoming air/fuel. This also aids in reducing cylinder temps..basic explination.

The reason long tubes provide more power over the shorties is the long tubes have longer primery tubes and room for a better collector design ( the primary tube design/length play into scavenging). no tune for long tubes on fox.

another miss used area, primary tube dia....very important and for the sake of discussion I'm staying with a N/A application. going to large of a dia. will slow the exhaust gases down causing a loss of power ( the whole scavenging thing again... slower exhaust velocity increases cylinder temps, etc. also the tube dia. effects power at a given rpm. the smaller the dia the the torque band will be lower in the rpm range reverse for large dia tubing (boost is different due to the larger volume of air) good rule of thumb stock 1" 5/8 .mild h/c/i so about 300-350rwhp 1" 5/8 to 1 "/34 big power then go 1"7/8.

rule of thumb for hp is the rule of "8" a good set of long tubes are worth 8hp over a set of shorties, a set of shorties over a set stock headers is worth about 8hp. so a 16hp gain from stock to long tubes which is about right.

Cons of longtubes: install ( removing atleast one of the motor mounts and tilting the motor to get them in) steering shaft clearance, you will have to most likely take out the header to get the starter out or atleast have starter clearance issues. Tranny clearance issues.The manual can be yanked by leaving the bell installed. The auto or doing a clutch job headers have to come out.

Shorties: I argue this all the time. they are not all the same..I'll explain. They are a hp gain but they can also be a hp robber. Take a look at the cheap ebay headers and the collectors. a poor designed collector can allow exhaust to get sucked back up into the motor on the next pulse, need I explain more on why this is bad. Ford racing, JBA ( they are hard to get now) bassani have a basic fire cone design which improve the scavenging effect ( there is that word again) over most designs and give it a bump that long tubes would provide. here is a pic of my JBA collector..


Now note the same type of design in the Kooks long tube header..


all shorties are not created equal.
The Ford racing coated headers are great bang for the buck header IMO. MAC shorties are okay thier down fall is the have individual flanges on the tubes so lining them up ( more so after they have been on for a long time) is a PIA and requires prying to line them and are more leak prone.


MID pipes..
the x pipe provides more power than the H. The x pipe balances out the torque curve while the H pipe is more for sound dynamics. When the exhaust gases pass the opening in the X this creates a low pressure area thus improving scavenging it does however have a lower tone than the h-pipe. The 90* turn the exhaust gases make for the cross over in the H pipe are more designed for sound vs performance.

one of the best X pipes out there is the Dr.Gas X pipe IMHO.

going catless is going to leave you with a unburned gas smell, this is the by product and nothing can be done. remove the cats and live with the stink.

Cat backs are pretty much like Boss_707 stated.

 

Very nicely done. I came in to this thread thinking I was going to have to correct you a lot but you were spot on

 

correct me









yeah I may slip everynow and then more so with the newer crap i'm usually good with my older stuff. I need someone to get my back every once in while though

 

The only thing I would correct is your spelling and punctuation

 

my wifes tells me that all the time. I took in alot of bad fumes over the years ya know.

 

Lol. It's understandable. I would fail without autocorrect...

 

Thank you very much! This was very helpfull!