Redfire 05Gt

Scott,
I think I see two welded primaries on the left header.

Redfire 05Gt

Faber,
Is there a set of O2 bungs after the CATs?

Faber

Ain't hard at all nate. the tools i used were as follows:

2 ton hydraulic jack and some jack stands
5mm end wrench
8mm end wrench
13mm end wrench
15mm end wrench
17mm end wrench
19mm end wrench
21mm end wrench
3/8 drive ratchet with 3 long extensions, and a swivel
Sockets (shallow and deep) for all sizes of wrenches mentioned above
1/2 inch ratcheting box end craftsman wrench (someone had suggested it and i am including it because i wished i had taken that advice...)

1. Jack up the car, set the E-brake and put her on jack stands.
2. Remove the battery and the battery tray
3. unplug all O2 sensors, but did not remove them from manifolds or h-pipe
4. unbolt the hpipe from the exhaust manifolds
5. remove the driveshaft loop type thing
6. remove the tranny crossmember bolts
7. loosen the pipe clamps on the H-pipe and wrestle it out from the car.
8. Remove the starter
9. remove the motor mount nuts on the K-member.
10. place a wood block ( I used a 2x6 about 8 inches long) under the oil pan and jack the motor up enough to get the mounts loose.
11. remove the motor mount brackets
12. Remove all nuts from exhaust manifolds (some guys like to just loosen the manifold nuts a bit and then remove the studs, but i only remove the studs that I could not get the headers over easily. this way the gaskets will hang on without trouble)
13. remove the exhaust manifolds.
14. Place gaskets on heads. I re-used the stock gaskets because they were nice and thin and in great shape.
15. remove old 02 sensors from old h-pipe
16. Install headers.
17. I extended the o2 sensors myself with a soldering iron and some high temp gasoline resistant wire and heat shrink tubing, otherwise install o2 sensor extensions.
18. install 02 sensors ans zip tie away from heat sources.
19. install h-pipe
20. re-install tranny crossmember.
21. re-install driveshaft loop thingy
22. get her off the jack and go for a drive! listen for leaks, and make sure you get the car up to operating temp.
23. let the car cool down and then re-torque everything.

I had to fire it up with open headers once just to hear it htough....and it was RADICAL sounding!!!

This job took me about 8 hours start to finish.

Faber

no. the rears are turned off in my tune.

DarkFireGT

I agree 100%. I have absolutely no problems with any of the vendors on this site. And it's most definitely not them making the large profit. But if OBX can afford to sell these as cheap as they are, Kooks, Stainless Works, and AR can afford to shave 40-60% of their price off. They would sell a lot more, that's for sure. Headers are something a lot of people don't install on their own. By the time you buy $1200-$1400 headers and pay to have them installed, you're looking at $2000 for some stupid headers! If it was a cost difference of $100-$200 I'd buy the American ones. But when it's 3-4 times the cost, no way. These things are beauts and once I muster up the courage to attempt to do my first header installation, I will be purchasing them.

krnpimpsta

Faber, wow, thanks for that great synopsis of the install. Given all this positive feedback and a feasible self-installation, I'm really interested.

Can anyone who has these headers please get a dyno test? Ideally somebody who already had their car dynoed before the headers were installed..

SlamMan02

Also keep in mind, people with Big name brand headers aren't getting a huge improvement in peak HP numbers with the addition of LTs and a catted mid

Faber

http://www.mustangforums.com/m_1355445/tm.htm
check out the ARH long tubes again...just a few welds:

70MACH1OWNER

Matt is right guys. Any longtube header is worth maybe 20-25 hp max. And half of that comes from losing the cats and not the headers at all. So since I am already running an offroad mid pipe I may only net 10-15 hp max with any longtube header. But $500 bucks for 10 hp is alot more reasonable than $1,500. And it sounds like Faber's install was pretty clean.
Scott

SoundGuyDave

For those that have actually done the OBX header install, how is the fitment of the collector/H-pipe in terms of ground clearance? Does it hang down below the frame rail, even the slightest bit? I know the ARH setup does not, and ground clearance is pretty critical in a lowered application. If the OBX headers don't, then they become contenders...

Honestly, the headers look like extremely nice pieces. The "tinker-toy" H-pipe, though, looks kind of cheesy, and leak-prone. Are there rear O2 bosses either in or after the cats? And can anybody verify that those are actually catlytic converters, and not resonators or bullet mufflers?

05fordgt

Faber, I hope your not impling that I'm "made of money" because I bought a set of headers that cost around $1,400 ? If you want to say someone is "made of money" then say it to anyone who purchases a blower for their car (priced from $5,000 for parts, upwards over $7,000 for total with install and dyno tune). I saved my money and wanted something that sounded BAD. I now have that. If these other headers work out, that great. I'm glad some are saving some money. If the performance gains are close to the "name brands", then these are an excellent alternative.

05fordgt

Matt, Mustang Enthusiast installed Longtube headers on a new Mustang. With a catted X-Pipe I believe (have to find the issue so I can post pics of the dyno graph), their peak gain was just under 30hp to the rear, with a tune. These were pretty good numbers IMO. I don't know what your definition of "huge improvements" are, but almost 30 hp isn't too bad, at least to me they are.

Redfire 05Gt

According to Faber, no, there is only one set of bungs in the header collectors.They're not advertised as cats (at least what I read) and the lack of a second set of O2 bungs leades me to believe they're not. If they have what looks a screen inside them obstructing the flow them they're a catalytic converter. Whether they are hi-flow ceramic or hi-flow metal matrix I wouldn't know. See Random Technologies is you want to know more about current catalytic converter technology.

Faber, what does the inside of those bullets look like?.

SlamMan02

Yeah magazine numbers always sound good but all I am basing my claim off of was that a my neighbor Jim (Lowe on here) has most of the boltons and added a set of ARH LTs with a catted H plus a Tune from Tillman and made 300rwhp and 317rwtq.

I saw the car dyno in person, and all of us were surprised how low the reading was/is...That seems to be slightly lower then most S197 GT owners have been seeing on the dyno but never the less most are within 10-15rwhp. Personally, I have yet to see a personal claim of anyone gaining 30rwhp from Headers, catless mid, and tune.

Lowe!

Matt speaketh the truth. Last time I got dyno'd I was even with not 1 but 2 other guys with the same bolt ons except I had ARH LT headers w/ catted H, and they both had o/r x-pipes with stock exhaust manifolds. However, since that time, Tillman found a critical flaw in my tune (don't know what it was), corrected it, and now the car seems stronger than before, and the bugs have been worked out. So I'd expect something closer to at least 310 rwhp now.

Boltzman

how many hours needed to istall headers if you went to a mechanic?

MTAS

Seriously Chuck, if you're considering this and want a shop to do it, drop me a PM and I'll give you the number to my buddy in Plant City. He has a shop and did my 4.10 gears 2 years ago. He's the only person I'd ever trust my car with over night

Faber

The headers dont hang lower than the frame rails at all. The h-pipe has bullet mufflers in it, no cats. I took a picture of the inside of one which clearly shows the lack of any screen or obstruction. The only O2 bungs are on the headers. The h-pipe is actually very sturdy, but I will be having it welded at the H instead of using a clamp. tinker toy...lol

I was not saying anybody that bought $1500.00 headers was made of money. I was saying if I was made of money I would not hesitate to buy $1500.00 headers. I wont pay $7000.00 for a supercharger either..but I will buy one for $3000.00

tom281

Or a blower for around $4k like me.....

Redfire 05Gt

People seem to be comparing these to $1,400~1,500 headers and I don't think that's accurate, especially since the OBX's aren't catted.

JBA 6675S long tubes can be had for $580.00 and their 6675SH offroad H for $165.00. That's $745.00. And I think those race mufflers/resonators are only worth about $150?