Do I have long or short tube headers
04-13-2016, 07:09 PM
#1
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
Do I have long or short tube headers
Never had headers before. The 79 I am bringing back to life has headers. I cant see a name on them anywhere. Where do I measure to determine if they are long or short tube ?
Which is best, long or short and why ?
Thanks
8Valve
Which is best, long or short and why ?
Thanks
8Valve
04-13-2016, 07:56 PM
#2
Drifting
Generally a vette will only fit short tube.
Long tube vs short tube is a matter of dyno tuning and chassis fitment. As a everyday driver, you will never notice the difference.
Long tube vs short tube is a matter of dyno tuning and chassis fitment. As a everyday driver, you will never notice the difference.
04-13-2016, 08:56 PM
#3
Pro
I do not know if there is a threshold or primary length measurement that separates short from long tube headers - never heard of that but that doesn't mean much.
The short tube headers I have seen usually converge into the collector very close to the block - the classic long tube headers will usually converge into the collector under the body behind the engine (or out the sides in the case of hooker side mounts).
A rule of thumb is that short tube headers favor higher RPMs/top end power and long tube tend to favor lower to midrange RPMs. Header length and primary size have a lot of influence as well as length.
There is no "one size fits all" rule, these are rough guidelines only.
Whether or not you notice any difference is dependent upon your driving style - if you baby the car you won't notice any real gain with headers of any type. If you tend to do "spirited" driving, you may notice some "seat of the pants" difference. The overall engine build has something to do with this as well - so to know what you have and what it is capable of, you need to consider the intake/engine/exhaust as an end to end system.
I would guess the previous owner probably at least changed intakes and/or heads and did some "tuning" if you have headers in a 79? I say this because (hopefully) he or she obviously wanted the car to breathe better and should have addressed air/fuel intake as well as exhaust.
I hope that is somewhat useful....
The short tube headers I have seen usually converge into the collector very close to the block - the classic long tube headers will usually converge into the collector under the body behind the engine (or out the sides in the case of hooker side mounts).
A rule of thumb is that short tube headers favor higher RPMs/top end power and long tube tend to favor lower to midrange RPMs. Header length and primary size have a lot of influence as well as length.
There is no "one size fits all" rule, these are rough guidelines only.
Whether or not you notice any difference is dependent upon your driving style - if you baby the car you won't notice any real gain with headers of any type. If you tend to do "spirited" driving, you may notice some "seat of the pants" difference. The overall engine build has something to do with this as well - so to know what you have and what it is capable of, you need to consider the intake/engine/exhaust as an end to end system.
I would guess the previous owner probably at least changed intakes and/or heads and did some "tuning" if you have headers in a 79? I say this because (hopefully) he or she obviously wanted the car to breathe better and should have addressed air/fuel intake as well as exhaust.
I hope that is somewhat useful....
04-13-2016, 10:02 PM
#4
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
Thanks for your informative reply. Based on it, I do have short headers. The PO did not do the duals or any other mods. He bought the car this way. Here are the changes that are easy to see;
Weiand EXcelerator intake
Edelbrock Carb
Heads are stock, I verified by casting number
Unknown on cam
8Valve
Weiand EXcelerator intake
Edelbrock Carb
Heads are stock, I verified by casting number
Unknown on cam
8Valve
I do not know if there is a threshold or primary length measurement that separates short from long tube headers - never heard of that but that doesn't mean much.
The short tube headers I have seen usually converge into the collector very close to the block - the classic long tube headers will usually converge into the collector under the body behind the engine (or out the sides in the case of hooker side mounts).
A rule of thumb is that short tube headers favor higher RPMs/top end power and long tube tend to favor lower to midrange RPMs. Header length and primary size have a lot of influence as well as length.
There is no "one size fits all" rule, these are rough guidelines only.
Whether or not you notice any difference is dependent upon your driving style - if you baby the car you won't notice any real gain with headers of any type. If you tend to do "spirited" driving, you may notice some "seat of the pants" difference. The overall engine build has something to do with this as well - so to know what you have and what it is capable of, you need to consider the intake/engine/exhaust as an end to end system.
I would guess the previous owner probably at least changed intakes and/or heads and did some "tuning" if you have headers in a 79? I say this because (hopefully) he or she obviously wanted the car to breathe better and should have addressed air/fuel intake as well as exhaust.
I hope that is somewhat useful....
The short tube headers I have seen usually converge into the collector very close to the block - the classic long tube headers will usually converge into the collector under the body behind the engine (or out the sides in the case of hooker side mounts).
A rule of thumb is that short tube headers favor higher RPMs/top end power and long tube tend to favor lower to midrange RPMs. Header length and primary size have a lot of influence as well as length.
There is no "one size fits all" rule, these are rough guidelines only.
Whether or not you notice any difference is dependent upon your driving style - if you baby the car you won't notice any real gain with headers of any type. If you tend to do "spirited" driving, you may notice some "seat of the pants" difference. The overall engine build has something to do with this as well - so to know what you have and what it is capable of, you need to consider the intake/engine/exhaust as an end to end system.
I would guess the previous owner probably at least changed intakes and/or heads and did some "tuning" if you have headers in a 79? I say this because (hopefully) he or she obviously wanted the car to breathe better and should have addressed air/fuel intake as well as exhaust.
I hope that is somewhat useful....
04-14-2016, 06:39 AM
#5
Pro
Can you talk to the previous owner to see what was done with the engine? If so, you will have a much better idea of what you have. It sounds like some modifications were done, but we are guessing to what extent.
04-14-2016, 09:01 AM
#6
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
Good Question. The PO has no idea what the person he bought the 79 from did to it. Evidently from talking with the PO, he and the person he bought it from had some hard words ??? and they are not talking any more.
What I mentioned in post 4 is all I know without tearing the engine open, which I dont plan to do. I do not believe they did a cam upgrade as it idles like a stock L48 and is pulling 18.5" of vacuum at idle. I believe that 2 ownrs ago only did bolt on changes which I mentioned. I just want a good driver, no plans to light up the tires ha ha.
8Valve
What I mentioned in post 4 is all I know without tearing the engine open, which I dont plan to do. I do not believe they did a cam upgrade as it idles like a stock L48 and is pulling 18.5" of vacuum at idle. I believe that 2 ownrs ago only did bolt on changes which I mentioned. I just want a good driver, no plans to light up the tires ha ha.
8Valve
