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Been doing a lot of research and thinking about adding headers. I’m not going to race it or do any other mods, other then I have removed all three cats and better mufflers. I also switched to 3.07 or 08 gears which made a great deal of seat of the pants difference, and that’s what I am looking for.
Seems like most most research would indicate that there FEELS to be a lost of power at standing still take off until RPMs get up there I also remember that feeling when I installed headers on my 1969 Road Runner back in the day, and it had 383, 4 speed and 391 rear
Would most think I am correct in NOT installing headers even though I’m temped
If you aren't going to do any other mods, what would the point of it be? All it does is make more noise when you remove the cats. Spending about $1000 on good headers is kinda wasteful for it going nowhere but as others have said, noise increases so if you need that, sure.
That’s what I am thinking. I’m not looking for any more noise than I have now with the few mods I have made ( removing cats and better mufflers). If I knew I would definitely feel the difference, I would add headers. Don’t want to spend the money just to say or show I have headers
That’s what I am thinking. I’m not looking for any more noise than I have now with the few mods I have made ( removing cats and better mufflers). If I knew I would definitely feel the difference, I would add headers. Don’t want to spend the money just to say or show I have headers
You might feel a difference simply because the mind tells you that you do but I doubt a double blind test will show much.
for the record you may not see any gains. on my 93 LT1 the car with: cheap shorty headers, modified stock air box, factory cats, cam, X-pipe in place of resonator and muffler deletes dynoed at 318 rwhp and 333 FT. LB. torque. then I installed Hooker super comp ceramic coated Long tubes, removed the cats, installed a complete Borla exhaust system with resonator and mufflers, and a SLP Claw cold air intake. had car tuned and dynoed at 309 rwhp and 349 ft. lb. torque. yet to be track tested but tuner says I should see same track results as before.
Dyno sheet id with cam overlay with before cam. both with old exhaust before long tubes. PS I saw someone selling brand new Hooker ceramic for L98 for $500 on here
What other mods, in addition to cat-less & gears, have you done to your '89??
My 'new' '89 came with a K&N and 160deg T-stat.
I have cut the air box lid and tossed the "frisbee" from the WP pulley for a little torque/power increase.
I too love that "torquey" feeling in 1st & 2nd compared with my '88 A4.
yes. to be clear I posted exhaust before and after. so I went from shorty headers to long tubes. it is possible the shorty's gave me gains and switching from shorty's to Long tubes wasn't any gains. however that doesn't mean going from stock manifolds to Long tubes you wont see gains. I just posted my scenario. I do not regret the Long tube purchase because they are much better headers and make it WAY easier to change plugs then the shorty's and the ceramic coating keeps under hood temps much lower.
Headers will typically pick up 20 to 30 hp on a SBC. Maybe not quite as much on an L98 than the newer stuff, but still a significant amount.
You ever see that much on a perfectly stock motor with only headers? I've seen that in the catalogs advertisement which I take with not just a grain of salt but the whole bag.
You ever see that much on a perfectly stock motor with only headers? I've seen that in the catalogs advertisement which I take with not just a grain of salt but the whole bag.
20-30 is a stretch. Between them and tune. However together cold be very noticeable
20-30 is a stretch. Between them and tune. However together cold be very noticeable
Problem is he only wants to do headers so I highly doubt it will be worth it unless he just wants to do it for the sake of doing it. Now if he would do intakes and a tune, 30 is achievable.
Problem is he only wants to do headers so I highly doubt it will be worth it unless he just wants to do it for the sake of doing it. Now if he would do intakes and a tune, 30 is achievable.
I can definitely agree with that mycase Ford LT1 intake wasn't really an option they really don't make it better intakeso have you heard from the stock engine would just be because it sounds cool
20-30 is a stretch. Between them and tune. However together cold be very noticeable
20 to 30 with a tune on an LS is easy peasy. A really good tune on a good engine can get mod ti upper 30s. Like I said, older variant might pick up less.
20 to 30 with a tune on an LS is easy peasy. A really good tune on a good engine can get mod ti upper 30s. Like I said, older variant might pick up less.
Like you said though, very noticable gains.
Yeah LS very capable. L98. Little tougher. I don't know much about the L98 intake options. But they're pretty low on hp to start.
Yeah LS very capable. L98. Little tougher. I don't know much about the L98 intake options. But they're pretty low on hp to start.
I dou t you're gonna get more hp per dollar on a sbc than headers tbh. You could maybe argue nitrous... I dont see anything else though, outside of cheating by saying a pulley swap on a supercharged one.
L98 and LT1 are two different animals to begin with. But, performance improvement is comprehensive: headers (the right SIZE heasders) is but one piece of an overall scheme to achieving a well thought out (engineered) goal.
My point is, real performance increase over stock L98 is going to take more than headers (tho headers play an important part). I suggest you research the SCCA or the CORVETTE CHALLENGE prepped cars and the mods they used as a case study and then choose a performance goal for your project and then go shopping for the parts that will get you there.
Otherwise, as several have said, you might NOT realize any performance gains, OR even loose performance in some cases. Develop a plan first. Then build toward that plan and you won't end up buying a hodge-podge of "good intentions".
Just my 2 cents. But, I've been an SBC fan since the late 60s - seen a lot of stuff done over the decades of experiments and developments. The SBC has tremendous potential to fit a wide variety of applications. Far as I recollect, seldom is there a case where a single mod results in revolutionary performance improvements.
Last edited by Paul Workman; 06-27-2019 at 12:56 PM.
06-25-2019, 01:15 PM
To Header Or Not, that is the question?
