I recently asked the question about installing long tube headers. Next question. The difference between shorty headers and long tube headers? Pro and cons? I appreciate the input!

 

Short and sweet. Long tubes will gain HP, shorties will not. Shorties look cooler than stock manifolds.

 

I've had both, and kinda agree. Shorties will help slightly, but not a lot, and are not worth the cost, in my opinion. LTs are the only way to go. If you buy shorties (I had Billy Boat stainless, 1-3/4"), all you're doing is basically adding $500-$600 (cost of shorties if you install yourself) to the price of LTs of your choice, because you'll probably end up with LTs, anyway. At least I did. Shorties are not easy to sell, either.

 

Shorties are a waste of money

 

I put BBK shorties on my 99 coupe when I lived in CA. Mostly for looks. They clean up the engine bay. With a 228/228/112 cam and Stage 2 #241 West Coast Cylinder Heads the car made 398rwhp/389rwtq with the shorties on the dyno at A&A.

I bought them from a forum member for $300. Used them for 5 years then sold them to a forum member for like $250 I think. So for the price the nicer looking header was well worth it to me. If you are looking for power you're not going to find much if any with shories. LT's are the way to go...unless you are in CA.

Toys 4 Life C5 has a great YouTube video on this.

 

There are some shorties that are CA smog legal, and while they aren't long tube effective, they will still flow slightly better and definitely will weigh less than the cast iron, and sound different -- better to some ears.

 

Shorty headers on a pre 2001 will provide a small increase in performance, but no increase on the 2001-2004 LS1 or LS6. They will not give much of an increase in sound either but they look nice and are lighter in weight. The B&B Shorty headers are the nicest and best fitting but the most expensive.

 

this ain't your daddy's Small Block Chevy... the stock LS manifolds flowed pretty good for what they were and basically make shorties a cosmetic mod.

 

That's a great point on '97-'00 models, as I've seen the early style manifolds, because I have a 2000 vert. I've also seen the newer, '01-'04 model exhaust manifolds, and they look like a better setup than the early style. Early style is kinda like a 'log' style, while the later is more like individual tubes. POOP-Another slap against the '97-'00 models!!

 

Lol! Good thing is the 97-99s are all C5's are heart. With a bit of tinkering and disposable funds... my forged FI 634rwhp/568rwtq 99 is a pretty fantastic C5.

 

Poopsicle to dreamsicle...just add $

 

One thing to factor into your buying decision are the existing federal regulations against modifying any smog related equipment , unless it is certified exempt, such as C.A.R.B certified stuff.

I always assumed this was a state to state decision, simply from all the, " my state is better than your state" cheering from folks posting who live in states that don't give a crap, but there are federal regulations against modifying smog related parts, , and long tubes, or any non complying part, won't make the cut.

if the feds ever decide to enforce the rule, as recently happened when diesel tuning chips hit the courts after some wing nuts decided to roll coal all over a group advocating positive action on something concerning the environment , I forget the details. But I do remember they had lawyer friends who initiated the lawsuit that brought the feds, and initiated federal law enforcement against non legal chip tunes. I suppose anyone with the interest could do the same with headers on a car registered for street use.

As people continue to die as a result of climate damage by burning fossil fuels, or if non legal modifications becomes a voter issue, the feds might withhold highway funds to force compliance with existing air quality laws. I can't predict the future, but it might be a useful factor for somebody forming a header buying decision, if fighting air pollution wasn't a good enough reason.

 

As stated shorty headers really do nothing at all on an '01 or later C5. LTs provide a significant power boost. They also improve the sound of your exhaust. As long as you opt for a catted x-pipe, it doesn't make a significant difference in CO2 emissions.

 

LOL We will be bowing down to our Tesla Bot overlords well before any of that happens, "the courts are pretty backed up" would be like calling the sun "hot" lol

 

dad gummit!
vehicles ain't been using "tuner chips" since the 90s, and a lot of the diesels were still mechanically controlled why do people keep saying that?
it's like the people who say they "installed" HP tuners or EFI Live on their vehicles.

modern engines have their engine computers "tuned" (as in uploading a different software file) - not installing a differently-configured physical ECU circuit card.