In the ever raging debate over long tubes vs. shorties (for power vs. investment $$) I'm wondering If tuned shorties (shorties with equal length primaries) might be a good compromise.

here's an example:
http://www.corvettegarage.com/produc...-corvette.html

they're less exensive than LT headers and would appear weigh less and take up less room making working from under the car much easier vs having long tubes.

Anyone try these or similar?
Thoughts?

 

I know everyone will say go with the long tube headers, but since your 97 is almost stock these headers should be considered. I installed these on my 99 along with a blackwing filter, and Moroso spark plug wires in 2001. My rwhp was 325 @ 5200 rpm and torque was 329 @ 4000 rpm. That's about a 25hp gain, not bad. If you are not planning on doing a lot of engine work these headers are easy to install and do make it easier to do some work on the car and I have seen some used one's at very reasonable prices.

 

Yes. They will make a nice improvement like Doug stated. If you combine them with some other breathing improvement bolt ons like : ( Cold air intake, ZO6 Ti mufflers), you will see a nice seat of the pants improvement over stock!

If you get a chance to get a tune for a discount, have the PCM tuned for the mods installed and you will be impressed with money still in the bank.

BC

 

I currently have a Vararam CAI and ported TB on the inhaling side, and a WCC X pipe w/ Borla stingers on the exhaling side. last tune i was running ~320 rwhp. I'm a little hesitant to install headers myself but I've been told these can be installed with hand tools.

Assuming I attempted the install myself, What tools/equipment/parts would I need?

 

I'm interested in this topic also. it will be a while before I think about buying headers, but eventually I want them on my car. maybe next year to some time. I'm not sure if I Want to go with shorties or long tubes, but I am leaning towards shorties.

one thing I have heard is that long tubes are the best for the highest horsepower numbers and quarter mile times, but they don't have as great an effect on low end torque, I've even heard you could potentially loose some with long tubes because of how well they flow. Shorties don't have the same effect, they offer less overall power improvements, but they retain or enhance the low end torque of the car. any truth to that?

what is the impact on fuel economy with long tubes or shorties? I understand its all good news in that department.

Shorties are less expensive, which is a plus, and easier to install. I also want to keep the car easy to work on. its a daily driver and I want to improve the performance as much as I can while retaining drivability. I haven't made any decisions yet, but I kinda think that tuned primary short tubes are going to work out best for me.

 

I've heard the same thing regarding shorties. From a scientific standpoint, (assuming equal length primaries) the shorter the primary length, the lower the optimum scavenging RPM. This would suggest that shorties are optimum for daily drivers who spend most of their time in the 2-3K RPM range.

 

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1816459

 

good news to me. Thanks for the info, it sounds like tuned shorty headers and a good tune are what I need.

 

What brand are you looking at?Are they smog legal for use in California? I am also looking into getting an upgraded x pipe and shorties but so far havent had much luck finding a set of smog legal ones for my 04

 

Look at B&B or BBK. I think those are two of the shorty headers that have been CARB approved. There's probably others...

 

The bbk are mild steel and not equal length primaries. Avoid them.

The B&B shorties are awesome, and WILL gain you 12 rwhp by themselves. Stainless steel, equal length primaries, really nice merge collectors. I am running them on my Supercharged car. And CA legal.

 

Greetings my fellow VA C5er! Actually, the long-tubes will make more TQ than shorties or mids because of the primaries. LTs are a win-win for the LSx with the only glitches being price, CARB certification and installation difficulties.
Now I can only speak for the LSx F-body shorties (as I have yet to put ANY headers on my Z06), but they have proven to be only marginally better than the cast (2000+) manifolds, which are in turn marginally better than the tubular (1998-99) manifolds.
Hopefully, someone with a direct comparison will chime in as I am interested in headers as well.

 

I can confim that shorties on a Fbody ls1 will give a moderate gain...but...my perspective is .....a gain is a gain..and if it keeps you leagall..then so be it

 

They both work. You will gain HP and TQ with shorties or LTs.

 

How much did you gain with the F-body shorties? The norm is 5-7 rwhp... My mid-lengths (with cats) did about 18rwhp and my LTs (w/o cats) did about 25rwhp with some extra torque. If Corvette shorties cost more than $500 to gain around 5rwhp, I wouldn't bother. I'm hoping for some direct comparisons...

 

PM sent

 

Just wanted to clarify / correct above statement.......the 2000 model had the same tubular style exhaust manifold as the '97-'99. The 2001-2004 (ZO6 and LS1 exhaust manifolds are identical) had the better flowing, cast exhaust manifolds.

 

I was referring to the LS1 F-body in my statement. 1998-99 had tubular vs. the cast in 2000-02. The C5 manifolds look even better than the F-body, so I'm finding it tough to believe that shorties will gain a lot of power. I'm new to the C5, so please school me.

 

Got it and replied. Thanks!

 

JBA also makes shorty headers that are CARB compliant...