Hey guys,
I just got in my shorty headers for my 01 C5. The problem is now is all of the criticism I am hearing on not to put them on.
I was going to put them on instead of my intake manifold, but now I am second guessing, if I sould just put my bbk ssi intake on instead.
I would put them both on, but money is tight so I can only put on one or the other. What are your suggestions the shorty headers or the intake?
Here is my mod list
*Pacesetter coated shorty headers(not installed)
*Magnaflow 15723 exhaust with x-pipe(not installed)
*BBK cold air induction(installed)
*Hypertech Programmer 3 (installed)
*BBK SSI LS1 Intake (not installed)

Thanks

 

shorties don't do much, if anything powerwise

 

If shorties dont do anything what purpose do they have? Sound etc?They claim gains of 8-10 hp, but in all reality is it more like 4-5?

 

Don't know about the pacesetters but when I had B&B's I got 8rwhp verified on a before and after dyno(same day, same conditions) had them on for a year THEN the fever gets even worse ARH's and Corsa Indys . OMG it never stops............

 

Make somebody money.

 

My suggestion is to lurk around for a while, see what works for people and see what doesn't.

To be honest, my answer on which to install is "neither"...

There are other mods to be made long before you even consider an intake manifold swap.

 

I have been researching, but it seems like all the people with hate towards the shorties never experienced them. I am not expecting huge gains just a few, but its about 500 dollars to install. Anybody else who has them or has had them?

 

I have a set of B&B shorties. I am in Calif. and have had problems in the past with mods and just wanted to avoid that entire hassle.

If you are looking for max HP/$ spent, shorties are not cost effective. Longtubes are more cost effective in that regard.

I got the shorties anyway for a couple reasons;

1) Looks... I like the looks of an engine with headers

2) Weight... Eventually I will add a SC. Shorties won't offset the weight of the SC, but they are significantly lighter than the stock manifolds.

3) Sound.... I like the sound of an engine with headers. it won't affect the sound as much as a cat back system, but it does give some of that header sound

4) Ease of install.... You can do them yourself with little effort because it's basically like swapping stock exhaust manifolds. There's no welding or fabrication or moving cats, etc. At least that is the way it was with the B&B's

5) CARB Certified... Like I said before, I got flagged with mods several years ago and it was just too much of a hassle to deal with.

I know that the longtubes are 30-40HP gain and shorties are max 10hp gain. But longtubes also usually mean new xpipe, new high flow cats, and sometimes fabrication ($$$$$).

Quite frankly, flame suit on, sometimes maximum horsepower is not the main goal....

It never ceases to amaze me how some people who spend many thousands of dollars on bling (chrome goodies), parts that are for looks only (fenders, front ends, spoilers, hoods, interiors, lambo doors, etc) and some for parts that actually hurt performance (oversized, heavy - wheels, tires, etc) get down right angry and sometimes insulting whenever someone asks about shorty headers....

Just my experience/opinion.... FWIW...

 

Perfectly stated above...on all points.
If I were to go with headers, I'd do it for the same reasons and B&B shorty headers would be my choice.
I don't have emissions inspections in the county where I live, but it's only a matter of time.

 

Thanks for your help bro, I think I will put them on. It is so true what you said about the parts made for looks and how much money people spend on that, and 99% of the time it looks tacky.
I'm not expecting huge gains, but I would be happy with 5-10 rwhp.
I just want the car to break into the 12's next weekend.

Is there a short version of the install you can give me, they want around 500+ for the install. I dont know much about cars, but what would I need to do it myself?

 

To be honest I'd be more concerned with the installation of the BBK SSi manifold than the shorty headers. That intake is nothing but a big heat sink and suffers severly from heat soak after only a few minutes of driving...

Unless you plan to spray it hard....it is doing you more harm than good. The shorty headers are good for a few horsepower and a little better sound so if you're happy with them then go ahead...

As for the install....the intake manifold is one hour AT MOST and the shorty headers shoudl be no more than two or three hours maximum (including new plugs/wires). So figure four hours for both. Even at $100 an hour that's only $400. If your shop wants $500 you need to run, not walk, the hell away from there....

 

No joke bro, but I got a quote for my x-pipe and exhaust, headers and manifold from a place in Lauderdale and I was quoted a minimum of 16 man hours at 85 an hour. Thats why I put the manifold up for sale. I was told the headers and exhaust would be about 8-10. I am getting another quote from a place in Jupiter that specializes in vettes, but just for the exhaust and headers.

Thanks.

 

I have JBA shorty headers on my car. I bought them brand new for $350 off of craigslist. I installed them myself and was happy with the results. My car has never been on a dyno, but there was a small SOTP improvement and the sound was much better. With B&B Bullets and a Bassani x-pipe, it can get pretty loud. The install wasn't bad, it took about 5 hours on a saturday afternoon by myself with hand tools. I ended up with some scraped knuckles, but I got them on. I wouldn't pay full price for a set of shorties, but if you got a good deal or already have them, I'd say go ahead and throw em on.

 

I wouldn't waste the time or money. You'll just regret puting shorties on when you meet with other Vette's that have LT's that sound 10x better and make 3x more power if not more, and paid a little more than you.

 

Last summer I put a BBK intake on my '02 Z28 . I had to drive 50 miles (in 90 degree weather) to the dyno shop to have it re-tuned. I assume heat sink issues would have been manifested in the form of detonation but I had no problems (although the tuner had some issues with it). This manifold picked up no additional hp over my LS6 intake. I didn't port-match but I did polish the runners as much as possible. I think this manifold is supposed to be an option as an upgrade over the LS1 manifold, not the LS6. You already have an LS6 so the BBK would not be worth the effort (except that it looks pretty cool).

Plus, there are a couple of brackets that will not swap directly over without modification. I had to fab up an evap canister bracket. It took me a lot longer to swap over than 1 hour.

 

Here is one link about exhaust & header install...

I think B&B has an instruction sheet available on line too...


http://www.vetteweb.com/tech/0501vet...ust/index.html


Good luck....

 

im guilty of that so thats why im selling my 505s

 

I just don't see them worth the time and money for such little return

 

Thanks for your help everyone.

 

I've installed shorties and I've installed LT's. Other than a change in the exhaust note, the shorties made no difference in performance with stock intake. There's just not enough of an improvement in flow overall to promote much of a difference in performance. In my opinion I don't think an intake alone would be much of a difference either.

Long tubes are a different story with a noticeable difference SOTP and 30 RWHP after a tune.

I would say save your money until you can do more, or just don't expect much when you do these alone.