purpmunk

I'm torn between getting either Ford shorty's or some Flowtech longtubes. I need some input from you guys. pros/cons????? I'm sure some of you have been in a similar position. I heard from one source that shortys are the better choice because there's less lenght for the exhaust to go through. BUT, I heard from another source that longtubes were better for overall power gains after going through the exhaust system. Now I'm all confused. Help me!!!!

transmaster

You need to watch "The Power Block" on Spike which comes on Saturday and Sunday mornings. The Horsepower Show did go into just the question you have. As I recall what you used depended on many things, induction, head design, if there was stuff like starting motors to clear. and many other things. Horse Power TV said if you where going to do this call the outfit you want to purchase the headers from and ask them. They have done to flow testing and dyno work and they can best tell you what to do.

straydog

Go with shortys, they're less expensive initially, easier to install, and will bolt right up to your stock headpipes. The power gain differences with long tubes for your truck won't be worth the significant extra bucks, IMO.

Definitely spring for the heat coating (like Jet-Hot) INSIDE and out.

I wouldn't recommend FlowTech, I burned cracks and holes thru a set of those in no time. I went with JBA's with 1-1/2' primaries (for low-end torque), a Flowmaster Y-pipe, no cat, 3" single into a 40-series Flowmaster SI-DO muffler, with 2-1/2" dual exits behind the passenger rear wheel in the stock location.

It noticeably bumped up my low-end grunt, and my mileage by about 2mpg. And, best of all, it sounds abolutely NASTY AS HELL! It turns heads constantly just from the sound, and I always get asked about the engine & exhaust system.

They're always surprised when I tell them it's a stock 351W crate motor.

tonkatruck66

okay, well from what ive heard from more than one resource, is that shortys are not even worth it. i personally am torn between this too. i drive a manual though, so i heard they wont fit because of clutch linkage, which is what summit and jegs told me, but i dont know. long tubes from what i understand are the way to go if you want a big power gain and shortys arent any different than the stock manifolds. but unfortunantly for me driving a manual, i cant get long tubes, but an equal length shorty isnt bad so thats what im gonna do.

jonny150

I have shorties on mine. I had to because longtubes wouldnt fit with the 4 wheel drive. It could have, but id have to do some modifying to the tubes. the shorties did cost more, but compared to the longtubes, they seemed way more heavy duty. I also did find quite a differnce in power from when i first put the shorties on