2V Long Tubes-Worth It?

[SLOW 97]

I'm thinking of getting MAC longtubes w/ a Pro Chamber but I hear any longtubes on a mod engine are a real pain in the @$$. Has anyone done this themselves or had it done? 5.0 Mustang said it's worth the $475 they paid for installation becuase you actually have to unbolt the engine from the mounts and roll it up on each side of the block so you can get the headers attached to the heads. They made a solid 14 RWHP though.

[blue00gt]

I have BBK Longtubes on my '00 GT. It definitely was a pain - took me about 12 hours to do it myself. I only had to jack up the passenger side of the motor (about 3"). The rear header bolts on that side are extremely difficult to get to around the 4 tubes. If you do it yourself remember to tighten to make it easier. I definitely felt a good seat of the pants gain and the sound is great with the headers, short H-pipe and Magnaflows. Nobody believes me that I have cats on my car until they look underneath it.
The only other thing to watch for is ground clearance since they hang down quite a bit lower than shorties. My car is pretty low - lowered over 2" in the front. I ended up with a little under 3.5" of clearance underneath.
One other warning - my passenger side header sometimes taps the frame and makes an annoying noise at part throttle at certain rpms. I tried several times contacting BBK and never got a response from them, so I will not buy any more parts from them. I have had to adjust my driving to avoid the nosie. I've seen other longtubes for new cars made by Hooker, Hedman, MAC, and Sean Hyland.

[SLOW 97]

Yeah I was never too keen on BBK's exhaust problems either. The MAC stuff is pretty good and I'm not going to spend a fortune on Bassani's. I'll try it myself first. I think I can figure out how to get them without having a shop install them by jerry-rigging up a few things. 12 hours is defintley pretty crazy for a header install.

[Tim C]

I didnt have a bit of trouble with the bbk longtubes on my 99 GT, installation and all. They fit like a glove, no noise. I used the factory studs except for three places where the tube was in the way. I highly recommend getting the Percy Seal-4-Good gaskets from summit for the 4.6L for $40.00. Theyre aluminum, wont blow out, and seal great (might as well do it right the first time). I lifted the motor about 4" on the right for clearance, and about 2" on the left just for alittle more room, though I probably could have left the left side hooked up.

It gave it a cool burbling sound and a seat of the pants feel, and I went from an offroad H and manifolds to an offroad H and longtubes.

For what its worth, I have a friend with MAC Longtubes on a 98 GT, and he had to "massage" the floor on both sides with a hammer to get the o2 sensors to stop tapping the floor. I had no problem with the BBKs. If you try denting the floor, make sure to disconnect the battery for several minutes first so you dont deploy the air bags.

Tim

[BSchacht6]

I was also thinking of getting some header for my 2001 GT. About how much HP are the worth at the rear wheels? Would I be better off with something else? What brands do you recomend? I know Steeda sells JBA's. I also know that BBK, MAC, Bassani and a few other brands make them, but which do you recomend?

Thanx,

Bob

[SLOW 97]

The BBK L/T's w/ cat H-Pipe were good for 14 RWHP. That's pretty good for just a header and h-pipe swap. It will probably be a bit easier to do on my 97 because the k-member is different than 99-up and there is one less bolt on the starter to have to mess with.