MAC Longtubes?
 

Good, bad, ugly?

We've got MAC long-tubes, pain to put in, have problems with drivers side #2 tube (I believe) rubs the steering linkage. I've heard the same think with BBKs and other lts. If you're going with long-tubes and you can afford it - get them JetHot coated! We decided against it - but now looking at the headers starting to rust with the HTS coating, we wish we had spent the money on JetHot coating.

You will also need to extend the O2 sensor wiring on the right side as the O2 sensors are now a little further back. You can do this one of two ways - get an O2 extender - or simply add some wire, make sure it's the same guage, and you use shrink wrap tubing to make it water tight.

If I had the choice I'd go with the BBK's. I think their headers are much better than MAC's. You can get them coated from the factory too. ~Brian

I have macs on my 85 GT, and they are really good. i like them a lot. there are a lot of people that dont like mac stuff, i have had thier full exhaust system and it was a great system.

and definatley go with the ceramic coated ones that they sell.

I know a guy who'll sell me the long tubes and the H-pipe for a couple hundred bucks. I haven't looked at them yet, but the guy said there is some surface rust. I'd like to install them myself.

I`ve had my long tubes on for about 4 years and theres only small areas of surface rust under the car. I have heard that some people havent been so lucky. I did go through a few clutch cables due to headers too close to the cable.

Ive got them too, no clearance problems other than it IS impossible to get them out of my car with the motor bolted down, but thats because of my 2 piece bell housing being in the way, putting that aside, I like them

I had mine for about 4 years. I like em. The 02 plugs will fit, you have reroute the wires, its kind of a pain, but if you have the original instrustions, it tells you how. I also wish I had them coated. I only burnt one clutch cable in all this time, so I can't complain. I think a couple of hun is a good buy.

I've had MACs and BBKs in my car. The MACs were the worst ones to install and remove, they had to basically come out with the motor. The BBKs were somewhat easier, still needed the motor lifted about 2". Neither one rubbed the starter or the steering shaft (luckily). O2 sensors were the usual for LT headers, needing a 6" or so piece unless you are able to move the harness for the O2 sensor by the firewall and run it down over the bellhousing (Worked for me, didn't need any extensions then).

Of the two, its hard to choose. The BBKs made it easier to remove the spark plugs, but that 1 piece flange concerned me, what if it warps? (It never did, but the thought remained.) They are the chrome ones, but you could never tell now, they are rusted as bad as the MACs.

The MACs, rusted out almost completely (all they had was their HTS coating which just keeps them looking good on the shelf). They were the pain to install, harder to get at some of the plugs, but their individual tubes made for peace of mind, and they are usually cheaper.

I will note that on my car an H-pipe for BBKs will not work on MACs. I have a 2 1/2" Cat pipe (MAC) and it wouldn't work on my BBKs, nor would the O/R pipe(BBK) work on the MACs. I think when I install my new setup, I'm gonna run the MACs for now, since they'll work with the cat pipe, and get an O/R pipe for them, and sell off the BBKs. It really comes down to which one you like best, and how much you want to spend.

I have the 1 5/8 longtubes and the are a *****!!!!! to work around. The are showing sign of rust and generaly dont look pretty. Now with that being said, it boils down to 2 things: 1. How often are you going to be working in the engine bay? 2. How little do you have to pay for them? If you are just going to put them in and not do alot more and the price is right, I would say its a good deal. If I had to do it over again I would get shorties, or a nice set of longtubes like Bassani(Those are kick *** but like 500$)

Thanks guys. Project was halted due to new purchase :)

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