I have stock 2000 exhaust manifolds and cats. Would there be any gain in HP if I were to put on a set of shorty headers and keep the cats?

 

Go long or go home

 

^^^ funny. It's Go Big or Go Home.... And dnt waste your money... You can get a set of LTs for the dame price... Check out TSP.. they have 1 3/4 or 1 7/8 SS LTs for cheap cheap

 

Shorties will gain you some hp, but not very much. Long tubes and a good y-pipe are pretty much one of the best bang for your buck mods for f-bodies. Unless there's a specific reason you need shorties, get long tubes. TSP will be your best price for quality stainless, or if money isn't an issue look into kooks or arh. If you're on a really really tight budget, bbk or pacesetters.

 

^^^ +1 well put

 

not worth it.



get a nice set of stainless LTs.

 

I have JBA shorties myself. They maybe give you an increase of 10-12hp and tq where LT's would give you 2x that amount for less money. I myself am considering TSP Lt's and their catted y-pipe, but for the total cost is approaching $900 including gaskets, 02 sensor's and such. I am not sure if its really cost efficient for a 15 hp/tq gain over what is currently on the car.

 

I wouldn't waste money on shorties. Not much gain over stock manifolds. Can't beat the price of tsp. I'm very happy with mine

 

You might make around a 10rwhp or so gain from switching to shorties, but they are absolutely not worth it when compared to what you can get LT's for nowadays. Honestly, you can probably just spend half the money that you would spend on shorties on a good intake and pick up about the same amount of power.

 

Thanx guy's for the info. I was looking at a pair real cheap, but I guess I'll hold off for now. I really don't want to start changing my exhaust until something breaks or wears out. I kinda like being street legal.

 

The good thing about them is there legal and yes they are better than your stock manifolds, not as good as LT's but still any improvement is good improvement.

 

You really get what you pay for when it comes to headers. Save your money, wait untill you have the money to by Kooks long tube headers. Slp makes a great pair as well. Two of the best for making the increase in power.

 

ARH kicks ***.

 

You can find cheap longtubes all day for sale on tech/craigslist/ebay etc, longtubes or bust,

 

Another vote for LTs. Go 1 7/8th. Tsp are pretty cheap. Don't do pacesetter unless theyre coated. And stay away from kook's y pipes

 

If you can get a used pair cheap I say go for it. I bought a pair of shorties a few years ago and I felt for what I paid it was worth it. I just wouldn't pay full retail for them because what they sell for your money can be better spent in other places. And everyone on here will tell you to go with LT's and the biggest cam, but at the end of the day you need to consider your goals for the car and what you want; then decide the best parts for your setup.

 

Not trying to hijack your thread...but I bought my car with bbk shorty headers. They are 1 3/4" primaries with 3" outlets. I'm trying to wrap my head around how a set of longtubes with the same dimensions is going to gain that much more HP. Not trying to say that they won't gain anything...its just I as well am on the fence of whether or not it will be worth my time and money to change them.

 

The BBK shortys I have and I'm assuming they have not changed, Come with a 2 1/2" exit on one side and 2 1/4" on the other. Why they did this? I don't know. I "corrected" this to a true 3" exit myself because I know that was not good at all for flow. The collector part was bigger than the opening so the gasses were basically hitting a Ledge. Not the best design at all for the money. I bought mine used and super cheap so, I didn't have a lot of heart burn over it. As for why LT's are better power producers are for one, better flow over the the shorty design and two, the scavaging effect on the cylinders.(getting rid of exhaust gasses more efficiently) That's where the most power comes from. Maybe some one here can explain a little better or Google it.

 

I meant 2 1/2" on the outlets. The previous owner opened the smaller side up so they would match. Bbk must have changed their design since then because now they advertise the outlets to be 3". I see what you are saying about better scavenging even though they are same size primaries.

 

Ever thought about some mid length headers ? you could keep your cats and gain performance.