I was going to get headers for my next mod and was leaning towards Mac Midlenghts for clearence and emmissions issues. But dont want to sacrific too much performance. What kind of gains can I expect from Midlength headers? Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated.

 

Mac midlengths are a good idea. I've read many posts (with dyno sheets) that guys have had good gains from them (10 - 20hp). I recommend that you consider modifying the rest of the exhaust as well, for best results. Do a search a find the a combo you like. Good Luck.

 

Why not go LT's, you'll make more power. Mid lengths are no closer to being, or appearing emission legal than LT's and will make less power. You probably won't have any better clearance with the Mac's either from what I've heard.

 

after having mac mids before on my 99Z(now totaled ), id say they performed quite well( made 388rwhp locked w/ F11, mac mids, and all the other usual bolt-ons and had no ground clearance issues.
I asked a notable tuner/sponser what i would gain by going to LTs and he said maybe 5-8hp over the macs
I know my pacesetter LTs and a pretty tight fit under my TA. If you do go w/ LTs just stay away from SLPs cuz that passenger side hedder drags on everything
Just my 2 cents

 

Redneck Z you are so wrong. You get way better clearance than long tubes and midlengths are a lot easier to install. They give just as much power as longtubes, what makes longtubes better is that they give more low end torque than midlengths do

 

if i was you i would get some LT's and the tsp catted y if you are worried about emissions. i helped install some pacesetters on my friends 01 z and they tucked up there really nice and didnt cause any ground clearence issues. i am actually going to install my pacesetters with a tsp ory today.

 

Macs are a very good header...

 

I have them and like them

 

QUOTE: Redneck Z you are so wrong. You get way better clearance than long tubes and midlengths are a lot easier to install. They give just as much power as longtubes, what makes longtubes better is that they give more low end torque than midlengths do.

I was going by what everyone has said when switching from macs to longtubes. I have heard over and over that many have not lost any clearance when going to LT's from the macs. Maybe the SLP's???? As far as power is concerned it isn't all about peak power. The 5-8rwhp under the curve is significant, and the reason people switch from mid's to LT's. If mids made just as much power, dedicated track cars would run them and not LT's. Don't get me wrong, macs are a pretty good header, but LT's do make more power and will not sacrifice a significant amount of clearance.

 

This is why people are mislead all the time, no experience. There are people that have been there done that and are gurus then there are people who have heard this and that. Listen to the gurus, they wont mislead you.

 

I did 2 years of research before I made my header choise. I've bugged the guru's on this site endlessly. I went with the Mac headers. The fit and finish, and lack of any issues were more important to me than 5 hp.

I don't have a pre-install dyno, but I'll let you know what the butt-o-meter tells me about them in two weeks when I get them installed.

Good luck to you!!!

 

QUOTE: This is why people are mislead all the time, no experience. There are people that have been there done that and are gurus then there are people who have heard this and that. Listen to the gurus, they wont mislead you.

Guru's? What qualifies you as a "guru?" I searched for what others have experienced on this site, and also spoke with a well known LS1 performance shop. The best way to find out is to talk with others who have made the switch from mid's to Lt's. To each his own, I could care less if he buys mids or LT's. My friend has the macs, they're a good header. He now want's longtubes though. All I'm trying to say is why not go for the better performing header if clearance is going to be similar?

 

Grott style long tubes give the most power and torque. Ive done so many header installs since the 70s working on everything you ever heard of, with mid length and LTs, and LTs are clearly more power and torque on a dyno every single time. With LS1s LTs are the way to go, you are spending money to improve performance right ?? Just do it right the first time and you wont be changing them later when you upgrade to more power.

 

Hi
MAC mids do not give you more clearance if you are using the MAC Catalytic Y puipe. I just installed a set was was supprised to find out how poorly the catalytic Y pipe fits. The cat on the drivers side sits down quite far so you will not gain much clearance over long tubes. Also, it is quite low at the back. I have to use spacers on my tunnel brace that are about 1/2" long. This caused additional lose of clearance. I have never heard anyone complain about the ORY, but I am not that happy with the cat version. You may as well get long tubes, or buy the headers and get a custom Y pipe built.

Thanks JA

 

MACs are a good compromise header. They make decent power. Good and cheap, they were the best low-buck option years ago. But now we have Pacesetter Long Tubes that are just as cheap and deliver true LT gains.