longtubes, h-pipe, exhaust

[tedness]

i was looking to change my exhaust to full mac longtube setup.

any idea what this will do to my sound, horsepower, and gas mileage?

ideally whatever is best for airflow.

[dark]

mac long tubes will lose an inch to an inch and a half of ground clearance. so if you drive where there are a lot of speed bumps, you might want to consider jba shorties instead, as you don't have clearance issues with those..

the catted h pipes (coupled with long tubes) lose you just under an inch of clearance also.. only cuz of the cats though, get an offroad h and you'll be fine...

as far as exhaust, it depends on what kind of sound you like, and what you're willing to spend, and what your long term plans are... i like the flow through sound of borla, bassani or slp, but they run very expensive. other's like the chambered sound of flowbasturds or magnaflows, which tend to run cheaper

where mileage is concerned, upgrading your exhaust in such a massive way will knock your mileage down a little, but not really a lot unless you beat on your car. an underdrive pulley would counter the effect. but they've very expensive on 99-04 stangs

also, if you're getting headers, spend the extra cash to get locking header bolts. if you use the stock bolts again, or even non lockers, then eventually engine vibration will shake them lose and you'll be in a shitload of trouble. you'll also need o2 sensor extenders for the long tubes

hope this helps

[dark]

p.s.- what's it like to be an asian guy driving a mustang? do the other asian guys give you shit?

lol

[Dark02Pony]

LT's do sound badass but like dark said you have to look at clearance.Personally though if you dont do LT's id keep the cats it just sounds better w/ them i think.

[dark]

also, i'm speaking from experience of having those parts on my 97... for all i know mac may have designed their headers and h pipes a little better for the 99-04, so it's worth checking out

[tedness]

so what do i bolt up to longtube headers and longtube h-pipe?

a longtube exhaust or any exhaust?

[dark]

any catback exhaust...

what you actually need is *long tube headers* + *h pipe (for long tubes)* + *your choice of catback exhaust*

just so you know, you're gonna spend anywhere from $600 - $1200 getting this done. depending on the catback you get, and how much you get charged for labor. gt takeoffs will save you a little, but you're still gonna be spending a bit of cash

[KyleUSAF]

http://www.mustangevolution.com/foru...-catted-h.html

[tedness]

Quote: Originally Posted by KyleUSAF http://www.mustangevolution.com/foru...-catted-h.html

hmmm.... *plots*

i could have any exhaust welded up to it like i have now.

[97Stallion]

If you want MAC longtubes and a O/R h-pipe I have them and I'll sell them for $425 shipped.

[tedness]

so if i get the longtubes and h-pipe for longtubes, will it bolt up to whatever exhaust i currently have on the car?

[Dark02Pony]

Quote: Originally Posted by tedness so if i get the longtubes and h-pipe for longtubes, will it bolt up to whatever exhaust i currently have on the car?

you got it

[DarkShadow]

Articles im Mustang mags have shown that headers of any type, long or short, do very little for the performance aspect. They will make it sound better tho and if you really want to just redo your entire exhaust setup, I guess you should go ahead and go for it, just don't expect any return on the headers.

BTW, I got better gas milage after I had my exhaust done...

[Thomas91169]

i would take magazines articles with a grain of salt.

headers alone dont make much of a gain, but when you go from a stock exhaust to longtubes, o/r H or X pipe and catback system, youre going to free up quite a bit of restriction, at least 15-20 to the wheels along the WHOLE powerband. most people only look at peak gains when comparing parts, but the real modder will look at the whole picture. like, so what if my 75mm throttle body only got me 3hp and 5ft/lbs of torque, thats 3hp and 5lbs along the whole powerband, and is going be more of a gain over a part that may decrease bottom end but shine up top. ive had a car with just top end, and its pretty boring 99% of the time, better to have useable power throughout, and a setup like longtubes and full exhaust is going to get him just that.