More header/manifold and exhaust questions....

[clintonvillian]

Guys,

I have ordered the tubing for my exhaust (all 304 SS). I "think" I am going to go with Borla ProXS mufflers, and flowmaster cats.

My questions are regarding fitment now and in the future:

I would prefer long tube ss headers, I plan to cut the flanges off and add v bands (personal opinion is vbands are far superior to anything else offered). When I rebuild in the future and after my dyno runs and break ins, I will blast and ceramic coat the headers at that time.

1. Do the long tubes offered by our vendors make it a PITA to get the starter off? ( I am running a pmgr compact starter) If so should I consider shorties?

2. This is a loaded question, but if I purchase a set of headers now for the stock heads, will/do they fit on aftermarket heads? When I fully build this motor, I will be replacing the heads with aluminum high flow units...brand is to be determined.

3. Are there any other things I am not considering down the road in which long tubes will affect, transmission swaps, column swaps etc.

 

[snipi]

I agree with you on the vbands. Why the cats though?

The long tubes can cause some clearance issues with suspension parts like long arms or alignment with after market crossmembers for transmission swaps, but vbands may buy you some space.

The size of the primaries on the long tubes may come into play depending on the next builds power goals, some after market heads have a dual pattern exhaust bolt location so you can run much larger primary tube sizes. I don't know of any vendor option headers that currently take advantage of these larger sizes.

 

[clintonvillian]

I agree with you on the vbands. Why the cats though?

The long tubes can cause some clearance issues with suspension parts like long arms or alignment with after market crossmembers for transmission swaps, but vbands may buy you some space.

The size of the primaries on the long tubes may come into play depending on the next builds power goals, some after market heads have a dual pattern exhaust bolt location so you can run much larger primary tube sizes. I don't know of any vendor option headers that currently take advantage of these larger sizes.

As far as Cats, two reasons...Main reason is just getting rid of the smell. Secondly, I try to be environmentally conscience, within reason.

And to be clear, I am fine with the stock power level. I don't really have a goal set, just want to make some improvements. From my experience, it is cheaper to pick up a set of off the shelf heads than to have the stock units re-machined.

 

[DirtDonk]

I believe the starter is not a big issue, at least not with most of the vendor's headers like ours. But with your PMGR even the little bit of hassle is more reduced still. Lots of clearance in most cases with the smaller starters.
Unfortunately I don't have much experience with most of the headers, and many may even have been changed slightly over the years.
Good thing is that many members here have probably used just about everything out there between them! So you should get some pretty straight answers.

I'm going to try a set of long tubes next, while still trying to cross over to a single exhaust. Or even continue with my dual exhaust on one side like I ran for years on my '71. Not against duals, just against anything on the driver's side.
I use cats too, and a single also saves money on mufflers and cats!

But there's no doubt that shorties and mid-lengths are more convenient in pretty much all aspects as full length headers are. Just as full-length are still generally considered to have more performance all around if designed properly.
So you have to take all of your needs into account and, as you're doing, ask all the right questions ahead of time.
After all, if you don't need the extra performance of long tubes, the shorties might be the best bang for the buck, even at their substantially higher prices (usually).

Good luck!

Paul

 

[clintonvillian]

Paul,

Why are you against anything on the driver side?

 

[rguest3]

A 2-into-1 exhaust on the Passenger side (driver's side crosses over) with a Stock Location tail pipe should cure your concerns of any exhaust smell. This exhaust design also keeps the heat away from the Fuel and Brake Lines on the Driver's Side Frame Rail.

 

[DirtDonk]

Why are you against anything on the driver side?

Hah! Anymore it's just on general principle. In other words, what rguest said.
A very careful routing could conceivably keep the hot exhaust away from all of those things, but it's actually quite a bit of work to do it right. There's just so little room under a Bronco in general, and the driver's side specifically, that it's just better (in my opinion) to keep it all over on the passenger side.

After running true discreet duals on mine for a few years, it became obvious that just working on fuel lines or wiring was a royal pain in the rear.
My next exhaust did the cross-over routine, but instead of 2-into-1 I did a true dual again, but with both pipes down the passenger side this time, exiting out the back at an angle. Worked fantastic for many years.

Re-doing it someday (even though it's still in perfect shape) and still debating whether to keep duals or just go with a single.
Because I like to run cats, I'll probably go with a single just to save cost.

Paul

 

[backpain]

Somewhere in my build threads I think I have some decent pics of long tubes and 2:1:2 exhaust. Those LTs just got fully ceramic coated and polished and I may have to dump them before reinstalling - to switch to larger primary shorties to deal a higher output new engine. Happy to find and post some header/xhst pics later.

Starter was not a problem. Very few clearance issues on my rather stock frame/suspension.