Shorty Vs. Longtubes

RangerJoe

I leave the horn on while driving
15 Year Member
Apr 26, 2010
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Georgia
Well, I had originally planned on putting N2O on my car sometime in next year. However, after reading a multi page post over on the corral by Woody, all pertaining to cracked blocks, I decided that I probably shouldn't be spraying. Not that it can't be done safely, but I know I will not stop with a 100HP shot. This, and after adding up the cost of going nitrous, the right way, and adding up the cost of a new HCI combo (minus what I can make back selling mine), the cost was negligible.

That being said, I picked up a brand new set of Roush/RHS 215 heads for cheap the other day. I know they are large for my 331, but if Nik can get away with 205's on a 302, I think I can do it with 215's. I have already talked with a few others, and I think I will stick with my N41 cam with 1.7rr for now. That should keep my rpm range where I need it to be (shifting 6000-6300). I will be using either a Systemax II or TFS R intake.

My unknown: I currently have Edelbrock ceramic shorties. My buddy tells me not to go to long tubes because they are a pain in the rear. I know I will be leaving some on the table with the shorties, but how much is the question. Are long tubes worth the effort? This is a street/strip car. My goal with this car is a fast (strong 11 second) car with AC, power steering and drivable. I do drive it on the street a lot, so take this into consideration when recommending.

So what do yall say? Shorties or long tubes, and please give any real world experiences with either.

Thanks,
Joe
 
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well i cant speak for everyone, but my 92 had longtubes on it when i bought it, sounded nice, but i had burnt a couple plug wires, and 2 clutch cables. this may not have happened to anyone else,but it did to me.friends of mine have had longtubes with no issues though. and any clutch,trans work was alot harder to accomplish. I swapped to mac shorties, and they have been trouble free. for me the power difference was enough to notice, but not enough to worry about. but on a built 331 will cost more HP than my stock 302. maybe (just guessing) an extra 10-12HP over shorties
 
I would put a 1.75" longtube on it, but it should easily go 11s with the shorties. a good header will make it run better because and efficient cylinder fill begins with efficiently evacuating the cylinder. what you gain is acceleration that is noticeable at the track, on the dyno you wont see much of a difference.
 
When I went from the Hooker shorties to the BBK LT's on my 347 it was quite a noticeable difference, despite the fact I am running box stock TFS heads. This is in a full weight 91 LX hatch with A/C, PS, Cobra brakes, etc...
 
Little more of a hassle for longtubes but in the end you will be more satisfied. Kinda like comparing headers to tittees little tittees give me a shorty and big tittees you see where im going
 
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Well, consensus seems clear. These are going to sit for a while until I gather all my parts. Gotta upgrade inlet track as well. Probably a power pipe and 80mm throttle body. Was going to try having it all back together by nmra Atlanta next April, but I really want to see how fast I can go with my GT40's first. So that gives me a good year to plan.

I guess long tubes is going to mean a new X Pipe too. Anyone ever modified a BBK shorty X Pipe to fit long tubes?

Thanks again guys!

Joe
 
I guess long tubes is going to mean a new X Pipe too. Anyone ever modified a BBK shorty X Pipe to fit long tubes?

Thanks again guys!

Joe
I was thinking the same thing yesterday i have the shorty x as well and wanted long tubes but dont wanna spend on another x pipe too.
 
Box R intake with a 90 mm TB and long tubes! Woot!

Lol. No box style intake. My stock block needs to last for a long while, so no 7000+ rpm pulls. 90mm is an option if i can find the right deal.

I feel a little stupid. My driveway is straight up, and the angle is very hard on clearance. I haven't even thought about that till now. It may rule out long tubes all together. I will have to take some measurements and see.

Is the HP increase of long tubes attributed to the length, or the diameter of the tube. If the later, maybe someone makes a big tube shorty???

Joe
 
this is for atey950 sorry ranger joe for using your thread atey950 sent me a question thru profile so after typing answer it was too many characters so then i sent him a pm wouldnt let me send him a message lol this time for other reasons wasnt because of too many characters dam that :poo: is crazy!

yes i am lowered, im able to go straight over speed bumps i do have to take most driveway aprons on an angle. My lowest area and first to hit was clamps on my h pipe on mufflers side. After my h pipe broke a month ago one of the hangers ripped off a nice chunk of h pipe at the weld looked rusty and is known to be the first area to rust. So after i put my new h pipe on the hangers to install and seen the headers didnt even come close to line up at collectors, after many trys bending the hangers i decided to lop them off. After that install went good but the reason why im telling you h pipe install story is after finishing i noticed my lowest point at h pipe was gone my exaust now looks great its even front to back and tucked up nice and my only low point is gone the frigan hangers actually push the exaust system down in that area. I really never rubbed at the collector and with longtubes also there is no reason for the hangers its nice and tight up there and sits perfect without them. hope this helps brotha
 
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The HP increase is mainly attributable to the length. At some point an increase in tube diameter also helps. Long tubes are going to make 10-20 hp over the shorties, but you definitely give up some ground clearance. O2 sensors also heat up more slowly in the winter if that is a factor for you. I had BBK 1 5/8" ceramic coated for a long time, and they were an easy install. The current Kooks were a nightmare to install.