whats the difference in long & short headers

[dblock27]

hey guys whats the difference between long headers & short? besides the fact that 1 is longer than the other lol. thanks

[LSCto300C]

Shorty headers are much more street-friendly. Also, shorty headers are a more torque oriented style of header whereas long tubes are awesome for guys looking to go mad with horsepower. Long tubes typically cost about as much as a nice cat back exhaust (sometimes more) but the quality is superb; ARH and Kooks are two examples of terrific lt headers. You should know this though: long tube headers hang low on the car and are very susceptible to damage from road debris and damage from every day driving.

[CoolVSRT8]

very true will also depends what your planning on doing with the car.

If your planning on doing more then 500 hp then go with longtubes but if your gonna do basic bolt ons then shorties is plenty.

[Fisch]

Okay, so how about a little more basic description as to what headers actually do and how stock/short/long differ in function? I don't know the first thing about this.

For example, I would never be looking to go over 500, so I see that shorties would be the best option if I ever did go down this road. But what do the tubes do and how are they different from a stock setup?

Thanks for any help - I'm performance-challenged, but trying to learn.

EDIT: (Didn't sound good.) By performance-challenged, I meant my car performance knowledge is challenged. My girlfriend is very happy.

[stevesrt8]

missed it a little bit.

Generally speaking, a short tube header is a better high rpm header than a longer tube. But in the real world the long tubes are sometimes actually tuned to the application. Most shorties are sized to fit in a restricted area first.

In most cases a long tube header is preferred for high HP applications. If tuned correctly (diameter being very important) they can be great. Make the diameter too big and you will leave TONS of torque on the table.

When it comes to a new gen Hemi it's really hard to beat the factory 6.1 headers. They are cheap, fit well, last a long time, have very little clearance issues, and make TONS of HP.

We have people well into the elevens with Factory SRT8 shorties and cat back with high flow cats.

[Veehawk]

Originally Posted by stevesrt8

When it comes to a new gen Hemi it's really hard to beat the factory 6.1 headers. They are cheap, fit well, last a long time, have very little clearance issues, and make TONS of HP.

We have people well into the elevens with Factory SRT8 shorties and cat back with high flow cats.

Will the 6.1 headers fit on the 5.7 hemi? I noticed that you're the only one to respond to this thread that has an SRT8 while everyone else has the 5.7 hemi. After reading your response I'd assume that they would fit ours.

*has SRT8 envy*

[LSCto300C]

Yes, the 6.1 headers will fit the 5.7 hemi with a bit of modifying and many have done it. You'll need to make a notch in the header for the egr and some also say you have to modify the oil dipstick tube to make it all work happily. Since I am only repeating what I've read on the forums, there are probably a couple of other things that need to be done as well, but I can't remember. Personally, I'm looking really hard for some SRT headers to go with my heads/cam package this christmas, but they're pretty difficult to come by.
Steve, if a guy with a 5.7 installs the 6.1 headers but does not want the egr anymore, would he still have to make a notch in the header?

[stevesrt8]

I'm just like you guys, I haven't actually seen it done step by step.

But if I understand what I've read the notching is a mandatory part of the installation process.

[Veehawk]

Originally Posted by LSCto300C

Yes, the 6.1 headers will fit the 5.7 hemi with a bit of modifying and many have done it. You'll need to make a notch in the header for the egr and some also say you have to modify the oil dipstick tube to make it all work happily. Since I am only repeating what I've read on the forums, there are probably a couple of other things that need to be done as well, but I can't remember. Personally, I'm looking really hard for some SRT headers to go with my heads/cam package this christmas, but they're pretty difficult to come by.
Steve, if a guy with a 5.7 installs the 6.1 headers but does not want the egr anymore, would he still have to make a notch in the header?

I guess I'll start looking for a set of SRT8 headers!

I think that it would be wise for most of us 5.7 owners to look into SRT8 parts whenever possible. A team of engineers designed the parts to make the most bang for our buck when it came to designing that beast. It would only make sense for us to mod our 5.7s with the tried and true parts that were designed for our big brothers in the first place. These parts have been tested, dynoed, and perfected to work effectively on the 6.1 while the 5.7 aftermarket parts are normally marketed well and tested marginally. Thread after thread mentions that aftermarket parts for the 6.1 dyno with less than marginal results when thrown up on a dyno, if any gain is even seen at all.

*bookmarks Mopar.com*

[LSCto300C]

Good luck!
I've been looking for a set since early this summer. TheMoparKid over at lxf said he had a set for me, then he sold them; then he said he'd have another set in a couple weeks, then never got back to me even though I PM'd him. Oh well, I guess that's just how it goes...