Macs vs long tubes

Does anyone know the estimated difference in hp gains one would expect between installing Mac mid lengths as opposed to long tubes.

Not much.

The other headers make a tad more down low. but as far as high end HP Macs are HARD to beat.

I am running Macs

Thanks Dave, I would have thought the mid lengths would make more down low then the long tubes. What is your take on this ?

Bye the way I noticed your sig...3.8 with boost. Wife has that in her GP. Isn't that an awesome, bulletproof motor !!

Naaa generally longer tubes make more low end tq.

yeah, love my GS. it has a homemade cold air, 180 thermo, taylor wires, 3.4 ASP pulley, no cat, no u-bend. The car makes over 10psi :) its awesome

Generally if your going to stay on a somewhat stock engine then Mids might be for you. But if you believe you may want to do more later on in life always try to do it right the first time. Besides you can get LT's for just a little more $$ nowadays.

I bought my MACs back when there were no other headers under $1000. I was pleasantly surprised at the power increase. If I could do it again, I would opt for the Hooker or Jet-Hots and make my own Y-pipe. If you do get the MACs, I have some suggestions. Grind the interior weld beads smooth, do the collector mod which loses the ball joint, and DO NOT use the MAC cats. Your stock cats are a better choice... With the cheaper long tubes, you are starting to see some real bargains on used MACs, so keep your eyes open.

If your looking for maximum hp and torque, go with longtubes. If your looking for maximum ground clearance, get mid-lenght or shorty headers.

The mid lengths or "shortys" will make more of a difference down low. you reduce backpressure even more with LT's which results in a sacrifice of a little bit of power down low. probably not even enough to notice a difference.

Originally posted by CASPER97TA
The mid lengths or "shortys" will make more of a difference down low. you reduce backpressure even more with LT's which results in a sacrifice of a little bit of power down low. probably not even enough to notice a difference.

Macs are not shorties on an ls1. they are long tubes but more of a short longtube :)

How does Mid Length sound? ;) ;)

like a long tube header...

i cant explain a sound to you.. depends

Thanks for the replies. The car is hibernating for the winter and I was thinking of doing a header install. So if I understand correctly, on a stock motor the hp gain would be close to that of long tubes but no body threw out any estimated numbers which makes it difficult to decide. As a side note, I do not have access to a dyno and tuning to adjust the a/f ratio so I was thinking of buying this new "predator" unit. Would this be accurate enough to dial in the car without risk ?

Thanks again.

Lance, most people see very little over the mac's unless they have a huge cam and huge or a larger motor.

I picked up .4's and 2mph with LT's on my car with intake mods.

ask miketta89 if he thought it was worth it on his 98 TA.......hell give ya a resouding hell no. he didnt look to happy at the 3-5 hp he gained and the tuning issues that ensued. i say LT's all the way, plus the more ya feed em the more theyll give ya. worth the extra money if you have big plans for the car.
brian

400+rwhp with mac's here