I have a 96 z m6, ive been giving some thought as what to do with my exhaust,
I have heard that on the 96 and up the shortie headers do nothing, 5-7 hp at most, so I dont want to waste my money.
I thought about long tubes, but I dont want to have to fab an exhaust together and I still want to pass NJ state inspection. Also NJ roads suck and long tubes will scrape. So I was thinking why cant I just switch over to the 93-95 single cat system and just put O2 sims in the rear O2 plugs. Has any one done this ?
also I was thinking as far as exhaust, SLP
headers, random tech h.f. cat, SLP cat back. Any input or suggestions?

 

From what I hear the SLPs are great headers, but they are a PITA to put in. After much research I went with FLPs because I thought they would be the best long tubes. But now I kinda wish I went with shorties because of all the problems I have had with them. If you are going to lower your car, get shorties! End of story.

 

for the love of god do not buy shorty headers, they are a pain and not worth the money.

 

My shortys worked.

 

no consideration of midlengths?

 

my SLP shorties (94-95 style) worked just fine. They were a bit difficult to install, but I imagine all headers on this car will be. I found on the drivers side, if I remove the steering linkage, valve cover, and coolant temperature sensor under the header, I could slip it in just fine with some good wiggling (be careful you don't damage the mating surface on the head)

I have yet to burn a wire either, mostly because I used Bosch Platinum plugs which are shorter than the standard SBC plugs. I am running the stock metal heat shield now on a few of them, but it isn't needed (and is a real pain to get on anyway)

 

Yeah but if you drive on bad roads all the time LT's will not be the best choice. If you want the most power and sacrfice a little ground clearance then yes get long tubes. Other wise shorties will not pick up as much HP but you will have no clearance problems. HTH

Joe

 

could not have said it better myself. Get the LT's you won't regret it and if you have a decent stock motor will pick up every bit of 22+ rwhp (I did ). JetHot makes some of the best headers on the market, I have no complaints about them and they are thicker guage than Hookers. $519 to your door with EGR/AIR INJ/02 bung provisions cannot be beat. I'd also recommend FLP if they didn't make a 2-1/2" ypipe, just get your own custom 3" built and a decent catback exhaust.

 

I think his question about being able to pass smog is one that needs to be addressed. People in New Jersey need to chime in on this one, since they'll have experience in dealing with the smog laws in their state.
I would like to go long tube, but I'm not willing to have problems every 2 years at smog time (pluse, my car is lowered). I need a CARB # for my parts, and the SLPs are going to do that for me.

 

I picked up 8rwhp from my FLPs. Thats from completely stock manifolds with the cat intact.

 

IMO shorties... Better than stock, will get some sound improvement, easier to blot up and in... Ya you loose the HP, but you have other things to consider... Sometimes you need to havea car that drives to paint a and b verse flies to a and b...

 

If you are racing and are not concerned with emissions, get long tubes. If you have emission testing and/or visual inspection in your state, get shorties.

If ou don't care what they look like and it doesn't bother you if they rust out in a few years just get them plain. If you want to keep them a long time get them coated.

Shorties picked up a couple of mph in the 1/4 mile, droped my Et a tenth or tqwo, and in conjunction with a Moroso CAI provided a 2 mpg increase at highway speeds.

In other words, headers and cold air were cost effective and performance improving.

 

so none of you guys with obd 2 cars have switched over to the single cat set up?

 

If you are a dual cat car there is a reason. If you have emissions then you can't mess with emissions equipment at all. Most of these inspectors know what's going on and what your came with.

 

I have an '95 A4 with 2.73 and minor mods like homemade CAI, catback, and the free mods. I did a Hooker LT swap last year with mufflex Y pipe and the car didn't pick up squat especially in MPH. Since my car ran 13.8's mostly stock it makes ya wonder. Alot of guys say LT's are the shiznit, well if you have gears+converter it IS the shiznit........but if you are mostly stock like I am they are way overkill. So am I gonna tear them out?? Not yet since I plan on alot of mods.