Thinking of purchasing MAC shorty headers for my Lt-1. Any postive or negative feedback would be appreciated. Are long tubes really worth the money?!

 

Depending on application, if you drive your car daily alot, then the longtubes are'nt worth it, my old car had them and it was horrible they would drag on almost anything. So midlenths or shorties are just as good really just a little less HP then the hooker's......I plan to go with the MAC 94-95 headers/y-pipe and 94-95 hooker cat back on my car, even though its a 96.......the 94-95 mac system is extrememly cheap for what it is....they are even coated for free, although its HTS(the worst coating available) its better then nothing, and can still be recoated from jet hot.

 

well im just torn on them and the SLP's cuz i do have a limited cash flow, but mostly i am daily driving so i suppose the shortys would be a lot better, i just hope they complement the 3:73's going in on the 16th. why is that coating so bad?

 

Just put them on about 3 weeks ago. They were almost too easy to put in after reading all the complaints people have posted on this message board. Definitely a noticable gain and the sound is awesome (dropped .4 and gained 2mph in 1/4) If you do get them, DO NOT take out the dipstick, you can pull it back just enough to slide them in from the bottom w/ only the starter removed. I definitly recommend them, I got them coated through jet hot for 550 to the door, w/ ypipe coated too.
I recomment them to anyone who doesn't want to worry bout a custom ypipe or a difficult install, both of which are involved w/ longtubes. Mac's are mid's, not shorties, also.

Ryan

 

Just heard alot of complaints about the factory HTS(high temp. silicon) coating from people....no one complains on the headers, just the coating. What people dont understand is that its basically a free coating, so anything is better than nothing. It does work to some degree...but scratches easily on install as well.

 

long tubes will give you more power....mac shorties are a nice lookin set though

 

they are midlengths.....so more hp then then shorties....so its a very very close value vs. driveabilitiy vs. power gains in race with the longtubes.

 

so a good recommondation would be to have them coated?! correct?! but by whom, and how much?

 

jet hot coatings is really the only option.......the have a website w/a bid form but they take like 2+weeks to respond...i would just call them....you can actually get the headers direct from them and coated....pretty cheap.

 

one reason I'd pick the MACs over anything else is for the plug access. Every plug is easily accessible with a plug socket and a 22mm wrench on the socket.

Thanks to my MAC headers, I can change all 8 plugs in about 20 minutes.

 

The plug access alone pays for themselve. If any of you have ever had to change your plugs, then you know what im talking about, if its that easy with the MAC's then they are defenetly worth it.

 

mac is planning on comming out with ceramic coated (in/out) headers. has anyone heard about this. i did a little research and it looks like theree 4 weeks out

 

My friend and I have both had the Macs for over a year and our original HTS coating still looks new. I think the coating is fine for most applications, but it also depends on where you live, etc.
I really like them for both sound and gain for the money,
Brandon

 

really....i live in oklahoma and that would be great if the coating lasted here......no harsh or extreme temps, not to cold in the winter and not to hot in the summer really.

I did a post about this exact topic a while back, about the HTS coating, and not one person said a positive comment about it.......are you sure it has lasted that long for you? Do the headers have any problems burning anything around off....like the LT's have w/the steering sheild..etc..?

 

Nope, we both have been fine heat wise. No burnt wires or problem areas. I just used some caution when installing them to make sure nothing was close and ran the wires over the valve covers for extra clearance, and yeah they do have great plug access. And yes they still look about identical to the day i installed them last July, ive been more than happy with the coating thus far. Hope this helps,
Brandon