Borla tells it like it is - Shorty Headers

[BSPOT]

Guys this really should give you all some prespective on shorties for our cars. I e-mailed Chris at Borla, he's always been a straight shooter with when it comes to performance ideas and spending money instead of wasting money. I initially e-mailed him for a dyno chart for the shorties - this is what followed

Nick;

Thank you for taking the time to contact us. The shorty headers for the 2010 Camaro make only a few hp more than the stock manifolds. They look much better and are much lighter though. If you have any other questions please let us know.

Thanks,
Chris Mann
ChrisM@Borla.com
805-986-8600 ext 270
701 Arcturus Ave.
Oxnard, Ca 93033


Chris,
I always appreciate the honest answers I get from you guys. Do you know if the slight additional hp and weight reduction would result in any real noticable performance gain? Also, has any other manufacturer come up with a shorty design to generate power? Or for 700 dollars am I better off looking at another mod?

No problem! Honestly if it was my car I would go with long tubes, full exhaust, good air box and have the car tuned. Most cars will lay almost 50 rwhp more with these simple bolt ons.

Chris Mann
ChrisM@Borla.com
805-986-8600 ext 270
701 Arcturus Ave.
Oxnard, Ca 93033

There it is guys - from one of the most trusted names in automotive performance period. Like them or hate them - gotta respect their honestly

[SweetSandMan]

Very good info. I wonder how much lighter a good set of shortys is than the stock cast manifolds..?? Since they don't do much for actual horsepower...at least they might be saving a decent amount of weight??

[topgun1]

On the other hand, Doug Thorley's site basically shows no real difference in the gains between their shorty headers and their long tubes. perhaps the Borla's only make a few hp. Not sure.

Baseline V8 at 359.12 RWHP
346.98 RWTQ

V8 with shorties 377.54 RWHP (increase of 18.42 over stock)
381.66 RWTQ (increase of 34.68 over stock)

V8 with LT's 378.23 RWHP (increase of 19.11 over stock)
379.51 RWTQ (increase of 32.53 over stock)


Never know what to believe. I'll get info on one thing and elsewhere the exact opposite is stated.

[SweetSandMan]

^^Hmmm that's some equally good info.

Maybe Borla just wants you to spend the extra 500+ dollars?

[GTAHVIT]

In general I would agree with Chris from Borla.

I met him and he's knowledgeable and honest no doubt about it.

On the LS3, typically there is little real gain from shorties alone....

I think it really depends on the goals you have for your car. If you are going to chase down bigger HP numbers I would not get shorties. they will be maxed out pretty quickly.

If you plan on approaching the 450 RWHP mark then you will need the long tubes to get there IMO.

But the shorties do also give you a meaner exhaust note than the stock manifolds.. That counts for something...

[MoranoRacing]

Note, that shorty headers perform better low end of the rpm range then long tube headers, however long tube headers make up that power at higher rpms.

[GTAHVIT]

Originally Posted by ************

Note, that shorty headers perform better low end of the rpm range then long tube headers, however long tube headers make up that power at higher rpms.

I didn't know that.... Do LT respond better to additional mods or can Shorties also get the same bump from supporting mods.???

[topgun1]

I'd be curious to know this too!

[Milk 1027]

Only reason I will go with Shorties is because of CARB laws. If it were up to me I'd go with ARH LT's

[Iron Lung Jimmy]

Originally Posted by ************

Note, that shorty headers perform better low end of the rpm range then long tube headers, however long tube headers make up that power at higher rpms.

I'd like to see dyno graphs of some pulls with shorties that didn't make any more HP than the stock manifolds... because even with no gain in peak HP/torque if they increased low end power I'd be all over them.

[2010 SSRS]

Love my Longtubes

[2010 4 DW]

I had the JBA 1 3/4 Shorties and I did only gain 7rwhp peak. In the mid-range is where we saw 15-17rwhp and then it started to decrease as the rpm raised. I bet if I would have added the JBA mid-pipes I would have gained additional HP but my goals are heads and cam after summer and long tubes are the way to go for that.

Most only look at peak gains and you have to look at the complete dyno graph as mid-range power is great for street cars.

I now have JBA 1 7/8" Long tubes with 3" mids and the power pulls all the way to redline.

DW

[v6sonoma]

Edelbrock states there shorties give you 8-10 hp I tend to agree that's what you'll get. From most shorties. I think thats a decent amount. We all would love to have Long Tubes and tune the $hit out of our engines but that is not an option to some of us. So if they make any power at all then they are worth it to us.

[JS]

A short header design will NOT make more TQ down low over a good longtube and they surely wont make more peak..

This Borla guy is being honest and I think thats great