Do you want a legit answer or feel good answer here? You’re gonna get all kinds of responses with opinions. But here is mine for what it is worth.
Dyno’s don’t lie. LT over Shorty all day any day.
Brands, there are all kinds of great ones to go with but the two I’d recommend, my opinion here, is Kooks (I run them on the HC and Durango RT) with their green catted (same cell count as our current cats to avoid check engine lights) mid pipes and then there is ARH.
I run AFE twisted steel series on my Ram as a test (I also got a free install with them). It’s their full system too, front to back. It did make a difference on the dyno but no nearly as much as the Kooks did on the Durango RT.
@Thomas I know long tubes flow better but was curious if anyone was running shortys for a specific reason. I’m looking for some more power but don’t need to have a loud ass truck with tons of drone inside. Just something mild and I’m happy lol. I did look at the hooker and pace setter but not the kooks
If you want a crisp sound that is loud at WOT and smooth at idle/driving then Kooks and mid pipes with green cats and Corsa Extreme system. This is what I run on both the Durango RT and Challenger HC.
If you don’t want to spend that type of money, you do get what you pay for, then the AFE Twisted Steel series is worthy of a look and then slap on your choice of cat back system.
LT’s always make more power – but they typically cost more. The question becomes, what are your intentions? If you are going to race, then LT’s make the most sense. I went with shorties for price/convenience as I have no plans to race my truck.
@Darwin Ahh, Yeh. I looked into LT’s before going this route but it was going to be substantially more costly and in the end I really just wanted to fix the broken bolts. The shorties bolted directly in with no need for further exhaust work.
I just ordered shorties for the exact same reason, trying to fix the leaking Manifold issue. Long tubes would have been preferred but wasn’t planning on dropping that kind of money at the moment.
@SalandLaurena I saw a YouTube video from hellram and the primary’s to the manifold looked like garbage, but he did buy his off eBay. Idk if they were knock offs or not
@Darwin Yes on the sensors and as for the flanges not to my knowledge because They were year make and model specifically ordered and flange size specific. And I had them installed.
@Darwin it depends on where you go. The only issue with ram headers is the bolts snap off sometimes and need to have a nut welded to the remaining stud in order to back them out of the head
I have an 04 with Dynatech long tubes and high flow cats and an aftermarket exhaust …. makes good power and nice sound
I have a cel for cat efficiency codes so keep in mind you may have to find a few tricks to get rid of it….. I have been trying the fouler mod to get rid of it but haven’t tried changing the spark plug foulers to another size.
I used to have lean codes but not it’s just efficiency codes and the codes go away when I tow so I am probably really close to nailing it so the codes go away just need to take the time to get another sized fouler to see if it changes the cel.
Do you want a legit answer or feel good answer here? You’re gonna get all kinds of responses with opinions. But here is mine for what it is worth.
Dyno’s don’t lie. LT over Shorty all day any day.
Brands, there are all kinds of great ones to go with but the two I’d recommend, my opinion here, is Kooks (I run them on the HC and Durango RT) with their green catted (same cell count as our current cats to avoid check engine lights) mid pipes and then there is ARH.
I run AFE twisted steel series on my Ram as a test (I also got a free install with them). It’s their full system too, front to back. It did make a difference on the dyno but no nearly as much as the Kooks did on the Durango RT.
@Thomas I know long tubes flow better but was curious if anyone was running shortys for a specific reason. I’m looking for some more power but don’t need to have a loud ass truck with tons of drone inside. Just something mild and I’m happy lol. I did look at the hooker and pace setter but not the kooks
If you want a crisp sound that is loud at WOT and smooth at idle/driving then Kooks and mid pipes with green cats and Corsa Extreme system. This is what I run on both the Durango RT and Challenger HC.
If you don’t want to spend that type of money, you do get what you pay for, then the AFE Twisted Steel series is worthy of a look and then slap on your choice of cat back system.
LT’s always make more power – but they typically cost more. The question becomes, what are your intentions? If you are going to race, then LT’s make the most sense. I went with shorties for price/convenience as I have no plans to race my truck.
@Chris basically same boat as me just looking for some more performance and some good sound. How big of an ass ache was the install?
@Darwin Ahh, Yeh. I looked into LT’s before going this route but it was going to be substantially more costly and in the end I really just wanted to fix the broken bolts. The shorties bolted directly in with no need for further exhaust work.
I just ordered shorties for the exact same reason, trying to fix the leaking Manifold issue. Long tubes would have been preferred but wasn’t planning on dropping that kind of money at the moment.
Shorty’s if you just want to avoid the broken bolts down the road but don’t care about tuning/performance for your truck as a daily.
JBA headers
@SalandLaurena I saw a YouTube video from hellram and the primary’s to the manifold looked like garbage, but he did buy his off eBay. Idk if they were knock offs or not
I’m very happy with my American Racing Headers long tubes!
@Erik that sounds really nice, those use factory O2 sensors? And did you have to fab up new flanges to connect to the existing exhaust
@Darwin Yes on the sensors and as for the flanges not to my knowledge because They were year make and model specifically ordered and flange size specific. And I had them installed.
Truthfully shorty all day long. I install them daily both types and for all around headers 100% shorty. For racing an strictly racing long tube
@Michael what is the cost of install in your area, just wondering otherwise I can do it myself
@Darwin it depends on where you go. The only issue with ram headers is the bolts snap off sometimes and need to have a nut welded to the remaining stud in order to back them out of the head
I have an 04 with Dynatech long tubes and high flow cats and an aftermarket exhaust …. makes good power and nice sound
I have a cel for cat efficiency codes so keep in mind you may have to find a few tricks to get rid of it….. I have been trying the fouler mod to get rid of it but haven’t tried changing the spark plug foulers to another size.
I used to have lean codes but not it’s just efficiency codes and the codes go away when I tow so I am probably really close to nailing it so the codes go away just need to take the time to get another sized fouler to see if it changes the cel.