Cams vs LT headers

Guys I'm in a pickle. I'm trying to decide what would be better to do first. Cams or headers. Some of my friends say headers would be better then others say cams would help allot more. Give me so
E input on what would be for the better

both....

can you install both of them yourself?

headers will give you 15-20 hp depending on what brand you go with. they will also make your car louder, but if you've made your car sound the way you like it could completely mess up the sound and you'll need to change other things to get the sound back to a tolerable level.

comp nsr cams are drop in no tune required and will give you 30 hp +/- and can give you a slight sound of a cammed car.

comp spr cams of course require springs, phase limiters, and a tune. they are still very much doable on your own if you know how to turn a wrench and can read the book and follow directions. these will give you an absolute sound of a cammed car. if you do the install yourself you can probably figure these will run you about the same as a set of headers and a midpipe only you'll get much more hp out of the cams. probably around 40 +/- with spr stage 2's

imo i wouldn't even bother with getting the vsr cams. if you are going through all the trouble of changing springs you might as well get the better cam and add the phase limiters while you're in there.


either way you look at it cams are cheaper if going with just the nsr drop in cams and give you more hp than headers. unless you can find your headers used for a few hundred bucks.

now if you are looking for a loappy cam you can get thumpers or frpp also has a cam. comp cams are cheaper than frpp though. the loappy cams don't give you as much power gains though.

Headers are the last thing I would do, that is if your going to try to get every last bit of hp or maybe or drag race alot. They are just not worth the headache, money, or install pita issues. I hated long tubes on my old cobra, just a pain anytime I work on the car, always in the way and always leaked. Got to watch going over bumps so they won't bottom out and crap like that.

Cams would be my reccomendation. I have nothing to back it up.

I agree completely with Bobs assessment.

Cams will give you more HP. The FRPP and Thumprr cams will give you a nice stumble but sacrifice performance for that nice sound. (IMO I want the sound hehe)

Now if you ever plan on supercharging the car, that will play a role in the cams you choose. If you go with a very radical cam...you might experience "overlap" which can play havic with tuning and boost levels being put out. Basically the car wont do what you want to effectively do.

They do make blower cams specifically for blower applications so keep that in mind.

if your looking for a few poinies and sound...the Long tubes are a good mix. they are a PITA (pain in the ass) to install but arent as bad if you lift the motor a few inches.

What I would do is save that money you were going to spend on cams or an exhaust system and put it towards the purchase of a supercharger!! Overall best bang for your buck

i bought the comp spr stage 2 cams and even though they aren't blower specific cams i will be able to use them when i eventually do get a blower. just can't use them in the higher boost applications (15+ psi). these will absolutely give me an obvious sound of a cammed car, but won't have the old school sound some are looking for. i'd rather have performance over sound anyday though. when you're behind me sounding a little better you can listen to my cams as i pass you. ;)

I would go with cams. They just sound crazy.

Ok.. I will play devils advocate here. I would do the Long Tubes for one simple reason. It will get the most out of all the rest of your mods. If the exhaust is restricing any at all it will take a precentage off the gains of each mod. Lets say cams on a car without exhaust are worth 20hp. If you put those same cams on a car that has LT's it might gain 25hp. No other changes. The car with the LT's is going to be more efficient and take better advantage of the other mods. A internal combustion engine is just a air pump. Air in air out. If the out is restricted it doesnt matter what you try to put in short of forced induction. You wont get as much out of it as you would by eleminating the restriction. Its hot rodding 101.

Yea brent but were talking about Hot Rodding 201...wrong class.

I agree... brent is correct but either way would be good

thought it was hot rodding 101.2.1

Personally, I'd do one cam and one Long tube. As long as they are on the same side, you'll be fine.

That's ridiculous, Paul - it would throw off the weight balance! Need to do cam on one side and LT on the other to keep engine weight properly balanced.

From what I have read...our exhaust is pretty efficient as it is. Thus the gains sometimes dont justify the cost, unless your looking for every last bit of power.

I still say save for a supercharger and forget both the cams and exhaust for now......You will thank me

Cams are good for some HP but without head work you really dont take advantage of the cams and their purpose. Longtubes are nice but can get expensive for minimal upfront gains and are farther down on the pecking order for myself.

Like others have said....an engine is intake and exhaust. Our exhaust flows more efficiently than previous generations....so I say throw on a blower and have at it!! then do the long tubes when your looking to increase power without adding more boost to the mix

Grabber07' wrote:From what I have read...our exhaust is pretty efficient as it is. Thus the gains sometimes dont justify the cost, unless your looking for every last bit of power.

I still say save for a supercharger and forget both the cams and exhaust for now......You will thank me

Cams are good for some HP but without head work you really dont take advantage of the cams and their purpose. Longtubes are nice but can get expensive for minimal upfront gains and are farther down on the pecking order for myself.

Like others have said....an engine is intake and exhaust. Our exhaust flows more efficiently than previous generations....so I say throw on a blower and have at it!! then do the long tubes when your looking to increase power without adding more boost to the mix

JRod.... please rephrase the "our is exhaust is pretty efficient as it is".... I will have to disagree with you.... First hand experence..... Ford Exhaust ----> <------ Me

2006GT wrote:Personally, I'd do one cam and one Long tube. As long as they are on the same side, you'll be fine.

nice paul...

oh yeah and I asked him.... he said not the ability... but full of B.S.

Worth a shot

2006GT wrote:Personally, I'd do one cam and one Long tube. As long as they are on the same side, you'll be fine.

And you get to tune it

Cams would be better from what I have seen. If it was an older generation stang I would go with headers un cork that thing but the S197's is probably the best factory exhaust ford has made. If it was a FOX I would do both but that my 2 cents

our stock exhaust is efficient compared to mustangs of the past. thus the reason you can really gain nothing from shorty headers. when adding shorty's to any other mustang you would see real gains, but our stock manifolds are actually designed very well. the problem with ours or any shorty manifold isn't that they don't flow well it's that they don't have the scavenging effects that lt's have. thus you are however able to see gains with lt's.