Barry Oliver <barrysuperhawk@insightbb.com> wrote:
> IIRC, most headers are more for HP than torque, but I *want* the grunt
> torque down low. Any suggestions on where to go with this? I don't
> mind upgrading when something breaks, but I am wary of unintended
> consequences...
I think that just about any set of headers will give you some
gains in HP and torque over the stock exhaust manifolds (unless they
are a really crappy set of headers), but yes, you're right there is a
lot of variability here and and the design will dictate what it is
going to give you as far as HP and torque goes, and where on the
powerband it will benefit you the most. In a long tube style header,
the length of the pipes is important, etc. but to some degree, all
street headers are a compromise due to external factors such as
packaging issues. Sometimes there just isn't enough room to make the
theory fit the application.
Based on what little I remember about designing/selecting a set of
headers, if you are looking to maintain torque, a tri-y design would
probably be the way to go. (Tri-y headers are also the best
compromise for good power improvements within the constraints of a
tight engine bay that might not allow you to run equal length tubes of
the necessary length to match your powerband.) Back in Ye Olde Days
on the DML, the Doug Thorley and Mopar Performance headers for the
Dakota were a popular choice. (They were actually one and the same,
since Doug Thorley manufactured the headers for Mopar Performance.)
Anyway, that design was a Tri-y. I don't know if they are still
manufactured though. If not, you might be able to pick up a set on
e-bay. (You would want to consider fitment differences between GenII
and GenIII (if any), when going that route obviously.
I've got some books around here somewhere with all of this header
theory in them, maybe I'll see if I can dig them up and refresh my
memory if you want any details regarding the theory; unfortunately I'm
not going to be of much help with the applications, since I'm not sure
what manufacturers are making GenIII headers right now. I'm sure some
other DMLers can be of assistance there though.
--
-Jon-
.- Jon Steiger -- jon@dakota-truck.net or jon@jonsteiger.com -.
| '96 Kolb Firefly, '96 Suzuki Intruder, Miscellaneous Mopars |
`-------------------------------- http://www.jonsteiger.com --'
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 01 2007 - 09:06:10 EDT