mid length vs full length.

[keithq69]

I have an LS2 I building for my 69 Camaro. I'm not building it for high RPM with a big cam. I'm going with a decent size cam that should make good torque and mid range power.
I have CNC ported LS3 heads and an unported LS3 intake.
It's mainly a street car, with maybe 10 lapping days a year.
Does anyone have any real info on the difference between mid length and full length.
My main concern with the full length is ground clearance. They always hang down a little below the frame rails.

[69cutlassrkt]

From what I have read you will get the most out of full length headers. Horsepower tv also did an episode on this, they may have used tri y headers too. Mine has full length headers and lots of torque. The cam is probably more important in determining how your torque curve is anyway. I would just search or check in that other thread for which headers have ground clearance.

[Todd in Vancouver]

In my humble opinion I think you really have to look at what you plan on using the car for. If it is going to spend the majority of its life on the street and you just want to have some fun with it on the occasional weekend than go with the ones that give you the best ground clearance and will have the fewest hassles and maintenance required. If though, you are a competitive type who is really going to demand the most out of your car when you do race, then get the parts that are going to satisfy that need. Realizing that there is a trade-off there.

When I was working in the speed shop I would see so many guys coming in wanting the parts that gave them the most power or an advantage over their buddies car and they were also the first ones to come crying when they ripped half their exhaust off on a speed bump when they drove to the grocery store. The only person that the car has to satisfy is you so think what you want from the car and your expectations and then buy accordingly. Scope creep gets the best of all of us and we sometimes need to take a step back and remember what we really want from the car and how we intend to use it.

[CFster]

S&P mid length here. Love the clearance.

[keithq69]

Thanks guys.
Going to look for the HPtv episode.
I took some measurements under the car today. I have 3.875" from the floor to the bottom of the frame. I plan on running a shorter subframe mount so I'll probably lose another 1/2", leaving me with 3.375".
If I run the mid length and give myself 3/8" clearance to the floor I will be level with the bottom of the frame with the main 3" exhaust.
If I run the long tube 1 7/8" headers the best I can hope for is 3/4" below the bottom of the frame rail.
I'm really leaning towards the the mid length because I think the difference in power is probably in the single digits.
The mids will allow me to run a lower ride height which will make the car handle better and I'm thinking it will be of more benefit than the extra few HP.

Sorry that's a little lengthy, am I on the right track with the power difference?

[srh3trinity]

Unless you are building a car that is going to be running within tenths of a second of other cars, I am not sure you would notice the difference. I have a set of LT Dynatechs and depending on clearance, I would probably try to find a nice mid if it kept me from scraping.

[TheJDMan]

Unless you are building a car that is going to be running within tenths of a second of other cars, I am not sure you would notice the difference. I have a set of LT Dynatechs and depending on clearance, I would probably try to find a nice mid if it kept me from scraping.

I agree! I made the mistake of going with full length headers and I ended up with about 2.5" of clearance under the collectors. I should have gone with mid-length headers and I knew it at the time. The performance difference is minimal and like has been said unless you are full out racing and looking for every 10th you will not notice a performance difference.

[keithq69]

Thanks guys.
I've made up my mind. I'm going to run the mid length header. I need the ground clearance.
Looking at the Hedman Husler mid length.