Hayn4R said:
Great things happening here!
This is a breath of fresh air. I was starting to get down on myself because 4R accessories are few and far between =(
What is the advantage/disadvantage of long vs. short headers?
Short tubes installed on the 4R will in the end make more low end power whereas the long tubes will create more overall power and allow the engine to respond better to future mods, the bigger the better (ie, supercharger

). Most people will point to the dyno charts and say that you loose a bit of low end with the long tubes vs. the stock or shorties. True, but all T4R's are autos and when I stomp on mine it immediately jumps to about 2K rpm because of the torque convertor's ability to stall. When I have my traction control disabled and stomp on it from a stop, the wheels immediately break traction, and I'm serious about this, the tach jumps pretty quick to redline. The engine definitely breathes easier and revs up quicker. On the highway I've noticed that there's no ill effects and the fact that when driving 65-75 mph, you're pretty much in the sweet spot of the power range.
Why did you choose to do the headers separately than the exhaust? Why not do both one time?
Quite simply it's money and budgeting. I'm a new homeowner, new bills that go with it (such as that lovely utility bill), costs of fixing it up/making my own, the new car payment of the 4R, etc. I was originally going to go with the #1 most popular performance mod that everyone does: The Cold Air Intake. I had placed an order for one on the web, but the site later sent me an email that it wouldn't take my card do to a discrepency in my CC billing address (remember the new house part?). So I canceled my order and was going to reorder when I had that straightened out. I was talking to a buddy of mine (a big muscle car gearhead) about mods that I want to do, and suggested I try out the header route. If anything, it would do more for me than the CAI. I was really interested in seeing if the Thorley's would truly fit and figured that it would be the most expensive thing that I would end up buying, save a supercharger, so I told myself to just go for the gusto and get that done first. As funny money comes around again I'll finish up the exhaust with a nice Y-pipe and cat back section. Plus it would be much easier this way than the exhaust being installed followed by headers
I had a 1979 Bronco 351W and I installed hooker header/flowmaster 40 series combo and OMG....do I miss those days. They worked so well together.
I had a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the 4.7 V8 that I had straight piped from the Y-pipe back. Being a SOHC, the motor would actually rev pretty quick and fast (manually shifting it, it would go 6800 before cut off if I remember right). At full song it would start to sound like a NASCAR motor at speed. Even with the precats still on the downpipes, it sounded as loud as my buddy's built supercharged 360 (headers, Hughe's 2.02 ported heads w/RR, M1 Intake, etc., you get it...). I feel you man, as much as I needed to get rid of it, I miss how obnoxious and fun it was.
Why are you going with TRD exhaust? Just curious.
Seems to be a nice all around exhaust. After my Jeep, I don't want to quite go down that road again. Just some more volume and tone to it. Just bolt it up on the driveway one day and not go down to a shop and explain what I want and wait for them to piece me up a system.
Overall, what kinds of things are you experiencing, sound, torque, gas?
1. Sound is a bit throatier. Hard to explain since the stock exhaust and intake are still on. Imagine a 350Z/G35 Coupe and the way they sound, something like that. You can also feel the VVT-i kick in more noticeably as well (think Honda VTEC).
2. Highway pulling power is definitely improved. You can roll on the gas and the truck accelerates like a 250HP car would; you'll be doing 90+ before you know it. The downside is when driving around town and the tranny locks up and lugs the engine around 40mph. The T.C. will unlock or tranny downshifts a little sooner than before, but hasn't been much of an issue for me.
3. Gas mpg has shown some improvement. The engine is breathing easier, it's therefore running more efficientyly, thus using less gas. A lot of my driving is commuting about 70 miles a day on the highway, so it has helped my mileage. My only problem is I'm more inclined to give it more stick when I'm driving around, but I didn't buy these things for mileage improvements. That would take me awhile to recoup my gas savings.
Thanks!