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Original Message
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| RE: FPA headers Vs. Hooker super comps |
| By salid - 03/26/2003 7:40:23 PM; IP 24.116.146.86 |
| If you are after the absolute highest hp you can get, you probably want the Hookers. But you really need to ask yourself two questions. 1. How much more power will I really get? and 2. Do I really want to turn my 34 year old engine above 5700 rpm to get that power? I used to show folks how fast my car (68 Shelby 500KR) would go and run it till the valves started to float at about 6800 rpm (about 150 to 155 mph, I think). It would do it with no hesitation (with Hookers), but it turns out that it's not a very good idea. I don't really think you will be able to tell the difference between the two headers up to 5500 rpm, except that the FPAs will give better torque at low to mid rpm range. One more question you might want to ask yourself is "What do I plan to do with this car?" If I was building a drag car, I would go with the Hookers, get a cam, valve train, intake and headers and lower weight rotating parts (probably with a new crank) that would let me comfortably wind to 6500 rpm and a drive train and suspension that would let me hook it to the ground. Man that sounds like fun. If I'm building a street car, I'll use the FPAs with more modest improvements in the breathing area. I'll get plenty of power without having to upgrade all the other pieces. I took my car up to Spokane and ran on the track up there last summer. My brother-in-law rented the track, so 8 of us had the track to ourselves. I promised myself that I would not wind it higher than 5500 rpm (about 130 mph, that's actually pretty fast), and I pretty much kept to that limit. It will go to 5500 rpm with no hesitation at all. I have had both headers on this car. When I detailed my engine compartment, I took off the Hookers and went back to the cast iron, cuz I thought I wanted it to look stock. When I compared the Grin-o-meter results as I looked at the cast iron manifolds to the Grin-o-meter results as I accelerated using headers, I decided it was time to go back to headers. For those of you who have never used a Grin-o-meter, it is a highly technical device that explains why we suddenly reach for our wallets when looking at a new set of headers or why in extreme cases when we look at something we REALLY need, we tend to begin to droll and the dollar bills begin to fly out of our pockets. I do not regret choosing the FPAs at all, I'm really happy with them. |
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