Robert:
You will not be able to notice any improvement without a stop
watch or a trip to the drag strip. That is not to say that there is not
some decent gains to be had, but the "butt-o-meter" is notoriously
unreliable.
There will be more of a gain for the earlier cars than the later
cars, as the later cars got the European exhaust system in an attempt to
minimize the loss of power from the ever tightening emissions
requirements. Figure 4-5 HP for a GOOD, low restriction muffler (I don't
know if Falcon qualifies. I know that Cyclone Sonic Turbo mufflers and
Dynamax mufflers both qualify). Figure 6-8 HP for a good header. K&N air
filters are good for 2% more power, etc.
As you can see, each change is small but if you make enough
changes they really add up and will make a noticeable change in
performance. The subjective impact of any one change will probably be
slight, if you can tell the difference at all. Also, you will quickly
become accustomed to any performance increase, and so will not be able
to tell if it is "still working".
I modified my car by raising the compression to 9.6:1, a 270
degree cam (vs 256 stock), Pocket ported heads, K&N air filters,
rejetted carbs, and a lightened flywheel. When I got it all back
together, I couldn't tell any difference.
I had my LBC mechanic drive the car, and he said it was very
peppy compared to a stock TR6, but I couldn't tell the difference (not
having driven a stock TR6 in months). My next door neighbor drove it and
said it had "real power", but I still didn't feel that it was any
different. So there you have it. The seat of my pants is apparently
pretty numb.
Vance
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-6pack@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-6pack@autox.team.net] On
Behalf Of Robert Breazeale
Sent: Saturday, June 11, 2005 12:34 PM
To: 6pack
Subject: Header Advice
Listers,
I'm curious if replacing the stock exhaust on a strictly stock engine
(~10K
since rebuild) is really as beneficial as literature, sites, mags, etc
leads
one to believe? Any one done this on a purely stock engine - was there
any
"perceived" HP improvement?
Any advice on a particular header to look at or stay away from, seems
from
some postings there may be some fitting issues? TRF is running a
special on
Falcon right now - though still quite steep.
Also being a bit new to this hobby I've read some posts about early and
later
heads, in particular a "B" head. What is the difference, how do I tell
what
I have?
Thank you for your time, I really enjoy reading all of your posts.
Robert,
'68 TR250
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