Installation Time
(approx) a Day
Difficulty Level:
Mechanical expertise or professional installation required.
Installation Guides
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Jake here for American Muscle, and in this video, I'm taking a look at the BBK 1-5/8-inch Tuned Length Shorty Headers in Polished Silver Ceramic, fitting 2011 to 2017 Mustang V6s. Why let the V8 owners have all the fun, right? The 3.7 Cyclone V6 makes great power out of the factory, and it certainly has the potential for more, with the right type of mods. And headers are one mod that can certainly help in that department. Enter the BBK shorties that we have here. These are great for the V6 Mustang owner who's looking to increase their car's power output, and change up the exhaust sound, for one of the best prices in the category.By now, you've probably heard the long tube versus short tube header debate enough times to make your head spin. If you haven't, though, the quick version of the tale is that long tubes give you higher peak horsepower and torque numbers overall, and they make that power higher in the rev range. Whereas short tubes, or shorties, like we have here, make a little bit less overall power, but their gains show up lower down in the rev range. They also, as in the case as these ones from BBK, don't require you to do additional mods, or tune your car, in most cases. Now, these are gonna do a couple of things for you. One of which is change up the sound. Now, that's not to say that they're gonna make your V6 sound like a V8, so don't expect that. But what you should expect is something pretty cool. It's a much smoother, deeper tone down low, much more pronounced race-car type of wail, as you rev the engine all the way out. Again, I think it's a really cool sound, and it fits the character of the 3.7 quite well, in my book. Now, your results may vary, depending on which exhaust you have on your car, whether you're running stock or something else. But since these are shorty headers, these are gonna keep your factory catalytic converter location, meaning that you can run these with an otherwise completely stock exhaust system. They'll also work with any other aftermarket cat-back system, for that matter. So, if you are still shopping for an exhaust, or you've got one on there, these are gonna make whatever sound profile that system comes with a bit deeper, a little bit louder, and just generally more pronounced.Now, the other reason you're gonna want these is what we touched on earlier, and that is power. BBK claims between 10 and 15 horsepower, and between 10 and 15 pound-feet of torque increase at the wheels. Though, again, your results may vary, depending on what else you have done to your car. Now, that is thanks to the fact that these are way less restrictive than your factory manifolds. Those basically shove all the exhaust gases into small ports, and then immediately funnel those gases out into the collector, through the cats, and the rest of the exhaust. BBK has done what they call a tuned-length setup here, basically meaning that they've made these primaries in such a way that the exhaust gases travel a specific length, to smooth out the sound and flow, before everything hits the collector down here. Now, you can see that best represented in this big crossover pipe from the rearmost part. Now, these aren't quite equal-length headers, but they are close. Same is true when you compare power figures to the equivalent long tubes. These don't make quite as much power, but it is close. Again, these are gonna help your engine breathe better, especially down lower in the rev range. So they're great for a car that you drive regularly on the street as well, and they'll give you some bigger increases as you get up through the power band too, making it one that's gonna work well for you whether you're doing track or street driving.Construction here is all 1-5/8-inch mandrel-bent mild steel, and they come right out of the box exactly as you see them here on the table. These ones in particular are finished with this nice, polished silver ceramic coating. That's right. These might look like regular chrome, but they're actually ceramic-coated. Now, that coating not only looks cool, but it means that these headers are gonna be very durable, and they're not gonna corrode or rust, like stock manifolds or plain headers would. This means that they're gonna last you a lot longer, and they won't discolor either, so they're gonna keep this nice, almost chrome-like finish for the life of them. That ceramic coating also helps keep under-hood temperatures low, which is good. Less heat is better. Another great thing that BBK does is pressure-test every set of headers, to ensure that they don't leak, so you can just bolt these guys right on and enjoy. And, as you can see, they come with new gaskets and new bolts, so you don't have to buy any additional supplies in order to get them fitted. Just gotta get yours off, but we'll talk more about that in a moment.Pricing comes in at about $550, which makes them about the most affordable option in the category. Now, you don't have a ton of choices for headers with the 3.7 cars, but these are gonna get the job done, without requiring you to spend four figures on headers, or other modifications to go with them.Installation is where it gets a little tricky with these. We're gonna give these a 3 out of 3 on our difficulty meter, and you should plan on setting aside a full day for this job. Now, doing headers is not for the faint of heart. It's gonna test the mettle of your toolbox and your mechanical skills. There's not a whole lot of room to get these done, even on a V6, so plan on spending some time with it. It is a job that you can accomplish at home, again, given the right mix of patience, time, and perhaps the encouragement and assistance of a friend. So, just before diving in with both feet here, make sure you're aware of what it's gonna take.That's gonna wrap it up here for our review of the BBK 1-5/8-inch Tuned Length Shorty Headers in Polished Silver Ceramic, fitting 2011 to 2017 Mustang V6s. Thanks so much for watching, and as always, for all things Mustang, be sure to keep it right here at americanmuscle.com.
Features, Description, Reviews, Q&A, Specs & Installation
Brand | BBK |
Header Type | Shorty Headers |
Header Primary Size | 1.50-1.75 Inch |
Header Collector Size | Stock Replacement |
Header Finish | Ceramic Coated |
Technical Notes. These BBK Shorty Headers are CARB certified (CARB EO Number: D-245-16) and 50 state legal.
Fitment:
BBK 14420
CA Residents: WARNING: Cancer and Reproductive Harm - www.P65Warnings.ca.gov
Installation Info
Installation Time
(approx) a Day
Difficulty Level:
Mechanical expertise or professional installation required.
Installation Guides
What's in the Box
Tech Guides:
10 More Questions