BBK Catted H-Pipe (96-04 4.6L Mustang w/ Long Tube Headers)

Video Review & Installation

The Catted H-Pipe is available for any 4.6-liter SN-95 owner who has or is looking to pick up a set of BBK long tubes, and wants a Catted Shorty H-Pipe for some decent power, as well as a deep muscle car growl, all while staying street legal. Now, any mid-pipe pretty much is a very much straightforward bolt-on install, and this is gonna be no different, so expect a one out of three wrenches on our difficulty meter, but I'll talk about that toward the end of the video. First thing I wanna be completely transparent about is this particular H-Pipe from BBK is specifically designed to work only with the BBK long tube headers. Now, the Shorty H-Pipe I have here will not work with factory manifolds, or even aftermarket long tubes that are not of the BBK brand. With that said, those two are made to be a perfect match, like two pieces to a puzzle, so when you do have them paired up together, you will expect a very, very, aggressive sound, as well as a decent gain in power bringing your 4.6-liter to life. The sound an H-Pipe produces is one that you would expect from your Mustang. Now, it gets the name H-Pipe obviously from the crossover pipe here that gives it the shape of an "H." Now, although slightly restrictive here because of that, it will produce the deep muscle car growl that an H-Pipe has. Now, the X-Pipe on the other hand, that BBK offers, does not have that crossover tube, but instead has both sides welded together for the "X" shape, obviously. Now, although that would make it a little more free-flowing, of course, it might add a couple of horsepower, it does also make it a lot raspier and a lot louder. Ultimately, at the end of the day, it really comes down to whether or not you're looking for the deeper tone from an H-Pipe, or the louder, raspier tone from an X-Pipe. As far as power is concerned, BBK lets us know you can expect anywhere from 14 to 22 horsepower when using the Catted H-Pipe in conjunction with your BBK long tubes. Obviously, those are very significant numbers for something that doesn't even require a tune. Now, with a tune in mind, however, it would maximize the performance of your mid-pipes since it is a more impactful mod, but it isn't required, obviously, to do the trick. Materials do have an impact on power and sound as well. Now, this one offers a 2.5 inch aluminized steel with mandrel bends, which does help to maximize the airflow of the H-Pipe. Since it is the Catted version, expect to pre-weld it on catalytic converters. Now, these are high-flow cats, so they are less restrictive than the stock options, but still restrictive, nonetheless. If you're looking to pick up a street legal ride when it comes to this H-Pipe, this is the one you want to go with, but if you're sticking to the track only and just look to maximize the amount of gains, maximize the airflow, and keep it unrestricted, the off-road version is probably the one you want to look at. Speaking of legality, unfortunately, even though this is the Catted version of the H-Pipe, it is not gonna be street legal in emissions-restrictive states, such as California, so you want to keep that in mind moving forward since it does have to be used in conjunction with the long tubes. Any state that is adapting California's laws will be the same case, so you want to make sure you're checking with your local laws and regulations before picking this one up. Now, the Catted version here does add a couple of bucks over the off-road version, so expect it to come in around the $400 mark. So if the guys trying to keep it street legal, and keep the check engine light off, this is the way you wanna go. You just wanna spend a couple extra bucks on the catted version here. Otherwise, you'll be looking at getting a tune to turn the light off, or picking up MIL eliminators to plug into the O2 sensor ports, it's a long hassle, of course, if you're going with the off-road version. So, spending a couple extra bucks, you can avoid those hassles and keep that light off. The installation, as I mentioned earlier, is extremely straightforward for a mid-pipe. Now, you're probably doing this at the same time as the BBK long tubes, which will be a very lengthy install and require a lot of know-how, but the H-Pipe itself, 1 out of 3 wrenches on our difficulty meter, 30 minutes to an hour at the most with a ratchet and socket set. The first thing you want to do, obviously, is get the Mustang in the air, supported on jack stands, or a lift if, you have access to one. Remove the O2 sensors from their ports on the factory mid-pipe to be reinstalled into the BBK option. From there, use your ratchet and socket set to connect the phalanges on one side to the factory over-axle pipes, and then the opposite side will go directly into your long tubes once they're installed. Once everything's torqued down, you can replace the O2 sensors into the new ports, and then you're good to go. Well, that's just about does it for me, so if you're the owner of a '96 to '04 4.6L SN-95 with long tube headers, you might wanna check out the BBK Catted H-Pipe, which is available right here at AmericanMuscle.com.