Hooker vs BBK Shorty header discussion

[davekro]

Until icarumba did an excellent job of documenting the loan of his car to Holley for developement of S550 V6 exhaust products for their Hooker/Blackheart line, I was not aware of their headers for our V6.

Many on the forum have added BBK shorties and some BBK long tubes to their V6's. Does anyone besides icarumba (just installed by Holley last month) have first hand knowledge of the Hooker/Blackheart headers?

The tube configuration of the two are pretty different. Specifically, BBK chose the rear cylinder to have the long forward then back path to the collector, whereas Hooker's back tube path is shortest going directly from the port to the collector.

A big plus for Hooker, is that they are in the process of posting dyno charts as well as sound videos for various configurations of their header/ catback/ axle back/ w/ & w/o mufflers. Some have been posted on icarumba's thread here:
http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34924&page=10

JT at Holley promises more sound videos to be posted to their website, dyno charts AND even an interior video to confirm his statement that their axle back w/ mufflers has NO drone. The video will be done when icarumba gets his Rudy Red V6 convertible back to JT to get the AB's installed sometime this month. (they installed and sent him home with the shorty headers last month! THAT is a video I anxiously await!

Link to Hooker Shorties:
https://www.holley.com/products/exh...xhaust/mustang/v6_mustang/parts/70303302-RHKR

Update: Thanks to Russian for his BBK pics from his build thread!

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[Pintoracer]

Can't wait for the videos. I took a leap of faith and ordered the axlebacks with mufflers. I may add the headers next year.

 

[davekro]

Can't wait for the videos. I took a leap of faith and ordered the axlebacks with mufflers. I may add the headers next year.

Glad to hear it. When do you anticipate receipt? Will you install them yourself or have a shop do it? They 'appear' to have more clearance to reach the mounting bolts than the PIA to install BBK's.
We all expect a full report!

 

[fordguys550]

seems to me the bbk are more of a equal length type. id be interested to see some comparisons between the two but the price on the hookers is a issue for me

 

[Pintoracer]

[MENTION=13254]davekro[/MENTION] I emailed J.T. at Holley to get an estimate on possible shipping. He told me they should ship sometime this month. I will do the install myself. I will let y'all know how it goes. I'm not getting the headers yet, so I can't really say how easy or difficult their install will be. But, from the pictures I've seen, the Hooker shortys look much easier to work with than the BBK's. I will do my best to post up some video.

 

[Metaflame]

[MENTION=13254]davekro[/MENTION] I emailed J.T. at Holley to get an estimate on possible shipping. He told me they should ship sometime this month. I will do the install myself. I will let y'all know how it goes. I'm not getting the headers yet, so I can't really say how easy or difficult their install will be. But, from the pictures I've seen, the Hooker shortys look much easier to work with than the BBK's. I will do my best to post up some video.

I think the BBK design is very good and hey offer the ceramic coated, my mechanic is installing it since he is putting a new engine in it and when i saw how rusted the OEM got in a few months, it was a no brainer to get the ceramic coated. I will post a video once I get the car back.

I have roush exhaust intake and bbk headers at this point.

 

[fordguys550]

you had to get a new motor already????? what happened?

 

[Metaflame]

you had to get a new motor already????? what happened?

Yea man, engine blown at 13k miles, i did not have the car for the last 55 days. Ford tried to give me trouble for having CAI and exhaust but they changed it under warranty, first ordered a short block, then they found out they cant use it since there is metal throughout the engine. They are currently putting a long block in.

They tried to give me problem about intake and exhaust initially but now they are putting the headers, oil catch can and steeda clutch line for free lol.

 

[Pintoracer]

I think the BBK design is very good and hey offer the ceramic coated, my mechanic is installing it since he is putting a new engine in it and when i saw how rusted the OEM got in a few months, it was a no brainer to get the ceramic coated. I will post a video once I get the car back.

I have roush exhaust intake and bbk headers at this point.

I'm sure they're both great designs. But, for the do it yourself guys, the Hookers look like they'll be easier to work with during an install. I don't think an experienced and proficient tech would have trouble with either brand on install. Especially with the engine out of the car.

Good luck with getting it back on the road with the new engine.

 

[fordguys550]

did they give a reason for why it blew so early? were you easy on it, or beat on it a lot or??? that's just weird. did it throw a rod bearing, or???

 

[Metaflame]

did they give a reason for why it blew so early? were you easy on it, or beat on it a lot or??? that's just weird. did it throw a rod bearing, or???

To this day I have not completely understood and they never said anything. It is a rod bearing that was spun and destroyed in the engine.

I think the car was taken on harsh tests without being heated up or something, I think it was a loose head gasket that sludged the engine and all the other shit.

It started knocking, within 3-4 days it became undrivable.

I think my case was unique, overall i think this engine is very dependable. from day 1 I suspected the engine being a little off, it would almost shut down on redlights and a lingering problem with the intake manifold.

I like he bbk beter because each pipe extends to a certain degree so they meet at same place with enough independent pipe of their own in each clynder. I think if you are spending that much, it is worth to get something ceramic sprayed so it pushes heat better.

 

[six_shooter]

The BBK are supposedly a huge PITA to install, interested to see if the Hooker shorties are easy or not. Also the fact that they are stainless and don't have a ridiculous emblem on them like the BBks gives them the advantage in my book.

 

[Metaflame]

The BBK are supposedly a huge PITA to install, interested to see if the Hooker shorties are easy or not. Also the fact that they are stainless and don't have a ridiculous emblem on them like the BBks gives them the advantage in my book.

Well BBK comes stainless steel, you can pay 100 extra and get ceramic coated. You can go drive the car for 20 mins and go ouch them.

My 2 cents is that if you are doing a header upgrade get the one that gives you the most. Both will be just as difficult to install honestly they dont differ too much.

 

[icarumba]

I didn't install the Hookers myself, but it looks like there is plenty of room to work. According to JT, they are very easy to install.

 

[jburgess1379]

BBK being ceramic does it for me. Unless something else comes out before spring when I plan to install em.

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