Headers for the 4.6

[Dawgfan]

Does anyone have info on a line to get headers for the 4.6?

[eric1h]

Originally Posted by Dawgfan

Does anyone have info on a line to get headers for the 4.6?

With the tight tolerance and the routing for of the exhaust they would have to be custom built.

[Dawgfan]

That's what I'm affraid of. I am looking for someone in Atlanta. Thought I would got to some of the speed shops and see if they can point me in the right direction. Anyone have an idea what they might cost??????

[|Drew|]

Probably not worth the costs. I'm newish to the Panoz and still feeling it out, but I was into Mustang drag racing a few years ago, and know the 4.6s pretty well.

Custom headers are probably going to be in the $3,000 range if I had to guess, similar to the complexity of doing a custom turbo manifold on a Mustang I'd assume. Really doubt you'd see much of a gain.

What I'm looking at doing is replacing the cats (why did these cars even have them?) with some Magnaflow round mufflers to improve sound and reduce some of that seat-cooking heat that the cats produce. These motors like having a mid-pipe, but I'm not sure making an H or X pipe is worth the hassle. Given that these are generally stock motors, a little back pressure would probably help. Don't think the Magnaflows will clog it up by any means though, they're a straight-through design.

Just a thought....

Here's a link to the mufflers that might work out just right.
http://www.amazon.com/MagnaFlow-1486...1791073&sr=1-1

[CMPanoz]

I have a book (somewhere) that is dedicated to modifications of a 4.6. It shows the dyno before and after results from various modifications. I think the gain from shorty headers was 5 - 10 HP. I will try to find the book this weekend and post the exact numbers.

[Dawgfan]

Thanks for the info Panozwantobe and Drew, I have been told that it will gain 15 to 20 hp and can be done for around $1,000. I can buy a 2007 4.6 Interceptor engine out of a Crown Vic with 35K (miles)that has around 340+/- hp that I might try to header and turn the computer up. I have been told that we can get around 440+/- hp. The engine and the computer work will run under $2,000.00. I question in my mind what kind of hp I and getting out of the engine that came in the car and might dyno it before changing out to the 07 engine. I have been told that Panoz done some crazy/cheap things toward the end and it makes me wonder if we/I have an engine that the Cobra name was stuck on and might have the 225hp engine. I could be all wrong I'm just not sure. I ran R A last weekend and several old Panoz employees came by and all said simular stories about what went on at the end of the road for the Panoz school and W C cars.

[Cobrafang]

Dawgfan,

I would definitely get a chassis dyno done first. Should be cheap and easy to do as well. That will answer most of your questions. PANOZ did rebuild those engines so no telling what they did, but I would really find it hard to believe it would be less than the 305 Hp those cobra motors were supposed to make.

Shorty Headers should be an easy fit since there are a stock replacement in 1996-1998 Cobras....so I would think they would bolt right in. You should get 10-15hp from them. They will have the words Ford Motorsport on one of the tubes so check to make sure you don't already have one. High flow cats and a better muffler would also help.

I had heard that those motors should be making in the 340 hp range from panoz which would be believable with a rebuild and mild head work. But like you said...who knows.

You could also do some dyno tuning of the ECU to get some more HP out of it. To be honest I would do that last. There are many bolts ons like Throttle bodies, larger Mass Air Sensors and good extrude honing of the intake and port and polish matching on the heads and then exhaust. If you did all that then I would get a good dyno tune done.

Just some thoughts. I had a 1996 cobra that I did alot of work on. Those motors are good motors, just expensive to really get into modifying, like just compare the Ford Racing Parts Heads for it versus a set of AFRs for a standard 302 push rod motor.

Sorry for the rambling.

-Tom

Originally Posted by Dawgfan

Thanks for the info Panozwantobe and Drew, I have been told that it will gain 15 to 20 hp and can be done for around $1,000. I can buy a 2007 4.6 Interceptor engine out of a Crown Vic with 35K (miles)that has around 340+/- hp that I might try to header and turn the computer up. I have been told that we can get around 440+/- hp. The engine and the computer work will run under $2,000.00. I question in my mind what kind of hp I and getting out of the engine that came in the car and might dyno it before changing out to the 07 engine. I have been told that Panoz done some crazy/cheap things toward the end and it makes me wonder if we/I have an engine that the Cobra name was stuck on and might have the 225hp engine. I could be all wrong I'm just not sure. I ran R A last weekend and several old Panoz employees came by and all said simular stories about what went on at the end of the road for the Panoz school and W C cars.

[|Drew|]

IMO the best bang for the buck is to just leave everything stock and put a blower on there. 4V motors make TONS of power on really low boost. Doing a MAF, throttle body, shorty headers, are all going to be pretty insignificant.

[eric1h]

I would br very leary of boosting these all aluminum 4v engines. Most would probably be OK if they were a street car, but I doubt they would hold up long under heavy track use. Hell Panoz had a hard enough time keeping the STOCK motors from blowing up. They said they would lose 5-6 motors a race!

[|Drew|]

Originally Posted by eric1h

I would br very leary of boosting these all aluminum 4v engines. Most would probably be OK if they were a street car, but I doubt they would hold up long under heavy track use. Hell Panoz had a hard enough time keeping the STOCK motors from blowing up. They said they would lose 5-6 motors a race!

Go blow it up and replace it with a low-compression forged setup.

But really in the grand scheme of things, adding some bolt ons to these motors doesn't do a whole lot. I'd just save the money to go towards upkeep, tires, entry fees, more track time, etc. There's a lot of car to master as is. I don't know anybody that builds custom headers for $1,000 either.

[NZGTRA17]

[quote=|Drew, I don't know anybody that builds custom headers for $1,000 either.[/quote]

I built a set of custom tuned length 4 into 1 headers for a 5.0 Panoz. Cost was around $800 - $1,000 NZD for materials alone (USD$600). Took around 40 - 60 manhours to build, including making a 4" single exhaust system.

This system boosted power by around 12% (average across the power range) but of course the increase would vary by engine depending on other mods/system design/power range targetted.

Kel.

[Dawgfan]

Thanks Eric, Drew and NZGTRA17 for all the info. Going to the Dyno on Wednesday and hoping to see what if anything is wrong with the engine. The biggest problem I feel that I'm having is no power on the top end of the RPM's. Anyone that has ever ran R A says the car should do around 140+mph. The car handles great and really corners well I'm just looking to see if I can improve the proformance of this engine. I do have a good friend that gets wrecked cop cars and I can get a 06-4.6 with low miles for $1,500 and I know we can take a lap top and program that puppy very easy versus trying to find someone to burn a chip for the 98-4.6. It's not that I'm wanting to blow alot of money. Lord knows the price of tires are off the charts. I plan on being ar R A for the track day on the last friday in May. Is anyone else going to be there?

[Cobrafang]

Who is doing that Track Day?

Originally Posted by Dawgfan

I plan on being ar R A for the track day on the last friday in May. Is anyone else going to be there?

[Dawgfan]

I am, you going to be there?

[Cobrafang]

No I can't swing it. I will be there 25-27 doing Skip Barber school. I meant to ask what sanctioning body or who is putting the track day on?

Originally Posted by Dawgfan

I am, you going to be there?