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JBA Long Tube Headers

24K views 63 replies 29 participants last post by  gixxer160 
#1 ·
Looks like JBA has released their 4G Long Tube Headers, only took them 5 years...

ARH and Stainless Works may have to adjust their prices

 
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#40 ·
Sorry to resurrect an older thread for my first post, but I have some questions directly related to this topic- we don't do emissions testing where I'm at but mechanics will do a visual inspection for cat converters. Since these headers don't have the cats built in, I was planning on putting on two Magnaflow 99039HM converters, maybe directly on the reducers they ship with the headers? I wasn't sure what size the reducers were.

After that, just have an exhaust shop run straight pipe with a X somewhere in the middle and call it a day. Am I setting myself up for failure here? I was planning on getting the white lighting tune to delete the sensors as well so I'm trying to cover my bases. Any help would be welcome.
 
#43 ·
I should be receiving mine today and installing later this week. I won't have a dyno sheet or anything but I will give my opinion. Hopefully it's a good one. I was able to get the JBA long tube silver ceramics for $577 on Autoanything last week....that's shipped. 15% off with free shipping...pretty good deal i thought.
 
#48 ·
Ok everyone, i got the long tubes and new muffler installed yesterday. I wasn't sure what to expect but you always want more out of each mod you install. This time was no different. I can definitely feel a difference up in the tach range but the bottom end feels a little sluggish. I went 2.5" duals to the muffler which is a 14" magnaflow dual/dual. The sound is a bit quieter at idle and low rpm than my flowmaster was but it really wakes up at WOT or even half throttle. It's almost a little too loud for me. I'm thinking i should have gone with the 18" instead but i'll see how this goes for a little while. There is less drone in the cab than the flowmaster which i like. The only real numbers i can go off is my log from my intune..shows i picked up .2 on 0-60. I'm not real versed in how to read most of this stuff from the logs. I passed it off to Sean (hemifever) to look it over and tell me what he thinks as he built me the 93 tune. Overall, they look awesome on the truck and my installer says he didn't run into any issues installing them. The front 02 extenders reach no problem. He welded the rear sensors back in place into the exhaust. With Sean's tune, i did not get a "check engine light" and have had no issues as of yet. I bought the locking header bolts from Jegs and OEM gaskets from the dealer. Overall i think i spent just a hair under $1400 total between headers, muffler, bolts, gaskets, shipping, and install. That's not bad considering the ARH headers alone run over $1k. That's my $.02 anyway.
 
#50 ·
If Sean doesn't gain you anything I have a guy that will put a lot more aggressive tune on there and get you gains for sure, hemi fever is really hit or miss and stays on the conservative side
 
#52 ·
What is the compromise going with JBA LT's over ARH or Stainless Works? You have to be giving up something for the price difference...I know the ARH/Stainless Works come with the Y pipe or cats depending on your selection and the JBA's do not. There has got to be more difference than just a y-pipe?
 
#53 ·
You give up the Y pipe. Your OEM Y pipe section will not bolt up to the JBA LT's so you will have to get the Y pipe custom made. IF you go catless then you'll get CEL's
 
#55 · (Edited)
Got mine installed a few months back it took the guys probably around 6 hours to complete. Which also included time off for lunch so maybe not quite that long. Passenger side was off and headers bolted back on in about 1.5 hrs, the rest was spent on the drivers side and exhaust. They ran into an issue with the oil dipstick on mine, which I suggested he bend like others on here did but he said it wouldn't bend that far. He ended up loosening the motor mount, taking off the dip stick, cutting a slit where the bolt goes through so he could slide the dip stick through the headers then slide it back onto the bolt then tighten it down. Of course I think that is the only part of the process I didn't get a pic of. Without typing too much more I'll try to break it down Pros/Cons.

PROs: Definitely added more HP (especially mid and high range, as expected); More aggressive and louder sound; looks better; in addition to the HP gain, truck seems to run smoother.
CONs: Sounds like the Hemi tick got himself some steroids, which is pretty annoying but there is always a radio...; threw a couple of codes(noted in the pics) that came with, among other things, my MDS no longer working, and when automatic starter is used, truck shuts off within about 15 secs..

I went with JBA LTs Titanium Ceramic Coated NO cats into a Y-pipe then down to muffler. Used new OEM Mopar gaskets just bc of the heatshields. I had ordered the Stage 8 locking bolts but the exhaust guys recommended not using them because they have had most customers come back because the bolts wouldn't stay tight, so they got returned and I used what came from JBA.
HF tunned out the rear O2 but as mentioned I still have the codes that won't clear. Although I never had him weld in the rear O2 bungs anywhere. Is that the fix?

http://s1379.photobucket.com/user/R_Duub/slideshow/
 
#56 · (Edited)
DUBVRAM, have your rear bungs welded in. I have no codes on mine and my MDS works fine. I will say with the added noise, the mds sounds even worse. I was thinking of just turning mine off but i like the gas mileage too much. I've got a HF tune and a WL tune, neither had any codes and i have to say the WL tune is stronger on my truck. I got the same headers you have.
http://www.ramforumz.com/album.php?albumid=3021&pictureid=12480
 
#61 ·
I had my JBA LT headers installed the other day. Took the installer 8hrs to figure things out. JBA has no install instructions and their tech support couldn't answer my questions. The dipstick was definitely a problem made worse by the location of the tubes, there is plenty of room to allow better placement of the dipstick. Plus there was relocation of many other hoses and wiring. My installer has fitted many headers in his day, and said this was one of the worst, because it didn't have to be so complicated, there is more than enough room to make the fitment easier.
I kept the true dual setup. He made some adjustments to the setup so as to get full access to the trans, overall he did a good job. Definitely more power but the down side, is the drone with the louder exhaust.
I wouldn't recommend buying JBA LT headers until they get the fitment correct, at least not for our trucks.
 
#64 · (Edited)
This is a follow up to my last post. I spoke with Dustin from JBA headers earlier today as I had another issue with the fitment.
The knuckle on the steering shaft was hitting the header, whilst we had already performed a quick fix it turns out that they have had a similar problem. Their fix, is to make sure that the engine is centered between the frame rails, apparently an engine can be as much as .5 of an inch out of center. This can lead to the problem I had with the steering knuckle.
We also talked about the other issue's I had with the install, which he said was unusual. He also said that the headers were designed from a 2 wheel drive Ram truck, but that they have checked and should fit a 4x4.
So in conclusion, if you buy these headers make sure that the engine is in center, if not loosen the engine mounts and move it, most likely towards the passenger side.
I have to say though, that the truck has a good deal more power than before, which I was looking for. More torque and better pull through the mid range, I also used the latest Jmgak47 92 octane tune which overrode the missing cats. Koodo's to Jay. The fitment was a pain, but the performance is there.
I must say that Dustin at JBA was very polite and quick to respond to my email and took my phone call. If he or someone else from their Tech Line had returned my call during my install which I asked for, many of these issue's could have been avoided, plus their install instruction line is still down for this model.
 
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