
Since the EcoBoost is a turbo motor, it has a special exhaust manifold that re-circulates the exhaust gasses to the hot side of the turbo before going out the tailpipes. Unfortunately for EcoBoost owners, the EcoBoost exhaust manifold is cast into the cylinder head and can’t be replaced. Those of you who live in emissions restrictive states will be forced to keep the stock manifolds since long tube headers often times will not pass emissions testing. This allows the gases to gently slide into the pipe, rather than slamming through the ports. Equal length headers can be either shorty or long tube, and the equal length tubes allow for slightly better exhaust flow. It is the curves that make headers a popular modification. Long tube headers are usually made for racing applications. Shorty headers are designed to bolt into the factory manifold location. The aftermarket manifolds, or headers, generally have tubes that curve to join the exhaust ports to the pipe. While they perform the same function, they are not exactly the same. The exhaust manifolds are the factory headers. Usually, they have several holes that merge into a common chamber. You will hear manifolds referred to as headers. They funnel the exhaust gases from the cylinders into a single exhaust passage (the mid-pipe). A Mustang's exhaust manifold is connected to the exhaust ports of the engine.
