[cobrashoch]

Jack is right. But there's always butts.
Long tube headers will do nothing better if you restrict the headers with mufflers, side pipes or even long straight tubes for a exhaust system.
That's where shorties, tri-y's, and crossover pipes togeter with other tricks come in, to "find" some of that lost power.
Shorties are not that bad, if you use them wisely. But they are not the last word in all out performance either.
cobrashock