Time for some headers!
 

:usasalute: Happy Memorial Weekend to those in the states. Its been a while since I have been active on here. School has had me busy. I put together a quick clip of a piece of audio and a video of my previous X5 with headers. Just a little teaser clip. I'm modifying my exhaust right now getting ready to install headers one weekend soon. Ill post some pictures and new videos for any that are interested. The looks I used to get as my X5 would rocket past someone....WTF! Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHPNvVqvrzM

Nice!!!

What exhaust do you have on for the vids? Headers of course, but what about the rest of the piping?

I kept the factory middle resonator/ middle muffler in place. The rear mufflers were deleted with magnaflow resonators taking it's place to help refine the engine note. I'm doing a similar setup this time, but went with a common resonator that the E46 ///M3 guys run to kill rasp and tune the I6 sound. It's a ceramic packed straight through high flow resonator made by Aero/Jones full Boar. The idea is to take adavantage of the large factory middle muffler as it seems to do a good job of keeping things quite, gives a nice tone and isn't very restrictive. The rear mufflers are heavy and and relatively restrictive. You'll gain a couple mpg's, free up a smidge of power and some character to the exhaust note, and honestly drone isn't an issue. Once headers are added to the equation, it's transformed to quite an exotic sound and aggressive sound when you put your foot in it. I really loved it. I'm going with a cheap set of eBay headers this time and having my local muffler shop slightly modify them to adapt, as they are meant for the E46/e36. Not a big deal. I dropped some coin on the last set and in hindsight, wasn't nessary imho.

BTW, the first half of the video was a sound clip with the mic placed outside the vehicle on the rear bumper. The exhaust was connected at that point and was the only audio I captured of it at that stage. Sadly I was clipped hard a couple weeks later, and the X totaled. (not my fault, but still sad.) It kept my wife and I safe, most importantly.

Sorry to hear about the accident, glad you and yours came out safe from that.

I remember reading your original AA install but never got to follow it. Thanks for the refresher on it, it's something I hope to get to when I get regular maintenance stuff fully updated.

How do you think they will sound with stock exhaust? That's what I am thinking of doing at the moment when the time comes.

I'd kept headers out of mind for a while, thanks for reminding me lol!

Your welcome! I dug through the archives, and found the original header thread by WallyX5, whicy was my inspiration. He had posted a couple videos from his auto 3.0 with headers and stock exhaust. Sounded awesome. Here's the thread.
http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...s-headers.html

what's not linked to the thread is a couple movies he did. You have to plug in these key words into youtube as I'm on my mobile and it won't show the link address in the app for youtub. Search "express lane tunnel" and "hwy 99 tunnel" both by wallyX5. Should give you a good idea of what to expect. Careful, though he has his E60 M5 and X5M stuff on there now. Don't won't to distract you.

They don't do emissions testing in your county right? Is that how you can get away with this?

The reason I ask is I want to do something similar. I thought about buying a super sprint full system for about 2500 shipped. Then found out I would not pass emissions.

I would rather spend as little as possible on doings headers and mufflers since this site only encourages me to keep spending on mods :)

This is for the 5MT I bought last month.

Jesus Christ ..............What a sound ,shame she went down...............

In cache county, they now do. Didn't until 2014. I will put cats on this fall to pass emissions. Plus, the stink. A good set aftermarket high flow cats should perform fine. The factory bottleneck exhaust manifolds have got to go.

For you guys that have a pre lci e53, you can flash your MS43 ecu to the EU2 tune (without cats) and disable the rear o2 sensors, eliminate the CEL, and pick up a few added ponies and better responce/driving characteristics. You gotta run 91 octane like any performance tune, as the US tune is "adjusted" for possible lesser grade fuel to be used. I wish I could do this, as it's free if you have the goods to program, but not compatible with the newer ECU MS45 I've heard. This works with cats and you can go to a EU3 or 4 Flash perhaps for similar results. You have to research it out. I quit once I discovered that my ECU was a no go with the euro flash. Shark injector, here I come!

I really like the sound clip you have. What do you think the total cost will be for me to replicate it with the same parts?

Cheap my man. $100 or so for headers, $40-70 each for rear resonators depending on what you go with. The Magnaflows are a slam dunk and can be had for 145 shipped for the pair. They're 2.25, 14 inch long and 4 wide IIRC. (i wanted to try the areo resonators this time as they were cheap, good build (stainless build and ceramic packing and had good reviews from the E46 M3 guys). Find yourself a sweet set of exhaust tips to crown your creation. Splurge if you want as you just saved a butt load. I went with a larger 3.5 double wall slant quad tip this time. You can make 4.0 quads fit, depending on what you want. I thought about it, but the 3.5 quads seemed perfect. I think they were 80 for the pair. I reused my OE exhaust manifold gasket and applied just a thin film of UHT gasket maker. No issues. Depending on budget you may buy news ones for peace of mind. I bought some extra studs and copper nuts from BMW Murray, if I have some left over their yours. Just add in what it costs for your shop to weld everything up. My shop is good to me and I've budgeted 150 for all of it, but 200 should cover most shops?

So.... For around $500 for everything, your done.... Until you add in some high flow cats. 50-100 for each. I'll post some pics when I get on my laptop of the components. My current build is $410 with install cost not including cats. That comes later. You'll love it squid. My audio does it no justice.

If you want help putting the headers on let me know. Happy to help on a Saturday. :thumbup:

I know! Aaauugh! I should have bought it back from the Insurance co. Douches.

Green thanks for the tips. I think I will do everything you are doing. I think I have an exhaust leak near the engine so I may have to get new gaskets to be safe. I may even drive up to your shop and have them do it all for me since they will be familiar with the setup.

What would the high flow cats do? Is that to get more power and then only get an emissions pass with the ECU flash, or in your case, the shark injector?

I've been toying with the idea of installing the x-pipe in lieu of the OEM centre muffler. Any thoughts or suggestions in this regard?

Thanks for the info and the tips to find the hidden Wally videos lol!

I came across that thread before as well. Got me thinking like you on the headers.

BTW, you have the 14" Magnaflows on? IIRC stockers are only 11-12" long (sans tips), how did you get those to fit?

So Ryan, now you got me thinking, I have the factory 3.0 resonator mated to the AXLE BACK 4.8iS exhaust, so I have larger freer flow piping from the resonator back, quite the nice tone.

If I wanted to keep the factory resonator in place like you did, and keep my 4.8iS exhaust would I still see same gains from headers and a Shark tune? As you said just reuse the stock exhaust manifold gasket, maybe some new studs/nuts, and a slight modification to fit it since its designed for E46.

How easily would high flow cats be put onto the setup? I can always run the Shark tune, headers, and high flow cats with an L-spacer on the rear o2's, my old VW trick that worked pretty damn well to keep the CEL away.

If slapping headers and high flow cats would keep me under 3-400 bucks and I'd be seeing bitchin gains its something I'd def consider.

High flow cats are just less restrictive (and in our case with the M54's manifold, much less restrictive) and clean up your emissions enough to pass. You have options. You can run 100 cells per square inch, 200,300,400 cpsi, etc and also an option of substrate, ceramic or a metal foil, both of which are treated to cataylize and clean up some pollutants. There are a few factors that influence which one to go with and alot depends on how clean your emissions need to be. Check with your local code first. If they sniff test, you need to be fairly clean. If they are doing a visual with a computer check looking for "ready status" with the ecu, not so much.

Our stock exhaust manifold is designed to be very clean, but is compromise on performance and efficiency. (about 15-20 hp loss)That's okay for most. They want the cats as close to the heat source to get them hot and expedite the cleaning of the emissions at start up. Aftermarket HF cats are going to flow much better, and not really losing hardly any gains from the installed headers. Its honestly the way to go. Its just a question of whats best for you and your area.

As far as software goes, its not needed, unless your working around the CEL, trying to get it off and you live in an area that doesn't require emissions, etc.

The shark Injector just compliments the performance upgrade, but does not turn off the post cat o2 senors,etc, so you will have a CEL if your not running cats and post o2 sensors.

Active Autowerk has a flash that turns off the post o2 sensors to eliminate the CEL, and give a performance boost as well.

You can flash your ECU to a Euro flash(EU2)(free) as well to accomplish similar gains of reported better drivability , responce, and a few extra ponies.

bcredliner needs to post an audio clip of his Dinan 4.6is with nitrous and exhaust dumps.

Nothing with OE exhaust manifolds has EVER sounded as good!

Brians X sounds like the C7-R Race Vette.......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVatTkNOYyA

would this be a mod for automatics also?
Manual sound sooo good.. but what about autos?

what do you do about the stock manifolds having 12 holes bolt to head ?
vs
headers having 16 hole bolt to head?

do i just skip the none holes on the gasket and leave the 4 on the headers with nothing?

headers
 

this is what I'm referring to.

stock has 12 holes total
headers have 16 total

i can't wait to get them on (:

Just wanted to post a pic of the headers that are on the way and will be here Thursday. These are Alpina replicas from the B3 e46. Equal length long tube. Should help keep the torque curve down low and flow strong to 7K RPM. The modified Euro 2 tune is awesome! Much more snappy and peppy and rev happy. Like a whole different animal. I opened it up on a flat stretch of desert and easily hit 135 mph. The torque curve hits sorta a flat spot near 5k, which is where I've been told our stock manifolds choke. Can't wait to get the new headers installed. Hang tight..... more to come soon.:thumbup:

Oh Boy Oh Boy, You're finally doing the headers. You're going to love them! I also have the euro tune. It's amazing how much of a difference it makes. I've had it up to 130, and it still had more to go! After talking with a few reps from Active Autowerke, it sounds like they would be able to further optimize for the headers with a tune that would be compatible with the Euro 2 tune/software. Thats next on the list for sure..

Can't wait to see it finished. If you can do it and pass emissions here in Utah then so can I. I will even drive up to Logan to get your same shop to do the install.

^really nice, I so want to do this someday on the 3.0!

I had a hard time getting to 135, starts to slow down a bit at around 125.

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/f...psx5avjpqj.jpg

Dear Mr. Dragon....whenever you come back, can you tell me, having done this before, does it matter if you put the resonator(s) first in the exhaust stream first then the muffler, or if you should put the muffler first, then the resonator?


My understanding is the resonators kill a certain frequency/range of frequencies, so it shouldn't matter, except I can see how if you left the resonators till the very end, you might get weird frequencies under you in the cabin.


If it doesn't matter, I am tempted to put Borla 2in/2out muffler where the factory resonator is, and those Aero resonators at the ends. Should drop some weight, maybe sound good. I loved the Borla on my V6 Firebird back in the day. V6 231 suffered from rasp if not properly muffled.

Hey buddy! Refresh my memory on what your exhaust set up is currently. What is your desired sound. I've put in few hundred on a few variations (and it's still a work in progress) with one constant. I have kept the factory middle muffler. So let's start there. Drone has been the issue I hate most. With the 5M transmission, your going to be better off during cruise situations due in part to a higher cruise rpm. Your going to be out of that 2000-2600 range that I/we tend to have drone issues. That makes your options easier. I like your choice of the Borla proxs dual in dual out for the middle replacement. I have been considering that one for some time. It has the integrated x-pipe. Performance wise, I could feel a difference. I just hated the non resonated X-pipe I put in one of my setups. It was cheap, more like a hollowed out catyltic converter shell. You want something that is a true crossover or slight merge of a shared wall, that will help scavenge the opposing bank and you don't need a big cavity to do that. The borla accomplishes that well. You get acoustical harmonization, performance of an X pipe that the M54 really does responds to, and a free flowing high quality muffler. Its going to outlast a comparible magnaflow and sound better in my opinion. It's going to have a fairly aggressive sound, but less so than the magnaflow.

Okay, so on to the rear mufflers. I've tried magnaflow round race mufflers. They were long 4inch bodies. Close to 20 inches at least. They sounded awesome and are better up to task. The Aero's I'm running now are bullet proof, will last damn near forever, are great at attenuating some tone, but aren't optimal for a rear muffler replacement. They are aggressive and sound awesome, but drone as a rear muffler. They are better suited perhaps placed before the borla middle muffler. That's what their application has been with the M3 and others has been. Going back to the middle section, after I cut out the crappy x-pipe, I placed two glass packs in its place. In my case it worked well at taming it down a notch and killing some drone. That might be something to keep in mind if you need to take it down a notch. The aeros are perfect for that.

So that brings you up to speed on where I'm at.
I'm building a complety new exhaust for sections two and three. All 304 stainless. Exhaust is one of those areas that is very subjective and ultimately comes down to what you want. It's a compromise. However, there are new mufflers out there that let you have your cake and eat it. Aggressive, raw, fire breathing beast one second, and at the push of a button, --- quiet, civil, and tamed. Not oem corked, but tame. I'm building a valvetronic exhaust that has both the rear sections adjustable and middle section so you can dial in how you want it at any moment. Mufflers are on the way. I've sourced them directly from the manufacturers over seas that makes the ultra high end kits you see out there. It's probably going to be September before its done. I'm working on another secret project at the moment. I tried to upload some photos, but need to make them smaller. Anyways, get back to me. If you want to be a genie pig and put the borla in, I'd love to hear it.

Here are some teaser pics. These are what will be the middle section. Two individual mufflers slightly staggered. The rear mufflers are same, just different design to better fit the space.

That's good info. Exactly what I was hoping you had been toying around with. I'm not too picky on tone just now, I want to get the thing rolling again.


I just have some cheapy ebay headers mocked up on the block. My inner environmentalist is making me get some cats on it, and I am looking for some very short-bodied units I can weld straight to the collector merges of the headers (chop off the rest). But since I have the entire system off, I was thinking about replacing the midpipe, particularly since my homemade header + cats will not "bolt right up" to the factory midpipe.


For now, I think I can put the Borla in and make up my own stainless midsection, flange it to the headers and leave the back section alone. Eventually I think I would try magnaflows or something in the rear position.


Your electronically actuated valves are interesting. I assume internally the bodies are straight through vs. internally muffled?

Good plan! I really want to hear how that borla sounds welded in. The midsection is pretty easy to rebuild. As far as headers go, honestly the cheap ebays are actually really good. They are supersprint replicas usually and sound awesome and for our application, perfect. For the price, I don't feel bad about modifying either to suit. I still have to add cats at some point to mine and I'll put provisions in when I put the new system together.

You are correct about the mufflers. You have a straight through with louvers, or if closed, a highly acoustically arranged internal route. The valvetronic mufflers have a wireless controller that plugs in to them, and can automatically open to a desired certain percentage based on RPM or anything in-between. It gets a wireless OBD signal. There are a few apps as well out there that work universally. One from remus comes to mind. These valvetronic exhaust systems run can be found for various applications ranging from about 2500-7000.Should work out pretty sweet, and we will find out.

I am going to effort welding some very short body 400cell cats right to the merge collectors. If it works right, I should have an output flange about where the factory one was, right after the sway bar.

Have you read or tested 2.25" vs 2.5" pipe from the cats back? There might be more selection in 2.5 (and the cat bodies might be shorter), but if it doesn't do anything worthwhile, I'll make up a new midpipe with the Borla in it at 2.25.

Hey hey... I got my headers bolted up, and the guy that welded the forward O2 bung into the collector was eyeballing it. The forward sensor touches one of the rear primaires when it is in. Not enough to keep it from threading, but it is still touching.


Is that a deal breaker long term? What about short term--can I run that way long enough to get the kinks out of everything else (and see if it is going to run at all), or should I relocate it?


There is tons of space between the collector and the skid plate down by the engine. I could just drill and weld a new sensor bung on the opposite side of the collector from below. But that might require pulling it back off, which is annoying.

Bummer. It might be fine to run as is. It's no fun to pull them once their in. If heat isn't an issue on the contact spot on the sensor, run it. Maybe a thin piece of aluminum wedged in between to act as a heat sink/shield. You can also maybe back the tension off the header header studs to maybe get a little wiggle room. Just shooting some ideas.

Did you weld up some cats off the collectors? Send a picture if you can.