I had been kicking around the idea of headers for awhile now, but didn't want to go through a lot to get it done. As I'm sure you all know that there are NO bolt up headers for our car due to the constraints of the engine bay and not to mention the recirculating ball steering!!! Well I got the notion to change all of that, and I have been working with a fabricator in Arizona to come up with Hi-Flow Exhaust Manifold that will hopeful be a direct bolt-on replacement for what we have now. The tubing diameter is now 1.75" as opposed to 1.625" which should increase flow by 38% and gives the exiting exhaust some direction. They are made out of mild steel, TIG welded, and have the Jet Hot Sterling ceramic coated.

I am just sharing at this point because they were shipped out today and won't be here until next week. I will dyno the car once installed to see if there are any gains to be had....

 

Just my 2 cents but that doesn't look too much of a header to me. But if it provides a decent amount of HP gain then good for you.

Was the diameter increased on the new one? If so from what to what?

 

We will find out soon enough, but I hope so, thanks James!

You're right, it's not a header... It's a Hi-Flow Exhaust Manifold. The diameter went from 1 and 5/8th to 1 and 3/4th.

 

Keep us posted man! Hope you get some good gains!

 

MKB made headers for the W208. I used to have them, but Evosport fashioned some custom headers for their tuning of my car.

 

MKB parts are a little pricey, and somewhat hard to find... You have had a few MKB parts, right? Where did you get your parts from??

 

At the time, i believe Oberklasse was the only distributor for MKB. Their customer service wasn't that great either.

 

Yes, Oberklasse installed my MKB stuff. They were a bit difficult to deal with and MKB parts are priced in the stratosphere.

 

Im very interested! Good idea...keep us posted!

 

price?

 

Will do..

 

Way to go Ghostrider! I know enough about airflow to positively declare that I can't look at a pipe and tell anything about flow characteristics. Things that I thought looked good turned out to be crap and vice versa. I do like the smoother bends of the new pipe. The increased pipe diameter is the only part that concerns me. But what do I know? Zippo, that's what.

That said, I look forward to seeing the dyno chart. Will you have a before and after dyno chart? Even if they're weeks apart that would be better than nothing. I'd be willing to PayPal $20 toward some before/after dyno costs. I'm sure there must be other 430 owners willing to help offset those costs. How about it guys? A one time $10 or $20 donation?

 

I'm in

 

Thanks Marcus!!! There will be a before and after dyno. At which time I will go over everything that I have been up to as it relates to the exhaust.

I am greatful for the gesture but they way I see it I would be doing this anyway so the cost is absorbed into the operating budget (think money, but no paper) of the car.

I have had no ECU tuning so this will all be based on better exhaust flow. It still wll have to exit through the stock downpipe though.

 

Thank you and you have PM.

 

Any plans for the primary cats and downpipes. Would these bolt up to the primarys? I would think that developing a downpipe to bolt up without the primarys would be a good idea. If I recall the stock down pipes aren't that bad looking, just mated to a cat. Maybe just fab a small extention that eliminates the primarys or maybe replace with a set of smaller stainless 200cell cats. Good luck man.

 

Thanks Nitro, but this idea came from my previous car that had shorty headers that were bolt ons.... These are for the individual that would like something more than stock but doesn't really want to hack up the factory exhaust. They will bolt directly to the downpipes that house the primary cats.

I do see where you are coming from but I figured this would be a good place to start..

 

Clear your PM's!!

 

I can't wait to see the result!

 

I'm hoping you get some numbers with it if you do im down for a set.

 

Huh? No headers for the W208? I guess you're talking about the 430 only because I have kleemann headers on my 55.

 

can u PM me that price too..thanks

 

Yes, you have Kleemann headers which they also make them for the 430. They require the use of their down pipe with the 200 cell cat. This makes for a more detailed install.

These HFM's will hopefully give a bump in performance, should be a 6 hour install and can be taken off for whatever reason.

 

I see. So these modded exhaust manifolds obviously wont give the power gains the Kleemann headers give but should cost alot less right?

 

I would say you have to factor into the equation the total cost being parts and labor, so I would imagine it would come out less.

Just a note, they are not 'modded' exhaust manifolds, they are are completely hand built and fabricated to the overall dimension of the oem parts.