Header Install Help
 

Sup everyone. In my long quest to acquire lth for my c63, been looking before I even had the car, I've finally narrowed it down to 2. Benzworks and ARH. Benzworks is ultimately the best deal, but the desire for ARH still burns. Add that to the fact that driving about 6 hours to HB CA is very hard to arrange. Recently ive found some Catted ARH headers at a good/great price. Problem is im having a hard time finding experienced installers in the sac/bay area. Any help would be appreciated. PMs welcomed for obvious reasons. California sucks. Thanks.

JUST install it yourself with some friends. You can use my install thread. It'l be a fun weekend of beers and friends. :)

Unfortunately for me most of my friends are drunk, lazy, and have no mechanical skills. They will not likely sacrifice their weekend of beer, carne asada, and screaming at the sky when their song comes on. So I'm outa luck there.

Headers on the c63 are not a fun job. Unfortunately I don't know many places in Cali to help

Wowie

Dont get me wrong, they'll help for everything else, landscaping, roofing, painting, pitching in for ppv fights or giving you a ride. Just not mechanical stuff because they always end up with spare parts.

Friends dont let friends install headers on an m156..... cruel and unjust punishment

Eurocharged charges $1000 for install... must be a pain in the ass..

If they are not MBH headers than they don't belong on the vehicle... This job is not a easy task what so ever and is a pain in the ass to get all the bolts in without dropping the motor. I would only have a experienced tech work on the vehicle.

Care to elaborate on this statement. I have dug through threads after threads, and it seems that ARH is a pretty good contender for a NA powered car. MBH for supercharged cars. Build quality seems to be on par. Consensus seems to be that you can't go wrong with either brands.

Sounds like a fanboy statement. MBH are great and put up top numbers but in the trap MHP is king. Na of course, and thats how i plan to keep this car. These are an upgraded design to the original MHP. In fact for a while they were regarded as the V2. The benzworks setup is a good incognito setup at a great price. I was/am going to have them mate them to stock mid pipes to keep everything looking stock, for the most part. But as of now its still up in the air. Keep the input coming fellas.

How is smaller piping better for trap speeds? Mbh has been proven to make the most power on the dyno and from what I've seen trap speeds also.

Incorrect. MHP = ARH: ARH were the original manufacturer of MHP Headers, and now we can buy direct from ARH. The MHP/ARH headers have a solid history of performance, and are mentioned numerous times in the Official 1/4 Mile thread, taking many of the top spots. ARH manufactured 2 versions of their C63 headers, an initial V1, and later, the updated V2. The current ARH Headers are the V2, and they are AMAZING (run them myself). Quality bends and welds throughout. ARH also includes their quality X-Pipe with the system.
Absolutely no need to drop motor, but yes, time and experience will be crucial for a solid install. Some exhaust heatshields may need cutting, bending, or uninstalling.

Advise to:
Replace existing exhaust manifold gaskets with new ones.
Get headers coated with a TRUE ceramic coating, especially if you will track car to reduce heat and increase exhaust gas scavenging. Personally can recommend Swain Tech's White Lightning.

We have 2 active Cali AMG groups on Facebook - AMG NorCal Lounge and AMG SoCal Lounge, there should be members that can point you in the right direction for a quality shop up in NorCal.
One member recommends contacting shop foreman Barrett at Sonic Motorsports in Mountain View/San Jose area.

Best of luck

MBNRG thank you for the help. I will contact the people you recomended. As for 1/4 miles, the top NA guys ran mhp headers. I am referring to the original c63 legends, dodger63 and dads c63, that still hold the top spots. Also there are more people running mhp/arh in the top 5 and top 10. If I am wrong may the guardian of the times correct me.

Can you put headers on an M156 and have it run right without a tune? Do you already have a tune to load?

+1 on the ceramic coating too. I ceramic coat all aftermarket headers. Going from the stock log-style manifolds (which iirc are double-walled for noise) you will be increasing your under-hood temps.

Some say yes. I personally wouldn't. I currently have ec v6. Havent sent jerry the money for update file because I still havent decided which way to go. But once I either find installer or figure a way to get to Huntington beach. The the header file will accompany me on the trip.

This is a very true statement. I installed MBH headers, midpipe, and x-pipe that I got from a forum member (thanks clk63cab!) over Thanksgiving weekend and had to finish up on the following weekend (good thing my C63 is not my daily). The hardest issue is the 4 top nuts on each stock manifold, with the driver's side being the biggest pain. With these top nuts, you are removing the nuts by feel and not by sight. What I mean by feel is one hand feels where the header stud is located and stays on the stud, then free hand brings the wrench or socket you are going to use. First hand helps guide your other hand to the nut. Make sure you have various ratcheting 11mm or 7/16" wrenches with swivel or articulating heads and fixed head ones. I bought these two 11mm long wrenches from Amazon:


It's easier to tighten the manifold nuts with LTH as there is more clearance between the runners as the tubes extend out from the flange and do not block the studs like how the stock log manifold does. I'm a mechanical engineer that wrenches a lot and found installing the headers on a C63 to be a major pain. Would I do it again?, probably as I like being self sufficient but thought during the install "why didn't I just pay someone to install these for me?" lol. Also, like other have said, ceramic coat the headers. I was going to go with Swain Tech but didn't feel like waiting 3 weeks and dealing with shipping my headers back and forth. I ended up going with Tech Line Coatings Turbo X Satin Black coating from a local powder coating shop, which took only a week to finish.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...a51657a8ce.jpg

IIRC, the hardest side was the driver's side. What I ended up doing is unbolting the engine mount so I can jack up the engine enough to get it at an angle to finish off installing the nuts. Have fun, enjoy some drinks cause it's sure can be a PITA.

Me installing these things is out of the question. Bad back, sprained left wrist and 1 day off after heavy tree service work, pretty much means there is zero chance of me doing the install. Hell I struggled with the "Magic" spacer install so this aint happening (the main reason didn't do a before/after dyno once they were on). So... Unless i find a reasonable priced installer, I am going to have to take the 6 hour trip.

I Changed my mind. Ima knock this ish out from my garage floor. ARH headers are on the way as we speak. Going to get these things ceramic coated bronze color locally. I know it will suck but I'm a patient person. Probably do it in 3 days in 3hr hits. The only thing im worried about is breaking studs and dropping the steering rack. Ive also heard you have to remove the heat shields for fitment issues. Other than that it looks pretty straight forward. If I'm overlooking something guys, let me know.

When I installed my ARH's it took me a LOT longer than expected... granted I did it on ramps and jack stands. I feel like the time they quote on the install instructions are for people who have A) installed headers on a C63 before and B) have a proper shop style lift.

You've got it right just be patient. Removing the header bolts is an extremely tedious process due to the cramped and awkward engine bay space. I didn't want to remove my heat shields and I managed to get my headers on while keeping them on. I also dropped the steering rack just be sure to make a couple of marks to make sure you reinstall it properly. Also - make sure you know which bolt releases the steering column, there's a fixed nut /spring assembly on the column that a forum member damaged while trying to remove the column.

Other than that, there was nothing more satisfying than firing it up for the first time and thinking "holy ****". You can feel the rumble in your seats :v: