MACHC5

Just before my yearly trip to the PRI Show I reached out to a respected MBForum Vendor for headers, but the added cost to enclose ship my car back & forth from NJ, was troubling.

Merry Xmas... at PRI I found a local header manufacture that agreed to make an SS Long Tube with 4 into 1 High Velocity Merge Collector with joined Mid Section.
The System will be a complete bolt on... to the rear AMG mufflers.
My CLK63BS is there now.

I'm also planning on having them Ceramic Coated at Swain Tech to lower the under hood temps.

I'll post photo's when I get some.

Jim

hughes369

I understand from speaking with Jack Burns that the "tri-Y" long tube headers increase power over a wider RPM range. Either way, have the company make a fixture so they can duplicate the headers.

MACHC5

They are planning on making a fixture to produce additional CLK63BS copies.
They have made headers for C63's already.

Jim

ecampbell

4:1 vs. tri-y debate has gone on for years and there is no clear winner.

For these cars, Cart uses try-y and i use 4:1 and we are within 5 horse of each other and being we are both over 660, the difference is nothing.

MACHC5

What size diameter are the primary tubes on your 4 into 1's, most are 1 7/8".

jrcart

Let us know how they turn out Jim. You can't go wrong with any LT design, this motor responds very well to LT's with either the tri-y or 4 into 1, win win either way. Please post some pics when you get the car back.

ET550

Somewhat off topic, but for those of us living in emissions testing states that need to retain their cats, does a "shorty" design add any significant power increase over the stock manifolds? I know there were some renntech replacements discussed here some time ago but don't recall whether there was any real world analysis of their performance characteristics.

jrcart

Does your state do a physical inspection or just plug you into and OBD port reader? Most states have switched to and OBD only inspection and if you do not have any CELs displayed and your O2 sensors are working you will pass the emissions test with flying colors. Even if an inspector wanted to do a physical inspection, one peek under my car and they would see my resonators which look like small cats. Even if they plugged me into the tail pipe exhaust readers I would pass becuase my catless car in a good state of tune burning quality gasoline(race fuel in my case) will fair better than 75% of the cars on the road with cats in place running cheap gasoline and a car that has not has a tune up in 80K miles. I just had my E46 M3 pass an IL emissions test with primary cats deleted, passed with flying colors.

ET550

Interesting. CT has closed its state inspection stations and subcontracted out the jobs to local gas stations. All these guys do is plug the car into the OBD reader. This thread has suddenly become much more interesting as NJ isnt that far away. However, don't you need an ECU tune anyway to take full advantage of the headers and don't those modifications turn off the O2 sensors to prevent the CEL display?

MACHC5

Jim,
On another note...
I was talking to the Header Company today about stepped vs. non stepped headers and the HP differences.
They explaned that on race cars running with open headers, steps are best & expensive.
Street cars with full exhaust would only gain 3 to 5 hp with stepped vs. the non-stepped, reasonable headers.
Reason... the extra pipe after the header is the equalizer.
They have averaged +40 RWHP with just their C63 header.

On my NJ car we are using metalist cats at the front of the mid pipes.

When they send me progress photos, I'll share them with everybody here.

Jim

ET550

Are you saying you are adding new cats to be used in conjunction with the long tubes? Is the +40 RWHP without any ECU tune?

MACHC5

Yes, I will have cats... after the LT headers.

Their C63 headers Avg +40 RWHP without additional ECU tweaking.

hughes369

I don't understand why a stepped header would be so much more expensive. If they are fabricated by welding curved sections of stainless tube together, the only extra cost would be that of the slightly larger tubing. As a benifit, of the stepped design, you get a slip fit joint rather then a butt joint at the steps.

MACHC5

The Header Company has some really neat machines to shape things.
Their header tubes are one continuously formed pipe thats only welded at the flange and the collector ends.

jrcart

I'm not sure how it works or what it reads to be honest with you. If and when my BS gets called in for a test I will let you guys know how it does. I wish I'LL would outsource the tests, it would be much easier to bribe a mechanic at a shop. The current testing facilites have cameras and microphones everywhere and signs everywhere saying its illegal to bribe the testers. Getting called for a test in I'LL is rare to begin with, your car has to be 4 yrs old (based on registration dates)then it goes into a lottery, you can go a couple more years without ever getting called in for testing. My BS was 4 years old in September so I could get called in any day or not for another 3 years.

JDB

No Christmas spirit in the State of Illinois this season, I guess.

Jim Brady

Ya, ever since Rod Blagojevcih went up the river Illinois isn't the same

Headers+ cats in California= fail. I've appealed my porsche twice and they just smile and say it's the law, we don't want to hurt the whales.

MACHC5

Got a photo of the Prototyping of the drivers side this morning...

MACHC5

What these guys do is cut apart the prototype header and take the degree and rotation, then they bend each pipe to make continious primary tubes.

Passenger side is done and I believe they are making the Fixture, then the set will be done.

MACHC5

They figure the finished headers may be ready to send to the coater on Monday...
The difference between Swaintech Ceramic coating and typical header heat coating is vast.

Car had a healthy sound to it before, I can only imagine after this...

Jim

Sincity

Will you be revealing who they are soon?

MACHC5

Yes....
If everything comes out as expected and the results are as advertised...

Jim

GeoGeo

So a set of LT headers that's a bolt-on to the OE cats AND gain 40+ hp without touching the ECU? Definitely keep us posted.

MACHC5

Finished....

Now to the ceramic coater...

MACHC5

The headers will come back from Swain Tech with a white ceramic finish.
It's the same Hi-Tech finish you'd see on race cars at the 24hrs of Daytona.

I've asked the header shop to secure 2 cans of VHT Flameproof silver and spray them.
Not so much for additional heat coating but more for looks..

Has anybody else... noticed how different this set of headers are..?