ddb

Had my resonator removed today and my x-pipe installed. I also opted to remove the secondary cats and install a set of high-flow cats (200 cell).

As most have reported, it sounds (and feels) great. I haven't had too much seat time yet - looking forward to driving it tomorrow.

I want to add shorty headers next. I don't want to cut out the primary cats so long-tube headers are out. I want a simple bolt-on installation that I can do myself.

Great mod! If anyone is on the fence jump over it!

ddb

Fabio D

Cool! good job mate!

Fabio Daniel

Neanicu888

Great job man!
But I don't understand why did you bother to install the expensive 200 CEL cats instead of the secondaries? I know AMG ships these cars to the US with 4 cats because of 1 state-California,otherwise 2 are enough. Are you in Cali?

ddb

Thanks, guys - it really is a great mod!

888, I'm in NC and can easily get by w/o the secondaries. I chose to add the 200 cell cats for tonal quality only. From what I've read they help minimize raspiness. It is hard to compare what I'm hearing with my system to all of the YouTube videos out there, but I believe they made a significant difference. This is day two and I'm thrilled with the exhaust note and perceived power gain.

Do you guys know of any shorty headers currently being sold? I see the sets on eBay that are either unsold AMS headers or clones. They are an option, but I would need to have the flanges checked for flattness and corrected if needed. And then probably ceramic coated.

I don't want long tube headers and don't see any other short tube headers available. If anyone knows of any out there please let me know.

Thanks,

ddb

eFifty5AMG

Cool, post a video when you get the chance. I am interested in hearing those high flows.

Strigoi

Where'd you get the pipes from? I'm going to be doing this mod to my car soon.

I'm thinking about getting rid of the secondary cats as well. I have a smog guy that will look the other way as long as the car passes the sniffer. Worse case I'd end up having to buy some of the high flow cats if it didn't pass a pre-test.

ddb

eFifty5AMG - I will try to capture the sound. I listened to your video and your car sounds fantastic.

Strigoi - I bought the x pipe and the 45's from an eBay vendor named Performance Curve and the cats from the vendor zzperformance. You will love this mod.

snooozie

I had my secondary cats deleted and AMS shortie headers with all the x-pipe and mandrel bends done a few years back. Seriously, the high flows on the secondary is a waste....my two cents. If you have problems in the future with the primary cats, then you put in the high flow, which will make sense as this will give it better room to breath but you really want straight pipe in the secondaries. Give the engine some time to adapt to your mods and I can tell you, you will get some serious sound from the engine!!

Strigoi,

You can get some nice stainless steel pipes thru eBay. That's what I did with the x-pipe and mandrel bends. There is also shortie headers for sale in there. It's like a one stop shop

cudaized

Sweet..... I'm getting that obsessive feeling. Maybe it's time I did this mod.

Either that, or finish the build of my 543 C.I.D. V-8 I'm working on...

Strigoi

I've seen the shorties and have thought about them. I'm going to be doing wheels/tires (19" TSW Tremblant w/ Continental Extreme Contact DW) in the next few weeks most likely, so I'm not sure if I'll want to spend another $500 on headers right now. I probably will end up just doing everything I want to do (minus paint) pretty quickly and call it a day. I'm getting an inheritance so it's time to have a little fun. I was thinking about picking up a C63, but would rather spend less doing some mods to the E55. I'll probably wait another year or two for the price to drop some more and then pick one up.

ddb

I ordered the eBay headers ($459.99) yesterday and they are scheduled to arrive on Tuesday or Wednesday. That will give me some time to find a machine shop to check, and correct if needed the flanges to ensure they're flat. I found a shop that will ceramic coat them about 30 minutes away.

I would love to have a set of the beautiful Renntech shortie headers, but at $3,500 thats a third of the value of the car.

Again, if you are on the fence do this mod. I'm loving it and can't wait to get the headers on!

Strigoi, sorry to hear about your dad.

Strigoi

Thanks

Luckily there's a badass machine shop just a block up from my work if I do decide to go with the headers and they need any fixing before installing.

snooozie

My advise on the headers are to have the performance shop sand them down as flat as possible. That will prevent any vibration and leakage. I have no problem with mine so far...knock on wood. It only cost me $50 to sand both headers down.

ddb

snoozie,

Did you install your headers? I'm planning on installing mine and am curious if they are tough to get to? Is it easier to get to the bolts from the top or bottom?

Did your AMS headers come with gaskets? If so were they one piece gaskets? Were they metal or some other material?

Did you reuse your old manifold bolts or did you use new ones? Do you know the torque spec for the bolts?

Thanks very much,

ddb

snooozie

I took them to my indie MB repair shop to put them in. I don't think its hard to put them in.

For the top bolts, you might have to take the plug wires and the airbox out to get to the upper bolts. I would spray some anti seize on the bolts and let it sit for a while before doing them.

For the lower bolts, you can get to them at the bottom. You might have to get some rhino ramps to sit the front up.

I am not sure what the torque for the bolts are but the indie shop reuse my old bolts. Unless you strip them, I dont see any sense in replacing them.

The gaskets come in individual pieces, just like the OEM head gaskets. The headers you bought should have the gaskets that come with it. They are metal btw.

https://mbworld.org/forums/w210-amg/431951-kleemann-vs-ams-headers.html

This is the old AMS header tread that I started before and after I bought the shortie headers from them. Check it out.

ddb

Great info and thread. Very helpful info. Thanks much.

It looks like the cylinder heads have studs so the manifolds/headers are secured with nuts. In fact, they look like copper nuts. Could that be correct? I will see what I can find out. In general I like using new hardware when doing exhaust work. It is usually pretty cheap.

Vander

What size crossover pipe is that? 2.5"? 2"? 2.25?

Thanks

snooozie

To be honest with you, since you are doing the job yourself and saving $$$$ already, I would definitely get new hardware. These nuts or bolts are cheap.

As for the diameter of the pipes I went with 2.5" for the straight pipes, x-pipe and mandrel bends

ddb

Same as snoozie - 2.5".

snooozie

I saw the headers that were on eBay. The head gaskets are one piece. That is a lot easier to put in. Mine came individually like the OEMs. If I were to do it again, I would definitely put it in myself. Looking at the engine bay this morning while changing the engine oil, I think you might have to unscrew the coil packs at the back to get to the rear nuts. Also, the nuts are copper....don't ask me why MB uses copper nuts. I guess to prevent rusted nuts and maybe, they always think that their cars are made to be "mod" with different headers

Well, let us know how it turn out and make sure the flanges are sand down flat. That will also prevent cracking as another member in this form who has the AMS headers and they crack on him.

ddb

I'm really looking forward to the headers arriving on Tuesday. I will drop them off to a machine shop on Wednesday, and hope to have them back by Friday so that I can drop them off to have them ceramic coated.

So I have $459.99 in the headers (it was a sale and they are now back up to $499.99), and will probaby have ~$200 with the machine shop and ceramic coating. I ordered 20 (some extras just in case) new copper nuts from Pelican Parts.

I did some reading and it sounds like the copper plated nuts will stick, and stay tight on the stainless parts. There was talk about not using stainless hardware on stainless parts. They would not stay tight. I've never seen copper nuts used on an exhaust system. Then again I've never worked on a MB exhaust before. I cant wait to get the headers back from the two shops so I can get them bolted on. I did find a torque spec of 20nm (~ 15 ft lbs).

BTW, do you think these are AMS knock-offs or actual AMS headers? What were your initial reactions once your AMS headers were installed? Did the sound and performance change much over time?

Thanks,

ddb

snooozie

Mine cost $750 when I bought them a few years ago. You definitely got a good deal. I think AMS sold the original template to the people selling it on eBay. They look pretty much alike thought but until you put them side by side, you can not tell if they are the same ones. I know for a fact the gasket is a lot easier as it comes in one piece. Like Kleemann headers, the original ones have individual flanges, which IMO are much more difficult to sand down flat but the new ones have the same flange that the AMS has.

When you first put them in you will notice the hollow stainless steel header sound from the engine bay. Over time, you will notice the exhaust getting louder when you step on the gas. Mine has that Hemi V8 sounding when I step on the pedal, that's over many moons. Performance wise, the ECU will adapt to the header and you will feel the car responds quicker over time.

For the money and with our NA engines, I think these are the best bang for your money as far as mod goes.

Also, if you want a better breathing engine, switch the air filters to either K&N or AFE ProDry filters. The AFE ProDry does not need oiling and can be wash or vacuum.

ErickNguyen

where can I start getting all these parts to mod my 2011 C300?

snooozie

Sorry, this is the W210 E55 forum....try asking in the W204 forum

ddb

Fun thread to read from the SLK55 section. Nice videos too!


https://mbworld.org/forums/slk55-r17...ll-review.html