jamusa

I have an 03 E55 with stage 4 Kleemans kit,torque converter,and LET tune.The car ran true until recently when i suffered a broken piston ring.Even so the car ran strong with just a small amount of blue smoke.
I installed a G55 motor,and transfer all Kleemans stage4 goodies from the E55 engine to the G55 engine.Everything fit well,the car start up and idle smoothly and everything work fine.I went to heat cycle it and held the throttle down for about 15-20 seconds,and the headers got so red hot they glows.I have not driven the car in fear of damage.There is no check engine light or anything,and the mechanic has recheck everything and have not found any problems.............Anyone have ever experience anything like this,or have any ideas as to what might cause this.

skratch77

Why dont you run the K4 file? its rated at 640hp email Cory at sales@kleemannusa.com and get the right tune on that car.

BlownV8

It may be running dangerously lean.

skratch77

Im sure it is

jamusa

I too believe its running extreamely lean,or the cats are clogged,or injectors stuck......have no idea what might be the problem that is causing the headers to glow red hot.

skratch77

Is this a true k4 car? you probably have the primary cats deleted if it is.

Can you give us the full mod list of your car

jamusa

KLEEMANS STG 4
kleemans cam
kleemans headers
kleemans TB
kleemans lock up
180 pully
front mount H/E
rear trunk mount cooler
torque converter
LET tune

The car made 535 rwhp/620 rwtq
Like i said the car was a beast,and ran flawless,until i broke the piston ring.
Maybe it was red hot before and i did not notice,until now that we were checking everything because of the new install.

tgoss

Maybe they were glowing red... Run a wideband and dyno it to see for sure what the a/f is before jumping to conclusions.

blackbenzz

Wideband would definitely tell you where your afr's are. I have one installed in my car and definitely monitor it. Gives you insight into what is going on. Don't beat on the car. If you see it going lean stop the pull. Were your headers glowing on both sides? Sucks about the engine, I am afraid of that.

GT-ER

The grand majority of the time, when headers glow red, it's not because it's lean but rather because ignition timing is way too low. If you have a scanner that can read ignition timing I'd bet it's in the single digits when revved.

jamusa

Yes they were glowing on both sides.I was thinking that it's very unlikely that both cats are bad at the same time,or is it normal.I'm gonna try and check the A/F ratio if i can tomorrow to see how lean it is.
At this point i'm lost,so chime in with whatever idea you may have.

gp500e

Back in the late 80's I had a crate motor installed in my 1985 Corvette. When we first started the car and let it reach operating temp, the car temp continued to climb and the long tube headers started to glow. Turned out the mechanic installed the TPI manifold gaskets backwards. Prevented the coolent from circulating.

saleen01

happened to me on my mustang once cause i ran race fuel through hi-flow cats....basically melted cats, headers turned red....

jamusa

Thanks for chiming in fellas,but the car is running pump gas,and everything else seems to be in placecorrectly.

GT-ER

If EGT's continue to be high you may damage your cats very quickly.

jamusa

I had a chance to unhook the exhaust system to see if it was the cats that was stopped up,but the headers was still cherry red and glowing ,so that eliminate any thoughts of the cats being clogged.
I have had the MB AMG tech retrace the installation and insure me that everything is fine,so since there in no tuner close by i think i will send off for a box tune.
If anyone else have any more ideas please let me know.........anyone?

Jakpro1

Just check your air fuels to be safe. If they check out then I say you are fine. Could be lean but also could be rich and fuel is burning in the headers. Our cars are famous for spooking and dumping fuel to protect the engine. May just end up being nothing at all. Check those air fuels and let us know.

Jakpro1

Oh and get a tune on the friggin thing...asap!!

jamusa

Is there a specific A/F meter u guys use,so i can check the air fuel?

320 dreamer

zeitronix zt-2 wideband

SuperchargerV8

how did u know your piston ring was ****ed how did u tell what where the signs

dychen

This, have him double check that the coolant is circulating properly. I did this on my Camaro.

MBH motorsports

Its not uncommon for headers to glow red under a heat cycle. How much it glows red can be a from a few things. One being the gauge of the steel. Thinner steel will glow more than thicker steel as the steel has less material to dissipate the heat to.

Even on a good tune, you will get some header glow when the RPMs get up there.

Here is a video of our headers glowing red on the dyno
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXLszGSxC1o

skratch77

Its different if you are wot with 4th gear full load on a dyno than starting the car cold and seeing the like that in 15 seconds.

Double check your fuel psi and make sure the car is gettin fuel

Roverron

I had a 410 small block Chevy that did that on start up its was timing and it was almost instant that they started to glow. Make sure all of you harness are correct. And that you have the correct file on ECU.