TheVazha

So after several months of deliberation, I pulled the trigger and slapped some headers on the beast.

I bought a used set of VRP's from a stand up guy who made me a deal I could not refuse. They looked beat up as as hell when I got them but after a nice sand blast and several coats of ceramic heat stuff, they were as good as new.



The install took just over 2 hours. When we fired her up there were two things I noticed. One was a bit more noise from the rear and the second was smoke from the engine!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9mz6WevZH4

I guess the coating was doing it's thing. After about 5 minutes, the smoke stopped and we went for a drive. On the road they are great. The sound is a bit louder; or maybe throatier is a better word.

As far as performance, I must admit that while it was noticeable, it did not wow me like when we did the 180mm and tune. I have not been re-flashed for the headers so I did go easy on her but the difference is there. The throttle feels a bit more responsive and the lag I've felt before seems like it lessened.

The H/E goes on Tuesday as well as the tune. Then it's off to the dyno for some numbers.

All in all, I'm a happy guy. One thing however that kept sneaking up into my head as I was holding on for dear life was "This thing can go faster?!?!?"

outrun

wow, only 2 hours?

_AMG_

Lookin good brotha!!
Lets see some numbers!

Did you get a chance to fix the torque convertor?

shardul

iTrader: (1)

The stock flange is where the bottle neck is.

AWOL

I love my VRP's.

Just like you, I didnt notice much as for performance, but my track numbers were way better after - and thats whats important.

Nice pick up

gasnhaul

This is my first post...

I'm used to American muscle cars and exhaust...if that is the header, what does the factory piece look like? Sorry, but that looks nothing like a high flow piece to me. How much HP is to be gained from this?

TheVazha

The actual labor, yes. There was also an hour of letting her cool down..

Thanks bro! Getting that TC sorted out this week for sure!

Yup yup.

Thanks bro, I wanted some fancy pants headers but now I'm completely satisfied with these. I also have an extra $2G's in my pocket that will help with the wedding!

You are right, it is not a super high flow piece. These are shorty, direct bolt on headers with no modification needed. As far as HP, who knows? After a tune I'd be happy with 20-25. People here have had more off shorties but nothing like some long tubes you see floating...

tbal

Do you still have your cats in place? Those cause crazy restriction as well. If I do shorties, pri cats gotta goooo, and do full 3" exhaust back.

Havoc

Sorry, but those VRP logs are not shorty headers, but rather (HEM) high-performance exhaust manifolds.

These are shorty headers from evosport which are a direct bolt on short-header with no modification needed..

SvtAmg

Ya and I've heard those evo headers are not much better in performance than the VRPs. Plus, you don't have to lift the motor to install vrps. Just for that reason alone I'd go VRP. Even if they are HEMs lol.

Vazha, we are neighbors basically. When are you gonna give me a ride in that beast? lol

brad @ evosport

To the OP - congrats on taking the plunge and you should enjoy your car.

To SvtAmg - to clarify, there is a big difference between the performance of ours and a log header. Those log's were made first by us when Vadim worked with us, we found a substantial gain going to a true header. Further, it does not require lifting the motor to install our headers.

Thanks
Brad

SvtAmg

Thanks for the clarifying that. Sometimes reading the board posts can misconstrue the true facts.

So I guess now I will let you sell me some evo headers lol

GT-ER

You are correct, but the oem ones are SO HORRIBLE that even a log style manifold such as the one pictured above will give substantial gains. It's kinda sad that amg decided on such a stupid exhaust manifold design from the factory.

TheVazha

Bro I JUST got my registration situation from the DMV and they want me to smog her! It's due in a month or two so after the smog I will remove the cats as well...

Ok! Thanks for the heads up.

Agreed on all! I'm down for a drive anytime, where do you reside?

Thank you kind sir. Your Evo's are very pretty on the eyes for sure but if I tell you what I paid for my HEM's you'd agree it would be foolish not to jump on them. Just curious, how much more power did you guys see in the two different designs?

Yeah those OEM ones are not much smaller but the volume inside is considerably less then these..

SvtAmg

I'm in LB brotha. Snoop dogg is my neighbor lol

gasnhaul

Anyone have pics of the stockers? I can't believe they are that bad...especially on a blower motor. Man, they must really choke the heck out of the motor. I'd imagine a nice longtube would show HUGE gains. Did Mercedes raid the parts bin and just put a normal manifold off of another model?

AMG_RL

these are the stockers and yes longtubes yield 40-50whp gains.

SvtAmg

Are the stock manifolds worth anything if you sold them? Or are they better off as paper weights?

BenzoBoi

Awesome stuff my friend!

TheVazha

They sell for a couple hundred on the bay. The way I see it, sell them for $200 or hold them for a rainy day? I say hold em!

Thanks brotha! Tell me something, where can I get my hands on some 840's??

GT-ER

I have mine as paper weights.

AWOL

Im trying to sell mine for 200, no dice yet

cahiil55k

Great job on the HEMs. They look much better now than when they were brand new. I was never a fan of the black coating that VRP/Fadim used, which started to burn off after a few months anyway. I hope the sandblasting and recoating wasn't too costly. Congrats on getting hitched too!

frontin55

atta boy V!

BRIZZOK84

sick