Extractor / Header for M54B30 330i & 530i

[ess530i]

hello sifus... need ur help on exhaust / header tech. i think my catalytic converters are gone coz my boost is going up, car has less power & AFR is damn rich. checked the intake and it is not stuck. i think the cat is gone due to repeated use of octane boosters. i'm exploring the options which i have including the following:1. branded header with high flow catalytic converter - i think 6k minimum (damn expensive)2. locally made header with no cat from sunway (i think design copy from imported ones) - around 3k3. wai heng exhaust shop header with no cat (design copy from imported ones) - 1.8k siap pasang (!)4. replace my cat with hi flow cats (i think cost 3 - 4k)met wai heng boss yday... drivin new S350 with #2 plate... he showed me his factory in puchong and there was production for a 530i header. he said he installed the header on many e60 530i before without any issues. also saw their advertisement for 530i header (1.8k siap pasang) on a large signboard in cheras roundabout. but i heard before that newer bmw engines cant run without cat or at least it will bring up the engine check light? i plan to do header wrap as well. anyone w experience pls share and comment on the options which i have...thx

 

[fabianyee]

RM1,800 is cheap.. Stainless steel mandrel bent???

 

[mizhan]

google Motorsports Downunder.

 

[B33mEr]

For M54B30 people (in the states) been running on headers for years already ... For CEL there's a reflash option (ESS should be able to help) or via sim 02 (O2simulator) ...

Here's one (of many)
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=689863

Any pics of the extractor bro? How's the quality?

 

[ess530i]

going to pick it up and send to ah wai for the header wrap today... will post some photos then

 

[ALBundy]

hello sifus... need ur help on exhaust / header tech. i think my catalytic converters are gone coz my boost is going up, car has less power & AFR is damn rich. checked the intake and it is not stuck. i think the cat is gone due to repeated use of octane boosters. i'm exploring the options which i have including the following:

1. branded header with high flow catalytic converter - i think 6k minimum (damn expensive)
2. locally made header with no cat from sunway (i think design copy from imported ones) - around 3k
3. wai heng exhaust shop header with no cat (design copy from imported ones) - 1.8k siap pasang (!)
4. replace my cat with hi flow cats (i think cost 3 - 4k)

met wai heng boss yday... drivin new S350 with #2 plate... he showed me his factory in puchong and there was production for a 530i header. he said he installed the header on many e60 530i before without any issues. also saw their advertisement for 530i header (1.8k siap pasang) on a large signboard in cheras roundabout. but i heard before that newer bmw engines cant run without cat or at least it will bring up the engine check light? i plan to do header wrap as well. anyone w experience pls share and comment on the options which i have...thx

How is option 2 and 3 going to solve your problem, if indeed the catalytic converter is the problem?

That being said, I do not see any correlation between catalytic converter and boost pressure.

As for insulating the headers, I would prefer getting it ceramic coated. AH wai knows where to send it

Cheers

 

[ess530i]

How is option 2 and 3 going to solve your problem, if indeed the catalytic converter is the problem?

That being said, I do not see any correlation between catalytic converter and boost pressure.

As for insulating the headers, I would prefer getting it ceramic coated. AH wai knows where to send it

Cheers

option 2 and 3 is to replace the stock header entirely and to decat. we think the cat is stucked and restricting exhaust flow therefor increasing the boost pressure. also explains why the AFR is rich coz less air coming in. ceramic coating is too expensive for my budget which has been cut hehe. also ah wai said its not as good as thermal wraps... almost like no difference with no coating

 

[ALBundy]

option 2 and 3 is to replace the stock header entirely and to decat. we think the cat is stucked and restricting exhaust flow therefor increasing the boost pressure. also explains why the AFR is rich coz less air coming in. ceramic coating is too expensive for my budget which has been cut hehe. also ah wai said its not as good as thermal wraps... almost like no difference with no coating

Bro,

I seriously doubt the catalytic converter is the issue as the air mass sensor will measure the amount of air getting into the combustion chamber. However there is no harm to de-cat and see what happens next.

As for ceramic coating, I have done it before for a 4 cylinder extractor and it cost RM600. Worked well for me and the thermal difference was evident in the m42 turbocharged engine

Alternatively is to go for high grade stainless steel extractor as it retains heat better than normal stainless steel used by Wai Heng or other local fabricators. It is also interesting to note, BMW used triple layered steel pipes in the higher end models

CHeers

 

[ramsing]

option 2 and 3 is to replace the stock header entirely and to decat. we think the cat is stucked and restricting exhaust flow therefor increasing the boost pressure. also explains why the AFR is rich coz less air coming in. ceramic coating is too expensive for my budget which has been cut hehe. also ah wai said its not as good as thermal wraps... almost like no difference with no coating

i think the problem is in the TS. not enough power, needs a turbo to make it feel better. :love:

but seriously, we have no emission laws here. so better enjoy de-catless cars while we can. dump the cat and get a hi-flow extractor. should be worth the mod.

u can prob sell ur cat for some $$$ as there's precious metal in it.

 

[ess530i]

bundy... confirm the power loss and higher boost was caused by the stucked cats. after replacing the stock header, the boost was back to normal and power increased by about 15% on my butt dyno. unfortunately, my head gasket leaked as a result of boosting too much with the previously stucked cats

back to the wai heng headers... although better (more power) than a stucked stock header, its still crap. the boss informed that the design was copied from a branded header but its bullshit. the piping & joints are upside down and oxygen sensor completely misplaced causing erratic AFR readings. i will see go back to them for a fix or a claim soon. stay tuned... meanwhile stay away from these headers

btw i have 2 other options which is to decat my stock headers or go for branded performance headers. any suggestion?

i have attached photo of wai heng header & a supersprint (LHD) header. notice the difference. also the location of the o2 sensor

 

[niceputera]

bundy... confirm the power loss and higher boost was caused by the stucked cats. after replacing the stock header, the boost was back to normal and power increased by about 15% on my butt dyno. unfortunately, my head gasket leaked as a result of boosting too much with the previously stucked cats

back to the wai heng headers... although better (more power) than a stucked stock header, its still crap. the boss informed that the design was copied from a branded header but its bullshit. the piping & joints are upside down and oxygen sensor completely misplaced causing erratic AFR readings. i will see go back to them for a fix or a claim soon. stay tuned... meanwhile stay away from these headers

btw i have 2 other options which is to decat my stock headers or go for branded performance headers. any suggestion?

i have attached photo of wai heng header & a supersprint (LHD) header. notice the difference. also the location of the o2 sensor

You have already spent on a sc, why don't just go for the branded header? It is known that ori header is very restrictive. The power will goes up, and the back pressure will be reduced a lot by a better flow. Not only the power delivery will be smoother ( u might need some add tuning) but the engine will be less stressed as well which will prolong it.

Branded header is design and tested through r&d, just like the supersprint header that u post the foto. But even that is designed for pure na engine. U might want to modified the secondary pipes to a slightly bigger sizes to accommodate ur sc engine. I presume that u had already have 3 inc after cat exhaust system, right?

 

[ess530i]

You have already spent on a sc, why don't just go for the branded header? It is known that ori header is very restrictive. The power will goes up, and the back pressure will be reduced a lot by a better flow. Not only the power delivery will be smoother ( u might need some add tuning) but the engine will be less stressed as well which will prolong it.

Branded header is design and tested through r&d, just like the supersprint header that u post the foto. But even that is designed for pure na engine. U might want to modified the secondary pipes to a slightly bigger sizes to accommodate ur sc engine. I presume that u had already have 3 inc after cat exhaust system, right?

i wish there was branded header for e60 but there isn't... all the branded ones are for LHD vehicles. there are a few copycat versions which are almost as good as the branded ones in term of design & performance gain. unfortunately not the one which i bought...