C63 Customer Headers & Primary Cats

[Palmball]

I thought given some new photo's are available, I'd treat this modification to it's very own thread.

The modification of headers and cats was very much a last minute decision but as you'll probably know, my car is out in Germany this week having the final adjustments made to it's suspension.

After my lack of success with the Brabus upgrade, my friend who's arranged for AMG's development driver to get involved in setting my suspension up happens to be out in Germany with his own car (a BMW....a good one, but a BMW nevertheless...sorry ) and the both of them arranged for my headers & cats to be changed to a different and apparently very effective design.

This was fabricated over the last couple of days and it took so long as apparently they weren't expecting a RHD car and needed to start from square one (its a very different design to the LHD variation due to the steering column)! The final fitting was completed at about 6pm this evening and theres no going back now

Now, my friend had a little problem with his highly tuned BMW this week (let's just say his 335i puts out more power than my C63!) which has rendered it undriveable for a week or so until it's fixed . As his car is out of action, he's been able to drive my car and make sure the suspension is set up just so and he's also the one taking it to the exhaust fabricators in order to save me having to pay someone to do it! (I am incredibly lucky to have him out there this week!)

More importantly, he has to get home this weekend and therefore he's bringing my car back for me tonight (I am taking him back out next week though). He's on his way back now and the feedback on the numerous calls he's made to me this evening is very positive and promising...he assures me this modification has had such a noticeable improvement in performance that I'm going to be stunned. He certainly is very excited at how successful the exhaust changes have been but I guess I'll find out shortly!

Here's some photo's he sent me showing the differences in the old and new components and the work being done....

Old & new headers

Differences in pipe diameter

Another part that I have no idea what it is

Yes, you do see a woman fitting it

I just hope when I get it back that the sound is as promised....no louder than stock with a slightly deeper tone (if it can indeed go deeper ).

 

[lopes80]

Awesome!

Damn! Just had a vision of you creeping up on me up the strip! LOL

 

[Palmball]

I need a decent gearbox (or some talent) before I can do that Lopes!

 

[lopes80]

I need a decent gearbox (or some talent) before I can do that Lopes!

Nothing wrong with that box, dump to conti's get maybe a PS2/3 or a P zero corsa.

 

[whitenemesis]

Has the head had any work? Those ports look quite different in shape.

 

[Pappilo]

Palmball

I have always read your threads but never made a comment ( i think) but just had to on this one.

Kudos to you my man. You treat your car better than I treat my own son!

In the words of the famous Ali G; Respec'!

 

[Palmball]

Has the head had any work? Those ports look quite different in shape.

I too noticed the different shape and am 99% sure no head work has been done. I've not been around whilst this was being done but I'm sure I'll have the full lowdown on the work once my mate gets it back to me. Only an hour or so to wait now

Maybe the heads were smaller than the original manifold ports?

Palmball

Kudos to you my man. You treat your car better than I treat my own son!

In the words of the famous Ali G; Respec'!

Pappilo, if I was eating my cornflakes when reading this they would have been all over my wall...as it happens I spat my coffee out. Hilarious comment!


MODS - if theres any mods about can you please change the title of this thread to read 'Custom' instead of Customer. Cheers

Andrew

 

[NISFAN]

posted too late

 

[NISFAN]

So Palmball what is the verdict? Can't wait to hear

 

[Palmball]

posted too late

What did you post too late? I was hoping you'd come along and give a possible reason for the different sized ports!

I guess I'll find out when I go back to Germany next week and speak to them but I want to know NOW!

Actually, if you check out a picture I took of another header recently - the not-very-good Hayward & Scott one that CPR took off an E63 a few weeks ago - you'll see that the header is very similar in shape to my new one despite coming off the same engine. Both are very different from the stock design

Interestingly, look how all the ports on this Hayward & Scott one has them all joined together like its fabricated from one piece of metal compared to my new one (and indeed the stock item) where the ports are all separate.

 

[PXW]

Do I read that packing box correctly...the German for 'exhaust' is Auspuff?? Brilliant!!

 

[crockers]

Boring question .... but how are your insurance company reacting to all the mods you are doing? Are they ok with them or adding £££££ to your policy??

 

[Simon_M]

LOL and what do MB Finance make of it?

 

[Palmball]

Firstly, I declared the Performance Pack Plus as a modification as my now previous insurer, Privilege, wouldn't even insure me on the basis it was modified (even though PPP is factory fitted ). Declaring the PPP, the suspension and all the interior modifications cost me an extra £80ish.

I have just been charged an extra £70 for the exhaust/manifold changes making that a total of £150 on top of my £800ish premium. Thats about 18% so not too bad given they really could've taken the piss (or, like Privilege, refused ).

My insurer is Admiral.

 

[PXW]

Hmm insurance costs on the mods are not as bad as I feared, though I guess you inevitably suffer a bit from a reduced range of potential insurers, so some hassle in phoning around etc.

 

[Palmball]

LOL and what do MB Finance make of it?

LOL! If I was ever to just hand the car back to them it would be sent back totally standard - except for the interior although I doubt they'd have issue with having it back with a £3k+ interior upgrade!.

But, in all my previous cars of which they have been one or two I've never handed a car back and walked away!

I'm keeping all the original bits so I can either sell the car in standard form or, if I can command a reasonable premium for it (which would likely only be to an enthusiast as mad as me if such a person exists) then I'll sell it complete.

 

[Palmball]

Hmm insurance costs on the mods are not as bad as I feared, though I guess you inevitably suffer a bit from a reduced range of potential insurers, so some hassle in phoning around etc.

Yes, to some degree. But to be fair as a standard car, Admiral were 2nd cheapest to Privilege (although still £150pa dearer). There is another major difference - Admiral don't require a tracker so that in theory saves me £300 for a tracker and £150ish pa in subscription so that makes Admiral the net cheapest.

I say 'in theory' as although I haven't had one fitted, I am actually considering having a Tracker - if this car goes walkabouts then the best I'll get back is market value.

Insurers really are total sh!ts - you have to declare all the mods and they charge you handsomely for telling them....but then they won't cover the replacement cost of any modifications if they have to pay out. So the best that'll happen if the car gets stolen or wrecked is I get a standard C63 at market value (or another standard new one in the first year). Crap, utter crap.

 

[NISFAN]

What did you post too late? I was hoping you'd come along and give a possible reason for the different sized ports!

I guess I'll find out when I go back to Germany next week and speak to them but I want to know NOW!

Actually, if you check out a picture I took of another header recently - the not-very-good Hayward & Scott one that CPR took off an E63 a few weeks ago - you'll see that the header is very similar in shape to my new one despite coming off the same engine. Both are very different from the stock design

Interestingly, look how all the ports on this Hayward & Scott one has them all joined together like its fabricated from one piece of metal compared to my new one (and indeed the stock item) where the ports are all separate.

It is an interesting concept.....

...by the looks of it, the stock port size in the head are huge. The original manifold follows common practice of port matching those.

Now perhaps due to the oversize ports, the engine is not getting the back pressure required for good cylinder charging. This can be corrected by adding a restriction in the manifold or cat, but then again the original manifold is not particularly complicated, looks like a log type unit, with divided parralel joins, so not 'tuned length' like the H&S in the pics above.

The new manifold I guess works on the principal that the head port is too large, so restricts it with a smaller exhaust flange port. This port mismatch goes against popular performance practice, many port jobs ensure port matching. This mod will produce needed(??) back pressure.

Other than that is has a very large bore, much of which will be wasted, but I guess it is to match a large bore sports cat. Why wasted? well it makes no sense to fit a large bore pipe before an normal bore exhaust system. You are just slowing the gas speed down and speeding it back up again for nothing. Dare I say it, the design is also rather more crude than I was expecting. Although it is the results that count.

The reason why log type manifolds are becoming more popular these days is due to the need to fit the cat as close to the head as possible (heats up to operating temp faster). A tuned branch is the ultimate system, as you can get 'apparent' back pressure for no loss in flow, but needs to be long.

I thought that this new manifold, being an aftermarket (not CO2 friendly) system, would have been a tuned pulse system.

I am very interested in power comparisons between the two manifolds. My gut feel would suggest the new one will give more power down low, but lose some top end, but then the sport cat will come into play and give back a little more up top.

Hopefully you are going to dyno this mod too?

 

[NISFAN]

Yes, to some degree. But to be fair as a standard car, Admiral were 2nd cheapest to Privilege (although still £150pa dearer). There is another major difference - Admiral don't require a tracker so that in theory saves me £300 for a tracker and £150ish pa in subscription so that makes Admiral the net cheapest.

I say 'in theory' as although I haven't had one fitted, I am actually considering having a Tracker - if this car goes walkabouts then the best I'll get back is market value.

Insurers really are total sh!ts - you have to declare all the mods and they charge you handsomely for telling them....but then they won't cover the replacement cost of any modifications if they have to pay out. So the best that'll happen if the car gets stolen or wrecked is I get a standard C63 at market value (or another standard new one in the first year). Crap, utter crap.

TBH if it is not for insurance premium reductions, you can buy pretty sophisticated GPS GSM trackers. These are units that you interogate via a mobile phone, and give you back live GPS co-ordinates. Very handy for tipping the police off to where the car is, and no monthly fee.

 

[crockers]

Yes, to some degree. But to be fair as a standard car, Admiral were 2nd cheapest to Privilege (although still £150pa dearer). There is another major difference - Admiral don't require a tracker so that in theory saves me £300 for a tracker and £150ish pa in subscription so that makes Admiral the net cheapest.

I say 'in theory' as although I haven't had one fitted, I am actually considering having a Tracker - if this car goes walkabouts then the best I'll get back is market value.

Insurers really are total sh!ts - you have to declare all the mods and they charge you handsomely for telling them....but then they won't cover the replacement cost of any modifications if they have to pay out. So the best that'll happen if the car gets stolen or wrecked is I get a standard C63 at market value (or another standard new one in the first year). Crap, utter crap.

Have they actually said they won't cover the cost of replacing the mods if the car is stolen? I would argue that the extra premium overs the risk and the replacement of same. You could otherwise argue the suspension mods makes the car safer and should give you a reduced premium.