Anyone had any experience with aftermarket headers?

G

ga41

Veteran
 Paphos
My M is a UK model and as such i believe has a freer flowing header design than North American M's with only one set of catalytic converters, correct?

Now my question is this, will aftermarket headers, most probably Supersprint of some sort, provide any meaningful gains to a European spec Z4M? Would the money spent be worth it? Also consider my car is otherwise completely stock. I ask this here because practically everyone that has upgraded their headers are Americans, this forum seems to have a lot of Europeans as well so maybe there's a slim chance someone has done it.

Thank you :thumbsup:
 
I think there's no doubt that high quality headers will improve flow and give gains. However, you'd be wise to change the entire system, headers to tail pipes and if you're talking Superspint, that's going to be extremely expensive. The entire system in the Uk is around £4500, unfitted! I don't think that the gains will be worth that kind of money and you'll never see a return when you sell. Your money though and if you do it, i'd love you to post a wee video/soundclip.

If you're going down the route of spending larger sums, i'd supercharge the car (ESS). Then you'd really get serious gains.
 
I know about the cost and the supercharger route but to be honest i prefer the idea and feel of a high revving naturally aspirated engine not the torquey feel of a forced induction one. Plus i feel 500+ bhp would completely overwhelm the Z4M (but that's me).
 
ga41 said:
I know about the cost and the supercharger route but to be honest i prefer the idea and feel of a high revving naturally aspirated engine not the torquey feel of a forced induction one. Plus i feel 500+ bhp would completely overwhelm the Z4M (but that's me).
Click to expand...

The ESS chargers on the S54 are not positive displacement, but centrifugal types, so the delivery is still very much in the nature of the S54 normally...!

Not like the twin screws on the 3.0i etc that give a load of low-down punchy torque, with more torque gains than power ones.

But yeah, 500bhp+ might be a bit much for a Z4M without other work. All gets a bit silly...

I'd look into sourcing some OE back boxes cheap, and gutting them a bit. They will certainly be set up for noise reduction and as such will add weight, cost power, and hurt the noise quality... cheap and effective.
But after market tuners will never tell you that, since they want to sell shiny new stuff for lots more money!

Dave
 
You're probably right regarding the ESS blower for the S54 but i still think the engine loses a lot of its character, to each his own.

Now about your other suggestion, I think the cost of buying the OEM system would still be too high for such an experimental approach and i dont plan on hacking up my existing setup unless i am sure i can see some benefits in power and/or sound. Wouldnt want it to sound like a big old fart can.
 
You don't need the system, just the back boxes, which if you are in no hurry can be snapped up pretty cheaply.

Again, it's all down to that tinker factor. You could get a really cool sound for sod all outlay if you are happy to DIY, and it's what I'll be doing when a 2nd hand back box comes up for a good price from someone who has spent £££ upgrading to a fart can from an exhaust builder!

Dave
 
Sorry mate, as much as i'd want to (i've already visited your thread several times :D ) they're a bit out of my price range at the moment!
 
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