s54 swap headers fitment

[King Mufasa]

Well be working on my s54 and finished with all the things I wanted done to the cylinder head and forged pistons.

Now Iam looking forward for the install and one thing is now on my mined and its the headers.

Has any one installed a s54 engine in a e30 chasis using the catless euro headers without running into any clearance issues.

I know the e30 325i/318i are known for swaps but rarely do you see a s54 e30 but I know you guys are out there and hope you guys can enlighten a fellow enthusiast on your experiece.

I seached around and ran into a few items. Here for reference below:
vac headers a bit costy and below ebay headers with midpipe for half the cost.





I appreciate any help.

[FredK]

I have a stock front subframe, and I had to shim the driver's side mount up 3/8" to clear Ebay S54 headers. Some people in the past who have swapped in Euro S50B32 headers with an S50/52 have either notched the front subframe for clearance or used a torch and a hammer to get clearance.

The front swaybar also needs to be shimmed down around 1/2" in order to clear the headers.

My recommendation is, while the engine is on a stand, to verify header flange fitment. A lot of these Ebay headers have poor flange alignment, which is easy to address while the engine is on a stand and you can heat the pipes to realign the primaries. It's a lot more difficult to do this when the engine is already in the car.

Those Ebay headers appear to have the WRONG flange. It looks like an S50/52/S50 Euro fitment, NOT an S54 fitment.

[nando]

This isn't just the camera, the flange alignment is really that bad:


when it comes to headers, you get what you pay for.

[King Mufasa]

I have a stock front subframe, and I had to shim the driver's side mount up 3/8" to clear Ebay S54 headers. Some people in the past who have swapped in Euro S50B32 headers with an S50/52 have either notched the front subframe for clearance or used a torch and a hammer to get clearance.

The front swaybar also needs to be shimmed down around 1/2" in order to clear the headers.

My recommendation is, while the engine is on a stand, to verify header flange fitment. A lot of these Ebay headers have poor flange alignment, which is easy to address while the engine is on a stand and you can heat the pipes to realign the primaries. It's a lot more difficult to do this when the engine is already in the car.

Those Ebay headers appear to have the WRONG flange. It looks like an S50/52/S50 Euro fitment, NOT an S54 fitment.

Hey, thanks alot for the input man:up:.

I went and checked out the ebay headers they posted and verified it with them and was told they ment e46 non M3 headers with mid section, and apologize for the error.

I wonder if for that price I could just simply cut the flange and weld on the e46 m3 separate flange style. Just a thought to find what we all try to find, a "iinexpensive solution".

[King Mufasa]

That looks pretty off to me.. could be a different company/brand from fredK's headers. Thanks for the pic's nando.

[FredK]

This is probably a better starting point if you want to modify a set of Ebay headers:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/EXHAUST-HEADER-BMW-M3-E46-01-02-03-04-05-3-2L-EXHAUST-HEADER-01-05-BMW-E46-M3-/300796448994?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4608dd90e2&vxp=mtr

As the flanges appear to be the right ones.

Mine aren't exactly the same ones as the above headers. The way the header is constructed is cheaper on the above set.

[King Mufasa]

They sure looks like a great start. Al post a pic of them fredK for others to see for future reference as those links tend to disapear within time.

Its on ebay from a company called turbo-racing: http://turbo-racing.com/index.php/product/EH-001.html

[King Mufasa]

For those prices, sure doesnt hurt to kindly ask the china based fabricator for a more specific product. As all these headers are made for an e46 m3 chasis, and are only off by bits in our application. Taking in their e30 header structural design and the s54's in a combination where it suits us.


Just a thought I'll take. And quality wize might also consider the quantity over quality that might cause them to make small human errors over high demand..

[FredK]

I think that's the one weakness of mass production in China or elsewhere. There isn't much room for custom jobs, unless you order a container's worth of goods.

There might be sufficient overall demand for an E30 application, but it'd also cost a lot up front to do this.

[ForcedFirebird]

This isn't just the camera, the flange alignment is really that bad:


when it comes to headers, you get what you pay for.

Don't waste your time with the ebay stuff....

http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=110571

[nando]

This is probably a better starting point if you want to modify a set of Ebay headers:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/EXHAUST-HEADER-BMW-M3-E46-01-02-03-04-05-3-2L-EXHAUST-HEADER-01-05-BMW-E46-M3-/300796448994?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4608dd90e2&vxp=mtr

As the flanges appear to be the right ones.

Mine aren't exactly the same ones as the above headers. The way the header is constructed is cheaper on the above set.

you're saying yours were made better than mine? better flange alignment?

to be fair, I only paid $65 for the set. yeah, it was that cheap. I guess they may have known it was defective and that's why it was priced so low.

[FredK]

My headers were dead on for the 1-3 bank, but needed to be heated up and aligned for 4-6. I guess my headers closely resemble the "JVT" headers, which is a slight upgrade from some other S54 headers out there.

It's not that big a deal to heat the headers up and realign them. They will likely stress relieve themselves anyway after some hard driving.

In terms of the construction, the "turbo-racing" collector to secondary pipe is an expanded pipe connected to the collector. This certainly makes fabrication a bit easier since you have a fudge factor when it comes to aligning the pipes on a jig.

I'd be interested to know who makes those $595 MIG welded headers for Top End Performance, pictured below They look to be made from mild steel, with a laser cut flange that ensures perfect alignment with the head. They at least provide you with another choice besides Ebay headers.

[ForcedFirebird]

Those collectors are horrible. They are the cheapest ones you can buy.

[FredK]

Hahaha, who makes them, Megs?

[prada88m3]

Well be working on my s54 and finished with all the things I wanted done to the cylinder head and forged pistons.

Now Iam looking forward for the install and one thing is now on my mined and its the headers.

Has any one installed a s54 engine in a e30 chasis using the catless euro headers without running into any clearance issues.

I know the e30 325i/318i are known for swaps but rarely do you see a s54 e30 but I know you guys are out there and hope you guys can enlighten a fellow enthusiast on your experiece.

I seached around and ran into a few items. Here for reference below:
vac headers a bit costy and below ebay headers with midpipe for half the cost.





I appreciate any help.

pm sent