Headers Stepped or Standard that is the question

[MarcWinNJ]

Alright, the question of the day for me is on the headers I am about to buy. As this group has been so helpful with all my questions when I got my S54 in December I have yet another set.

To start I have about blown out my budget so now I am trying to dial things back in to the world of practicality. I ordered Eisenmann Sport muffles for a sound change and those should be here in a week. At the same time I found a shop to work with for the rod bearings (proactive) and an Inspection II as well as the other belts and pulleys that have aged out. This has led to what other performance upgrades should I do and enter the headers. I am going to go Supersprint Headers, CATS and X-Pipe to the Eisenmann's. The guy doing the work had an S54 Coupe so he is talking to me from experience. He suggests the V2 stepped headers vs. the Standard headers. The V2's have the bigger diameter and give more low end power.

So to the community here. Do I need to have/want to have the Stepped over the Standard, ail I really see/feel the difference. I have found a set of Supersprint CATS from a member on the M3 Board that will save me a bunch of money and with some work I may fond the headers. The CATS I found only work with the Standard headers. The difference new between Stepped and Standard is north of $2,000.

In addition to the exhaust system i am planning to add a Dinan CAI and level 3 ECU program.

So what are the opinions here. I welcome all of your feedback.

thx,
Marc

[PbFut]

Slow down and save your money. You are not going to be happy with the net result/$ spent.
The cash placebo effect will quickly wear off of the items you are talking about.
10% gain is power is mildly noticeable in the seat. Very unlikely you will fine that much gain so even less chance of noticeable change in acceleration with action plan you have.

[BenFenner]

I would never chase power gains in the lower RPM range at the expense of top-end power. Avoid the stepped headers if they trade power up top for power down low. Chasing power down low is a losing game in N/A and not worth it unless it comes with no compromises.

[fmcfad01]

Stepped headers have been shown to give larger power increases than non-stepped while keeping the low end torque...that's the benefit of the 'stepped' part.

That said, the supersprint stepped headers are serious coin.

There is a group buy for replica stepped headers going on on M3Forum right now from a reputable company I can't recall right now. I almost went that route.

I just ordered some OEM Euro S54 headers and section 1 cats that I'm having randy install.

When considering headers for the S54, the important part is getting rid of the cats in the OEM headers themselves. The euro headers do not have cats.

You may get 10 more HP out of the stepped headers at 300% the cost WITH A TUNE ($500-$1000 more). As others have said, not worth it.

I bought my headers from a seller in UK who's reputable on M3 forum. If it weren't for shipping from the UK, the price would be unbelievable. The price was still better than the $650 people ask for on M3Forum.

[MarcWinNJ]

Thanks, keep the feedback coming. fmcfad01 you are right on the % price increase to value ratio, that is my biggest issue especially considering this is a summer car and won't be tracked.

[fmcfad01]

I'm kind of in it for the 'make it the way it was supposed to be' reason using OEM euro parts.

The euro headers have been dyno'd to give about 15hp and 10lb/ft of torque, without a tune (i think). You could spend 4x as much and get maybe double that with expensive headers coupled with a tune.

Either way, it should sound nice with my B&B exhaust.

[Blacklane]

Spend your money on suspension. These cars are best for turns and twists. BMW already engineered a fine engine and bolt-on mods just aren't worthwhile unless you're adding forced induction.

[dcrothers]

spend your money on suspension. These cars are best for turns and twists. Bmw already engineered a fine engine and bolt-on mods just aren't worthwhile unless you're adding forced induction.

ditto!!!!

[Mr Bingley]

Are you committed to NA? For not a lot more the $ you are spending on all of this you could go FI and achieve real gains that will throw you back in your seat.

[Scarceas]

Spend your money on suspension. These cars are best for turns and twists. BMW already engineered a fine engine and bolt-on mods just aren't worthwhile unless you're adding forced induction.

Are you committed to NA? For not a lot more the $ you are spending on all of this you could go FI and achieve real gains that will throw you back in your seat.

Agreed, suspension or forced induction sound like better choices to throw $2K towards.

[RobertFontaine]

Kromer Kraft made a pretty sweet stepped header but the price was pretty nuts if i recall correctly.

[FINZ]

I will echo advice to take a step back, consider options based on what you really want to accomplish.

On exhaust, I am don't know stepped vs standard, but I do know I would not spend $2K on the difference. My upgrade was a result of cats failing at about 140K miles. I decided to spend incremental $$ and went to Euro CSL headers and SS section 1 with cats. I already had SS cat back. Butt dyno said there was a nice power gain, and I then had a tune done that added another 20 hp. For me the incremental was worth it - outside of hassles wiring the cats. From scratch? Depends on personal budget.

You also mentioned Dinan CAI. Do some forum research, I think general consensus is that the stock system on s54 is pretty good.

[SGs54MC]

This has been floating around the M3 boards. Not sure of exact compatibility, but the price is a whole lot better.
http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=462891

[Z3speed4me]

I was gonna jump on that group buy. I want to sell off my status gruppe headers spot first; rather get the CPI since I have their section 1.

Euro headers are on the table in front of me just don't know if I'll put them on or not...