Hi guys, I am having an engine for My Lotus Europa engine done at a race engine shop and one of the guys working there said he can extract more horse out the of BMW V8 with porting and polishing plus a set of headers.
Has anyone ever found a set of headers that will fit the e31 V8? Have e39 or e34 V8 headers been adapted?
I bought a set of stainless customScreen Shot 2019-11-23 at 3.49.26 PM.png headers off Ebay Germany a year or so ago. I haven't installed them yet as I was going to install them with a supercharger, but my project stalled - not least of which how hard it's become to smog these cars even with a 'friendly' shop in California. They are for a M62 4.4 LHD car. I can't vouch for the extra HP claimed in the Ebay ad, but I did hear exactly what you heard and they look good and are brand new. I'd be willing to sell them for $1500 + shipping
Last year I swapped my m60 for an m62 from an e39. I can definitively tell you that the e31 headers are different from the e39 headers, although the e31 headers fit both the m60 and m62. The e39 headers hit part of the frame and cannot be used.
Brett
don't know about the V8 ... but what i do know is that in most cases it is very difficult to install them.. mostly it will demand either removing the front cross member or pulling the engine higher up.... i have the V12 and was already hard struggling with the down tubes... let alone a header....
I've been talking briefly with Viktor from Soara Performance about designing m60 headers for my 840. He currently has an m60, although I'm unsure if its a rhd or lhd. As far as we know, m60 motors all shared the same exhaust manifold across all models? Maybe the e38 m60 is different from e31/e32/e34, if anyone can chime in that would be great. Also, are LHD and RHD headers non-interchangeable?
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Last edited by Goodguyili; 01-12-2023 at 11:48 AM.
Since M62 exhaust headers are not common across all models, I would be cautious assuming M60 headers are. Check realoem for part numbers.
The headers are common between M60 E31's, E32's and E34's (there are four of them) and are even used on some M62-engined models!
Timm..2007 E64 650i Individual Sport..1999 E31 840ci Individual Sport..ex owner of 2000 E38 740..1999 E38 740i V8 M62..1998 E38 735i V8..1993 E32 730i V8..1988 E28 518i
My BMW Repair YouTube Channel
My Current 840ci Sport Individual
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Chase - Heroes to a generation
One downside of putting headers on is that you also raise the engine-bay temperature, and it's pretty high already! The original manifold pipes are double-walled to retain heat for the cats, the secondary function is to reduce the heat from them.
Timm..2007 E64 650i Individual Sport..1999 E31 840ci Individual Sport..ex owner of 2000 E38 740..1999 E38 740i V8 M62..1998 E38 735i V8..1993 E32 730i V8..1988 E28 518i
My BMW Repair YouTube Channel
My Current 840ci Sport Individual
My Current 650ci Sport Individual
My E31 Repair and Information Website
My E38 Repair and Information Website
My E63/E64 Repair and Information Website
Chase - Heroes to a generation
Hello Goodguyili,
(I can't PM you because I'm a new member)
I'm currently having Soara Performance make some exhaust manifolds for my E31 with M62. My research shows that part nos are the same between M60 and M62 powered E31s, with there being a difference between LHD/RHD. I presume this is due to location of steering intermediate shaft, in any case Viktor is going to make some for me. Are you interested in joining in on the purchase? Where did you get to with this topic? Are you LHD or RHD?
Does anyone know of any good pictures of the engine bay with engine removed so I can see the clearance issues? Visibility is so poor with engine in situ.
Owen
- - - Updated - - -
Hello rjbaren,
See my post above. Any progress on your side?
Custom headers on a E31 V8 is a fool's fantasy, possibly modeled after hot rod mag porn showing a legacy engine in a HUGE bay.
On the e31 it's a doomed effort with no proven benefit but has the downsides as pointed out.
The fool starts the header journey by...
1) Dismissing a design that is already working just fine per factory engineering.
2) Imagining benefits that won't actually happen due to other factors or are not particularly valuable for the vehicle mission.
3) Editing out the development cost, both time and money.
But ultimately...
1) That is a 90-degree engine with dohc heads. Wide.
2) That is a small and tight engine bay with other standard equipment present.
In reality, the stock header has a molded shape so that the 2 pieces per side fit tightly together,
with clearance to the bay sheetmetal, support beam and bay equipment.
After numerous e31 V8 swaps (the number being 4) this seasoned wrencher eventually got the stock header extraction
and installation down to a particular sequence, a corkscrew maneuver, an engine lift height, a set of ratchet tools.
If custom headers are the fool's hobby may I recommend say a narrow 60-degree sohc engine or another vehicle
and first proving the result with engine dyno numbers.
Hyper, while yes the V8 headers are pretty well designed, there is a reason why people make aftermarket headers for them, because there is still room for improvement. Otherwise companies like supersprint or Einhorn industries wouldn't make headers for the m60/62/s62. The e39 is a great comparative example, a much smaller engine bay in my opinion, and einhorn makes their massive 4-1 headers fit. Soara performance is simply offering a new leg in the game; a less expensive alternative to the other brands.
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Coming from the E46 M3 forum, I see way too much backlash on improving the E31. Every other BMW platform gets the luxury of modding, oem+, and track car mind sets that are forward thinking and use up to date knowledge to improve the experience. However, the E31 gets excluded from that. I’ll see a few here and there that think this way, but holy are there a bunch of nay sayers here. I’m looking into headers as well and if soara made some, then I would be interested as well.
Hey, I just found this forward thinking performance improvement for the e31 V8.
Who else is interested?
The only constructive comment I can add here is that the M62/S62 headers are regarded as restrictive, evidenced by the numerous off the shelf systems available for the E39.
You can see an example of the OEM design here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/222153064680
I'm attempting to add another option for the E31 V8 community.
About 35 years ago, the PhD CEO of my Silicon Valley company (Acer) made a statement that stuck with me since. >> "Speak with data"
IOW's if you are to make a claim, propose an action, be prepared to present hard numbers that anyone can agree or disagree to.
***
While I'm here, ///MpulseM3 with 3 forward slashes, has posited profoundly false premises about the e31 community.
For instance, no one (in the US) is preventing ///MpulseM3 with 3 forward slashes from whimsical mod'ing.
Leave that restriction to UK MOT, others.
My redline is the boundary between personal choice, and public promotion of facts not in evidence.
Absent hard data, that earns you a brush back pitch.
Hyper,
Well said!!
There is always room for improvement on any car, even the e31!
Regards,
Brian
Cave Creek, AZ
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