Quote:
Originally Posted by bkz4mc
Dude... your point on cost is understood... however. I think you're missing the point on us wanting to buy a quality header. The only cons to a quality built / designed stainless steel SS or other quality brand header are cost.
The cons to ebay headers are....
1. Made out of shitty thin-wall steel = Causing them to crack a lot easier, & rust easily
2. Probably not welded very well = Causing them to crack due to poor weld penetration.
3. Unflush & uneven flanges = Doesn't seal properly causing loss of power.
4. Copied instead of designed = The person ripping it off probably doesn't realize ( or care ) that if they change anything tubing design wise... it causes a LOSS in power.
5. Look inside the merge collectors and see how smooth they are and if any toothpaste welds are in there as well. If they are... it's making a LOSS in power.
6. If they're Jet Coated, they'll crack easier, because the thin steel can't handle the extra heat, just like if you were to wrap them with header tape.
And last but not least.... Because I don't want a cheap piece of sweatshop crap on my car. It's a nice car, that should be accented with nice parts. Not some hunk of shit you'd put on a civic.
If you want a cheap e-bay knockoff, so be it. It's understandable not everyone will be able to drop 2+K on a header, and that's totally cool. But don't sit here and insinuate that it's the same shit... cuz it ain't.
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i don't want to sit here and argue with you because i see your point but you have some stuff wrong.
1. it is made out of the same stainless steel material as the fabspeed.
2. The welds werent bad at all. They looked strong, but they weren't smooth from the outside.
3. That is not really a problem once they get bolted down. you would know if the car is leaking because you would hear it, and that hasn't been a problem on the m coupe and all of the millions of e46 m3s.
4. yes it is bad for the other company but we still get s similar product, minuse the lack of less quality. and it is still going to be a huge improvement over the stock headers.
5. you probably can't see the inside of them, but still it is going to be an improvement over stock.
6. i don't know about this they could be jet coated i don't know.
know that is a little bit unnecessary, and that would be stereotyping.
yes i agree that it is cheap, but you honestly won't be able to tell the difference between the headers, they all will perform so closely. That loss of power that ylur saying of, well i have seen dyno testing done with numbers up to 20whp w/o software. your entitled to your own opinion but make sure you know the facts before you say something. know i may very well be wrong, but i sure don't think i am. so really the only problem with the headers is the flange issue and the small weld problem, and to you it is also the low price that shouldn't be associated with this car. both won't be a problem once bolted down. so if you can get passed those two things you can save quite a bit of money. like mmmazing said, if you knew just a little more about the subject, then you would have known if they cracked. Go to m3forum.net. i am telling you this, you will be amazed by how many m3 have these headers on their car.