E46Fanatics - **Everything you need to know about eBay headers**

I'm sick and tired of seeing people too lazy to search about eBay headers and making new threads about it EVERYDAY. So I'm making this to end the lazy noobs' inability to search. Hopefully this is informative....sticky?

:censor:

Well gosh Ken, what are eBay headers? Why are they so cheap?
Simple. They're replicas of Supersprint headers made in Taiwan, that's why they are so cheap. But they are just as good, and dozens of people have run them on this website with no issues. In my personal experience, I have found my 330 eBay headers to be nearly identical to those from Active Autowerke.

Will my car be ungodly loud and wake the dead?
Yes and no. It depends on what exhaust setup you have. Despite whatever Chase (2000_328ci) tries to tell you, he is uneducated when it comes to this and just ignore what he says.

LOUD (and not recommended): Any UUC TSEx system, Rogue DMS, straight pipes, kpeng special, any "cannister" style system or no true muffler setup
NOT THAT BAD: Any real muffler system - i.e stock muffler, Rogue IKON, Magnaflow, B&B, etc.

That's dandy! What seller should I purchase from, and how much will I pay?
gtmotogarage or trader-nas. Stay away from boombop, he has been known to ship the wrong headers out. delubozparts used to sell them at the market price, but got too greedy after seeing the demand. Do not pay more than $160-$170 shipped for a set.

Golly gosh, what's this I hear about people getting the wrong headers?
If you buy from one of the two recommended sellers I mentioned, you will be ok. 323/328 headers, 325/330 headers, and M3 headers are all different. The M3 headers are obvious, where the 323/328 and 325/330 have different flanges where it bolts onto your exhaust system:

Here is a comparison of the 325/330 headers & 323/328 headers (thanks AdamBath)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...COMAPRISON.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...OMAPRISON1.jpg

And these are M3 headers:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...OMAPRISON2.jpg

Well geewhiz! How much power do I stand to gain?!
I've read everywhere from 15-20 hp. Our stock headers are extremely restrictive as they essentially create a bottleneck effect, and have the catalytic converters built into them.

Hallelujah Ken! But...how do I get rid of my CEL light?
You have three options.
1) Live with it.
2) Get custom software to remove the light (no, Shark Injector will not work). I suggest Active Autowerke.
3) Do the spark plug de-foulder DIY, this is the cheapest way to do it.
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...lug+non-fouler

Will the software or defouler mod help me pass emissions?
No, it only tricks the car into thinking everything is running a-ok. You will still fail emissions because you have no cats to get rid of the pollutants from your exhaust. Your two options are to bribe/get a friend to sign off on smog inspection forms, or buy racing cats.

Shucks, what is this I hear about ceramic coating and header wraps?
You ceramic coat the headers, or wrap them in header wrap to prevent the rest of your engine bay from getting hotter than usual because you will be getting rid of the heat shield on the stock headers. You can either send them out to www.jet-hot.com to get ceramic coated, or buy header wrap from Pep Boys, or do what I did and buy a bottle of VHT Flameproof Ceramic Spray from Summit Racing

Since I'm so retarded I can't even search for something, how can I be able to install these by myself?
If you're one of those who can't search before you make a thread, you're a lost hope, go find a mechanic. But if you are halfway intelligent, here are a few helpful threads. It's not a hard install.
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=405056
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=490152

Feel free to add if you guys think I forgot something. I'm sure AdamBath has a few things to add, being one of the few who know what he's talking about. There you go noobies, now stop making threads without searching. :4ngie: