E36 exhaust manifold.

[kdalton 9]

Hi guys

I'm based in Wellington and just wondering if you know any good places to buy performance manifolds and straight pipes for an e36 325i?

Cheers.

[thorburn 121]

Might be able to help depending on if car is auto or manual

[kdalton 9]

Might be able to help depending on if car is auto or manual

It's a manual.

[thorburn 121]

I've got some m3 headers and can make up straight pipes to fit. If your looking for a cheap option there are some headers on trademe

[kdalton 9]

I've got some m3 headers and can make up straight pipes to fit. If your looking for a cheap option there are some headers on trademe

Will m3 headers bolt straight up to the m50?

[kdalton 9]

If someone can confirm that m3 headers will fit my 325i then I will be keen to buy them off you Thornburn. (Depending on the price).

M3 headers bolt straight up to an M52 ( suspect the same applies to M50) and the gains are significant.

I have B32 headers on my M52B28 and the gain was about 12kW , there is a consistent gain right across the range and the boost in mid range is noticable.

Forget the ones currently on trade me the primaries are too large , too short and are 'branched' rather than equal length.

M3 are equal length and properly sized for a 4 valve BMW engine.

Sounds like a very good upgrade

[Toast 117]

Have M3 headers on my 325i E36, the M50B25tu to be exact. Actually crazy how much they change the engine, they're pricey but nothing good is cheap.

[kdalton 9]

Cheapest performance upgrade you can make to an M50 /M52 - an equivalent quality header would cost thousands to fabricate.

I'm keen on getting it now haha, All these good reviews about them. Did you need to get a different manifold gasket or did the stock gasket work for the m3 manifold? also is there any modification needed? Cheers.

Edited July 22, 2015 by kdalton

[Toast 117]

Factory m50 gasket between the head and headers, there's some improvement to be had by port matching but I didnt and it's only a daily driver so don't mind

[Toast 117]

@Ron can't remember but did you keep the m52 intake manifold, I seem to remember you being a firm supporter. If so, got any dyno or at the very least butt dyno numbers?

[Herbmiester 925]

Very nice gain.

[dirty36 0]

Hi Connor,

Yes I kept the M52 intrake manifold, I looked into the M50 manifold in detail and identified that it is in fact over sized for the 2.8 resulting in low gas velocity

It is fine if you run above 5,000 RPM and are looking for peak power all of the time. The M50 flows 60% more air than the M52, manifolds like the schrick flow about 30% more air and these work well with the M52 engine and the M3 headers on the M52.

For those of us who drive between 1500 and 6,500 RPM then the M52 or Schrick manifolds work better ,

I dyno'd the car after the full M3 system was fitted- gained 12kW and about 10% torque lift right across the range, will post tonight for you.

Look upstream of the manifold to get more air into the airbox and through the air flow sensor and you will retain the strong torque delivery and gain more top end power.

I am currently at about 172 kW at the flywheel at 5,700 RPM - looking to get to about 180kW at about 6,200 RPM

Note that the US M3 sucks through the same M52 manifold to produce 178kW from 3 litres and blows into a crappy exhaust.

What's your list of engine mods if you don't mind? 172kw is pretty damn good.