Condor Speed Shop Headers - Review and Install Notes

[wootloops]

I recently ordered a set of headers from Condor Speed Shop. They are a fairly new product and I haven't seen any reviews of them. Based on the photos and description, they seemed to be a quality piece so I decided to take a chance. Overall I'm very happy with them.

Condor is in the process of launching a Spec E9X class with NASA. It seems that these headers were released in order to be the "official" header of that spec class. These headers are made in the USA, and appear to be manufactured by a company called Kooks Headers. I know this because they came in a giant box that said Kooks on the side. I personally was not familiar with them but I'm told they big in the domestic muscle car world. Condor sells these with a "Lifetime Warranty" which was a nice bonus.

The headers appear to be good quality. All of the welds look solid. Cosmetically, they don't look quite as "robotic" as some of the chinese headers (in terms of bead consistency), so I assume these were welded by hand. Either way, not an issue.

Like any other header install, it was a bit of a process. It's pretty easy to get the stock manifolds out. Fortunately all of the exhaust studs on my head stayed in one piece. The most annoying part about removal was the stock gaskets. All of the donut gaskets were stuck to the head. I had to get a flat head screwdriver and carefully pry them out, using the edge of the exhaust port for leverage. The gaskets almost all fell apart in the process of removing them, so I had to use a wire brush to clean them up out of the ports and vacuum out any debris.

Once I got the manifolds out, it took a little bit of finesse to get the headers in place. You have to rotate them and finagle them around. I ended up taking the O2 sensor out of them to make it easier to get them in place (more on that later). At first I put both on the head and started tightening the front bank header. Then I realized that there was no way to get access to the last couple of nuts on the front header without removing the rear header. So, I loosened the rear one and moved it a few inches out of the way so that I could gain access to as many of the front nuts as possible. Just be prepared - It's nearly impossible to get a ratchet on every nut. Some of them only have enough room for a small, non-ratcheting wrench. Others you will need a combination of swivel sockets, wobbles, extensions, stubby ratchets, etc. In both 1/4 and 3/8" drive. Then when you go to torque them to spec, you will only be able to get a torque wrench on about half of them. The rest you just have to make "gutentight" - I dont think this is anything specific to these headers, just N52 headers in general since the runners protrude out more than the stock manifolds.

Now, back to the O2 sensors. A stated above, I took these out in order to make it easier to get the headers in place. The positioning of the O2 sensors makes it very hard to get any kind of socket on them once the headers are installed. It's also hard to get an open ended wrench on one of them because there is stuff in the way (like the other header, the other o2 sensor, and various stuff under the car). In retrospect I would probably try to keep the O2 sensors in the headers before I put them in the car even if its harder to maneuver them. But, in the end I was able to get them tightened with a 22mm wrench at a weird angle. Just be prepared to get creative. As another note, these headers do NOT have a bung for the secondary O2 sensors. Those are only for the DME to monitor the efficiency of the cats, and well, since there are no cats they are no longer needed. Just be prepared to have your tuner disable any rear O2 codes as well as the rear O2 heater codes.

Once everything was done, I was happy with the fitment. No hitting on the frame or anything like I've seen with some cheap headers. It was a tad close to the heat shield over the motor mount, but it did not touch. Just to be safe I bent the heat shield a little so I had extra clearance.

Overall I would recommend these headers to anyone who wants a quality part made in the USA with a lifetime warranty. It's also nice to support a local shop who is a big advocate for the N52 platform as demonstrated by their SpecE9X program. They are a little more expensive than the AA headers, and obviously about 2x the price of random chinese Alibaba headers, so if you are on a tight budget these may not be for you.

Also note that these do not include any hardware or gaskets. So you will need the following:

6x exhaust port gasket - Part #713713400 (I used Victor Reinz brand)
16x copper exhaut manifold nut - Part #11721437202 (I used CRP Brand)
4x copper exhaust nut for header to midpipe - Part #18301737774 (I used generic OE brand)
4x M10x50 Bolt for header to midpipe - Part #07119906928 (I went genuine BMW here)
OPTIONAL - 16x head studs to exhaust manifold - You really only need these if you break them. All of mine stayed in one piece so I didn't have to use any.


Photos:

[WrathOTM]

Any driving impressions for us with these headers installed?

[wootloops]

The car feels great with the headers and tune on top of all of the other mods (MILVS, N54 intake manifold, performance intake). I only drove it briefly with the headers before tuning, and I already had the MILVs and N54 intake manifold on a week or two prior. So it's hard to pinpoint the effect of each individual part.

With all of my mods together, the engine feels like it makes the most power at the top of the rev range (5500+) but still feels like it has more torque in the mid range compared to the stock tune with the 3SIM. My car is an n51 so it came stock with the 3-Stage intake manifold, which I removed for the n54 manifold to shift the powerband to the upper revs.


I will say, with the catless headers and muffler delete it is fairly loud (as I expected). I still have the stock resonator and secondary cats. For a DD, it would probably be too much and need a muffler or better resonator. Since this is more of a track toy for me I can live with it.

[wootloops]

Here's a short clip of 2nd to 3rd gear

[chris82]

Wow that sounds great!

[mad1stgen]

I've installed countless custom Kooks headers on other platforms, I don't think you have anything to worry about there. Really happy to see Condor partner up with them.

Running condor subframe bushings too ?

[wootloops]

Originally Posted by mad1stgen

I've installed countless custom Kooks headers on other platforms, I don't think you have anything to worry about there. Really happy to see Condor partner up with them.

Running condor subframe bushings too ?

That's good to hear. Yeah I am running their rear subframe bushings.

[ychen0905]

Thanks for the write-up! I'm also in the process of installing aftermarket (AA) headers, and noticing a few millimeters gap between the header and the block, even with all nuts tightened. Did you notice any gaps while installing, or happen to know if the gap is normal?

[carscatscoffee15]

Originally Posted by wootloops

That's good to hear. Yeah I am running their rear subframe bushings.

Hey! What's your take on the condor subframe bushings. Thinking about getting those or the M3 ones. I've heard mixed things about solid aluminum which is why I haven't really explored that as an option.

Plan to keep your sec cats?

Your car sounds great. What tune do you have on it?

[wootloops]

Originally Posted by carscatscoffee15

Hey! What's your take on the condor subframe bushings. Thinking about getting those or the M3 ones. I've heard mixed things about solid aluminum which is why I haven't really explored that as an option.

Highly recommend the subframe bushings. They're technically not all aluminum, just the middle insert is. They're mostly delrin. So they're harder than poly, but easier to install than full metal (Which sometimes are a PITA to press in.) There's really no noticable increase in NVH by doing the solid subframe bushings alone. In fact the newer M3s and M5s come solid mounted from the factory. It's mostly other rear bushings, especially the differential mounts, that make a lot of NVH. I have an E92 M3 with stock bushings still and I would not bother upgrading the E82 to those. Just go for solid delrin off the bat. There's really no downside.

Plan to keep your sec cats?

I'd eventually like to delete them but not in a rush since they aren't very dense and have minimal effect on power.

Your car sounds great. What tune do you have on it?

Thanks, it's a tune from Bob @ StageFP.

[ZarathustraDC]

These headers look like a nice made in USA option. Condor supports several folks in the DC region of SCCA RallyX. Once I track down my own E82, this will be at top of mods list.

[mtnbikeman123]

Any chance you will get on a dyno? I have the N54 manifold and StageFP tune and am debating whether its worth doing MILVS and headers. I would just be interested to see what your powerband looks like. It looks like it pulls pretty hard to 7500!

[wootloops]

I have not yet been on a dyno. Phloozy got his car on a dyno and made 240whp with StageFP tune and headers but no MILVs. Figure MILVs add 5-10whp. Of course every dyno will read different but assume you will be in the ballpark of 250whp for all of the above mods.