[AGS]

Originally Posted by AGS

Does anyone who's fitted the MAD pipes have their stock take-offs they can do the same measurement on? Thanks in advance for helping out!!

Bumping this up hoping someone can help out. Thanks!

[DryBark]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

It's a straightforward install; I doubt it took them longer than 1 hour on the lift to complete it

I'm being quoted 7-8 hours for the install of the secondaries, which just seems ridiculous and tempted to do it myself now, just out of principle 🤪

Anyone know exactly how long their shop took to install secondaries?

[BMA89]

Originally Posted by DryBark

I'm being quoted 7-8 hours for the install of the secondaries, which just seems ridiculous and tempted to do it myself now, just out of principle 🤪

Anyone know exactly how long their shop took to install secondaries?

Couple of hours. Some people say 1hr as it's an "easy install" if you have a lift

[DryBark]

Originally Posted by BMA89

Couple of hours. Some people say 1hr as it's an "easy install" if you have a lift

I have access to a pit, so might just give it a shot. They're saying components have to be removed from the top of the engine for access, which I don't believe is the case.

[Bure@]

I was charged $300 for this job

[BMA89]

Originally Posted by Bure@

I was charged $300 for this job

Me too

[pbonsalb]

Originally Posted by DryBark

I have access to a pit, so might just give it a shot. They're saying components have to be removed from the top of the engine for access, which I don't believe is the case.

Well, when you open the hood, can you see the downpipes or are they hudddn under components that have to be removed from the top of the engine to provide access?

[Info@mad-us.com]

Originally Posted by DryBark

I'm being quoted 7-8 hours for the install of the secondaries, which just seems ridiculous and tempted to do it myself now, just out of principle ��

Anyone know exactly how long their shop took to install secondaries?

Thats obsurd. 1.5-3 hours is about right.

[Info@mad-us.com]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

Well, when you open the hood, can you see the downpipes or are they hudddn under components that have to be removed from the top of the engine to provide access?

These are mid to under engine as they connect to your stock exhaust.

Check number #9 (secondary). Number #1 (Primary's) would connect to the back of your turbos.

[pbonsalb]

Yes, primaries connect to the turbos and you can’t get to those without removing some stuff on top of the engine. I don’t need to look at the diagram because I have had the engine cover and heat shielding off and have seen what us required to get at the primaries. Secondaries, I don’t know that you can get them off from underneath the car. I have not yet done this job. Those who have done can respond. I will be doing it it a few weeks — high flow primaries and catless secondaries.

[AGS]

Originally Posted by DryBark

I have access to a pit, so might just give it a shot. They're saying components have to be removed from the top of the engine for access, which I don't believe is the case.

That is not correct. For the secondaries everything can be done from below.

[dougpaper]

just had the mad mid pipe installed this week. Took my installer about 3 hours. They did some stuff from the top also because i guess the v band was easier to tighten. They did have to have a second person down below pulling on the passenger side pipe because it was off by fractions and wouldnt secure like the drivers side. They got it done but i am glad i didnt do the work. I was going to do it in my garage just by jacking one side at a time and for sure it would have been a bad idea.

Sound wise it is fractionally raspier and i can live with that. The two cats that were replaced on minimal at best so don't expect the snarl you get from some of the better exhaust systems available but this is a fairly cheap mod to get some sound.

[DryBark]

That's helpful, thanks guys.

[ice7]

Installed the secondary downpipes on the CS couple weeks ago. You do need access on top to remove the screw clamps from the primary to the secondary dps. Not sure how you would remove those clamps since the screws can be only accessed on top. My installer even removed the coolant reservoir to gain space to reach the screw clamps on the drivers side. Removing the primary dps isn't necessary.

Paired the dps with my Akra and gave it a noticeable sound change with slightly higher pitch sound. As others said sound change isn't dramatic but it's noticeable.

Here's a couple of IG videos.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cb_aF...d=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ccan_...d=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

[Maverik259]

I found it interesting that some say the exhaust note is deeper and others say higher. Gotta love perception.

[Info@mad-us.com]

Originally Posted by Maverik259

I found it interesting that some say the exhaust note is deeper and others say higher. Gotta love perception.

Yeah humans are funny like that

[AGS]

Originally Posted by AGS

Good morning all. I bought a set of the MAD secondary pipes and ran into an issue yesterday when trying to have them installed. I'm working with both MAD and the distributor to remedy, but both are out of stock on the items right know. I'm hoping members may be willing to take 5 or 10 minutes and help me out trying to resolve the installation issue. Please PM me if either you have a set of these that are not yet installed, or have the OEM pipes handy that you removed to install these. Just looking for a couple measurements. Thanks in advance!

Following up on my previous post. Having figured out the confusion I had with my first failed install, and I finally had a chance to have the MAD downpipes installed this week.

First, I'll provide my review. The sound level is mildly louder on cold-start and at idle, and to my ear has a deeper tone. It's not a significant change, so some may be disappointed, but since my neighbor already calls my car her second alarm clock I couldn't go too crazy. When revving it is a little louder and again, to me, a pleasingly deeper tone and seems to have a little more "bark" to it. All-in-all I'm happy and would do it again, but at about $1,100 all-in including the downpipes, install and eventual removal (leased car), on a "bang-for-your-buck" scale it could rate at the lower end of the range for some people looking for a much more aggressive sound.

Now, I'll explain the confusion I ran into in the event it helps other members avoid the same. The first installer I went to brought the MAD downpipe out from the shop and was showing me that the OEM gasket didn't fit into the seat (see my first picture below where I'm measuring the width of the seat). Thinking it would be unsafe to proceed with the install without the gasket we decided to reinstall the OEM pipe until I could figure out what the issue was. Turns out, that notch I'm measuring is not the seat for the gasket, but is the female half of the male/female connection point between the primary and secondary downpipes. The OEM downpipes (see second picture below) have a gasket seat machined into the top side of the downpipe flange, the MAD downpipes do not - the gasket is just compressed against the flange when the top end clamp is installed and tightened. So, in summary, the MAD pipes are a direct replacement for the OEM downpipes. The upper and lower OEM clamps, along with the OEM gasket, are reused to install the MAD downpipes. The install should take 2.5 - 3.0 hours, and it seems most installers (like mine) need to remove some items from the top end of the engine to get better access to the top clamp on the driver's side pipes. (NOTE to MAD: a one-page instruction sheet included with the downpipes noting these things would likely help your customers avoid any confusion or longer than necessary installations).

[AGS]

Originally Posted by AGS

Following up on my previous post. Having figured out the confusion I had with my first failed install, and I finally had a chance to have the MAD downpipes installed this week.

First, I'll provide my review. The sound level is mildly louder on cold-start and at idle, and to my ear has a deeper tone. It's not a significant change, so some may be disappointed, but since my neighbor already calls my car her second alarm clock I couldn't go too crazy. When revving it is a little louder and again, to me, a pleasingly deeper tone and seems to have a little more "bark" to it. All-in-all I'm happy and would do it again, but at about $1,100 all-in including the downpipes, install and eventual removal (leased car), on a "bang-for-your-buck" scale it could rate at the lower end of the range for some people looking for a much more aggressive sound.

Now, I'll explain the confusion I ran into in the event it helps other members avoid the same. The first installer I went to brought the MAD downpipe out from the shop and was showing me that the OEM gasket didn't fit into the seat (see my first picture below where I'm measuring the width of the seat). Thinking it would be unsafe to proceed with the install without the gasket we decided to reinstall the OEM pipe until I could figure out what the issue was. Turns out, that notch I'm measuring is not the seat for the gasket, but is the female half of the male/female connection point between the primary and secondary downpipes. The OEM downpipes (see second picture below) have a gasket seat machined into the top side of the downpipe flange, the MAD downpipes do not - the gasket is just compressed against the flange when the top end clamp is installed and tightened. So, in summary, the MAD pipes are a direct replacement for the OEM downpipes. The upper and lower OEM clamps, along with the OEM gasket, are reused to install the MAD downpipes. The install should take 2.5 - 3.0 hours, and it seems most installers (like mine) need to remove some items from the top end of the engine to get better access to the top clamp on the driver's side pipes. (NOTE to MAD: a one-page instruction sheet included with the downpipes noting these things would likely help your customers avoid any confusion or longer than necessary installations).

Unbelievable, but the saga continues ...

After my previous post, I had a break in my work schedule so I went out to the garage to package up the OEM downpipes for storage. I took them out of the box to wrap them in the bubble wrap that the MAD pipes came in and what do I see in the bottom of the box? One of the OEM gaskets. Huh?!? Turns out in my second photo in my previous post above of the OEM downpipe, the gasket is still in its channel. Below are pictures with and without the gasket. Given how thick the gasket is and how deep it sits in the channel, there's likely no way they'd fit if the installer tried to reuse them with the MAD downpipes. I'm guessing the lower flange on the OEM primary downpipe looks a lot like the upper flange on the MAD secondary downpipe. So it seems you DO NOT reuse the OEM gaskets. That would be consistent with the conversation I had with John Keller at Keller performance while doing my research. I called them because the flange on their secondary downpipes looks the same as the MAD flange (see third picture below). John said their product does not reuse the OEM gasket, just the two clamps.

Sorry for post-bombing this thread, but the lack of a simple page of instructions for this product is becoming more and more frustrating, as the installation without reusing the OEM gaskets is in direct conflict with what I was told by MAD.

[onfireX5]

Originally Posted by AGS

Unbelievable, but the saga continues ...

After my previous post, I had a break in my work schedule so I went out to the garage to package up the OEM downpipes for storage. I took them out of the box to wrap them in the bubble wrap that the MAD pipes came in and what do I see in the bottom of the box? One of the OEM gaskets. Huh?!? Turns out in my second photo in my previous post above of the OEM downpipe, the gasket is still in its channel. Below are pictures with and without the gasket. Given how thick the gasket is and how deep it sits in the channel, there's likely no way they'd fit if the installer tried to reuse them with the MAD downpipes. I'm guessing the lower flange on the OEM primary downpipe looks a lot like the upper flange on the MAD secondary downpipe. So it seems you DO NOT reuse the OEM gaskets. That would be consistent with the conversation I had with John Keller at Keller performance while doing my research. I called them because the flange on their secondary downpipes looks the same as the MAD flange (see third picture below). John said their product does not reuse the OEM gasket, just the two clamps.

Sorry for post-bombing this thread, but the lack of a simple page of instructions for this product is becoming more and more frustrating, as the installation without reusing the OEM gaskets is in direct conflict with what I was told by MAD.

Thanks for posting. Makes you wonder how well it seals without a gasket.

[pbonsalb]

V band flanges and clamps are typically metal to metal with no gasket, but you do need a set of matching V band flanges to weld onto the exhaust and a clamp made to fit them. I have no idea about the bmw version since I have not done the job yet (sometime in the next week), but the potential for a problem would be mating an aftermarket pipe and flange to the bmw pipe (such as factory upper to aftermarket lower). I assume any good maker of the aftermarket pipes has figured this out and the parts fit. Typically problems occur when cheap chinese copies of copies are sold without the makers ever having actually fitted them. Yes, it happens—many years ago I did some prototype test fitting for XS Power.

[F90Alan]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

Congrats, OP

At the current price, this mod is a no-brainer, in my opinion

Just bought the downpipes and CTS Intakes!

[F90Alan]

Originally Posted by BMA89

Me too

Thanks for all the information. It really helped with making up my decision to purchase the downpipes. Great thread with lots of information. I am going to try to install the downpipes myself.