[M&M]

Ok, I'm not in the US, so I went to a local shop. They been doing exhausts for 35 years. So you could say they have a fair bit of experience with them. I went for the stealth look with the tailpipes.




Best part is the DP's:




Tapers down from 3" at the turbo outlet to 2.5" down to the exhaust. The 3" outlet is chamfered & flowed beautifully on the inside. It is vastly superior to stock. I have the stock DP with me right here & will take some pics later. There is a bend immediately as you enter the DP & it's quite an acute bend. Then the stock SP looks like mayb 2.25" on the outside, but its got a really thick wall so it's really like 2" on the inside. Really poor flow characteristics.

I will dyno tomorrow, but from logging I see that I get full boost some 400rpm earlier. I am running 1.47 of everybody's favourite piggyback & I'm over 5000ft elevation but I get full boost by 2400rpm, where previously I got it around 2800 (at this elevation). It does feel a whole lot more responsive than before with the DTC light working overtime in the lower gears. WIll do some logs & post comparisons.

EDIT: just did the dynos. Asked for uncorrected numbers as I believe the correction at this altitude is exagerated. However, the temp in the dyno room today was 27deg centrigrade (80deg F), & on the base run it was 16deg C (60 deg F). So I rate it would have made a few hp more had I dyno'd in the same temps. Torque is up from 376 to 405 lb/ft.



Here's a video of one of the runs.

[1clean335i]

let me be the first one to ask for a sound clip! also do you mind posting more pics of your car?

[BoostedBMW]

For custom made downpipes I think they look really good. Keep us posted.

[ritesh]

Would love to know the power gains you get! I'm trying to figure out a set for my car as well.

[PresaMat]

Very nice! I cant wait to get some DPs!

[down4it]

Why is there 2 holes in each pipe? I thought that there is just 2 o2 sensors???

[SfValley335i]

how much was the cost of the DP's?

US dollars please

btw hurry and post some videos

[M&M]

Didn't get a chance to dyno today. Probably try tomorrow. I don't think you can compare prices from different countries, but if I convert to US dollars it would be around $600 I paid for everything including installation.

I have ZERO limp home issues. Did plenty logs & they all show the same trend. Spool is dramatically reduced (full boost 600rpm earlier) to the extent that up over 5200ft elevation it spools better than the stock exhaust spools at sea-level. I expect at sea-level one might get full boost before 1700rpm. Also from 4800 onwards, it seems to hold 2psi more all the way to redline. I expect at sea-level the boost curve may well be pretty flat, with the power peaking relatively late.

Did take some on-board videos which I am uploading. So far seems like a worthwhile mod, but only the dyno will tell for sure.

[M&M]

Here's some pics of the stock setup:

[retrodrive]

All this for $600...gangsta!

Looking forward to that dyno. If you could post the video as well, I would really appreciate that. So far not a single aftermarket exhaust on the market sounded right to me.

[A418t81]

You need to get your fabricator to start shipping those DP's to the US

[M&M]

The problem with fabricating for the US is that our cars are right-hand drive. I think our steering rack is somewhere in the region of the DP's, but I could be wrong. So I don't think there's any way he can fabricate headers for LHD cars unless he gets one on the lift. But I'll ask him anyway.

As for the price, well I have used them for many of my cars. It doesn't matter if the pipe is for a BMW for a Fiat Uno, empty pipe is empty pipe. You pay for the materials (stainless steel, silencers, etc), & the labour for the mandrel bending etc. I don't see why it should be expensive. Is stainless steel & labour that expensive in the US?

[CASHBY]

Originally Posted by M&M

The problem with fabricating for the US is that our cars are right-hand drive. I think our steering rack is somewhere in the region of the DP's, but I could be wrong. So I don't think there's any way he can fabricate headers for LHD cars unless he gets one on the lift. But I'll ask him anyway.

As for the price, well I have used them for many of my cars. It doesn't matter if the pipe is for a BMW for a Fiat Uno, empty pipe is empty pipe. You pay for the materials (stainless steel, silencers, etc), & the labour for the mandrel bending etc. I don't see why it should be expensive. Is stainless steel & labour that expensive in the US?

well 304 stainless, mandrel bends (true mandrel bend) and then machine welds and laser cut flanges, plus manufacturing... it can get exspensive... not to mention when you are going to mass produce a bundle of them you pay for it upfront... so lets say it cost 600 bucks... you have to fron 600 times 50 lets say.... thats a lot of money to pony up before selling anything.

USA manufacturing... your going to pay "usa labor"....which is a lot more.... but those pipes dont look bad!....

good job brotha!

edit: for people who dont know the saying.

[M&M]

Originally Posted by CEA 3

well 304 stainless, mandrel bends (true mandrel bend) and then machine welds and laser cut flanges, plus manufacturing... it can get exspensive...

Yeah, I figure I got it almost at cost as I had done 4 cars with him before & it was the 1st time he was doing it, so I was kinda' like a guinea pig. But it is true mandrel bent, with stainless steel & flanges & the works.

Here's some on-board vids. It's kinda' quiet, almost like stock with a meatier growl.

[fedinand]

Originally Posted by CEA 3

USA manufacturing... your going to pay the white man price....which is a lot more.... but those pipes dont look bad!....

wtf does that mean?

[rotaz]

awesome...can't wait to get some DP as well

[SfValley335i]

Originally Posted by fedinand

wtf does that mean?

it means that your paying a white man (~$18/hr) here in the US but in Africa your only paying ~$3/hr.

no need to get 'hurt' by that... thats how it is in this world

[M&M]

Originally Posted by SfValley335i

it means that your paying a white man (~$18/hr) here in the US but in Africa your only paying ~$3/hr.

The dudes that did it are all white. Every person that worked on the car was white. Not that it matters or anything

[JmanE55]

Originally Posted by A418t81

You need to get your fabricator to start shipping those DP's to the US

+1.

[fedinand]

Originally Posted by M&M

The dudes that did it are all white. Every person that worked on the car was white. Not that it matters or anything

I assumed as much, thats why I asked what was meant by "pay the white man price"

SfValley335i - I don't need you explaining the way of the world...I'm sure "our worlds" are not as similar as you think - at least I know my perspective isn't anything like your's based on your postings.

[hotrod2448]

Every time I see one of these cars with an exhaust on it I can't help but think "someone needs to make an undertray/diffuser to cover up that cavity on what is otherwise a pretty flat bottom."

[retrodrive]

Don't forget that $600 for DP and Exhaust! I am really looking forward to how much those "white men made" downpipes are going to cost. It was pretty ignorant comment btw.