Evolve Tuning & Turner Test Pipes - result

[dasvolk]

I'm on my third E92 M3, and I've gone through lots of modifications over the years I've owned the cars. When I ordered my newest M3 from Germany several months ago my goals for modifications were to create the ideal set of changes with minimal cost. I visited Sal at Evolve when I lived in the UK last year and asked him what the restriction points were on the car. He told me that the primary cats were a big issue, their design is far too restrictive and cause up to 2 bar of backpressure. The rest is simply tailoring how you want the exhaust to sound, until you're talking forced induction.

Bearing this in mind, my solution was to install Turner's test pipes (thanks go out to Alekshop for getting them installed in time for the race) in place of the primaries, have Evolve tune the car (which also has a Dinan intake I've had for ages) and then do the alignment pin mod with an aggressive alignment & -1.5 deg camber up front. Evolve surprised me with a Servo modification included in the tune file they sent which, combined with the alignment, felt absolutely perfect.

My first US car had Dinan stuff on it, the Stage 3 suspension, intake/ECU/slip-on which I ran for a few years at a timed hillclimb race I've been doing for the past 8 years. The Dinan suspension feels awesome to drive on, but it's too stiff, especially for California's crappy roads in the Bay Area, so I decided to try out the stock setup with the pin mod and see how it went.

I posted videos here: http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?p=14684301

The result is that this car, with these modifications, was a full 12 seconds faster on this course, beating an E60 M5 and several other seriously quick cars. A 4 minute run is a good time for a fast car & experienced driver. I'll hopefully get some dyno sheets soon, I'm thinking about flashing it to stock then back to the Evolve tune to see the difference. The butt dyno definitely feels a difference, and it's hard to argue with the results of the race.

Since I'm a returning Evolve customer with the same car, they did the tune for just the cost of the programmer, so $200 + $400 for the pipes and $250 for installation put me at $850 total. Not a bad outlay for a great result.

[happos2]

Glad you are enjoying it!

[Hujan]

Really love the hill-climb video you posted. Amazing event. I would definitely like to do that sometime. I'm in San Diego and would gladly make the trip for that event.

I'm a little confused by what you write about about your mods. Do I understand correctly that you currently have just the Turner test pipes, a Dinan intake, and the Evolve tune on your car?

[F16RCE]

Originally Posted by Hujan

Really love the hill-climb video you posted. Amazing event. I would definitely like to do that sometime. I'm in San Diego and would gladly make the trip for that event.

I'm a little confused by what you write about about your mods. Do I understand correctly that you currently have just the Turner test pipes, a Dinan intake, and the Evolve tune on your car?

That's how read it too.

[dasvolk]

Originally Posted by F16RCE

That's how read it too.

That's correct, it's a bit of a mix but its got the job done. I'm going to dyno the car next, there's been a bit of a debate about how much power the Turner pipes and tune actually make.

[Billj747]

How does the sound of the TTP on the stock muffler compare to stock, the Dinan axle-back, and (did I read correctly on another thread you ran: ) the akra evo or axle-back akra with stock x-pipe?

[Hujan]

Originally Posted by Billj747

How does the sound of the TTP on the stock muffler compare to stock, the Dinan axle-back, and (did I read correctly on another thread you ran: ) the akra evo or axle-back akra with stock x-pipe?

This is the million-dollar question to me. If test pipes on an otherwise stock exhaust sound stock (or near stock) and give almost as much power as the full Akra, then test pipes are a seriously good option for those of us who want power with minimal effect on the stock characteristics of the car.

[mkPOTO]

very nice, any videos?

[pkimM3r]

Great deal!

But next time, take all the credit and tell us that it was the driver mod that cut out the 12 seconds!

[Billj747]

Originally Posted by Hujan

This is the million-dollar question to me. If test pipes on an otherwise stock exhaust sound stock (or near stock) and give almost as much power as the full Akra, then test pipes are a seriously good option for those of us who want power with minimal effect on the stock characteristics of the car.

I've gathered that test pipes are worth 30-40whp while axle-back alone is less than 10. I'd then infer that the TTP on stock exhaust would be a little less than the Akra evo due to the power differences between the mufflers.

I'd love to see some A-B dyno comparisons of different axle-back exhausts and the TTP on stock muffler vs catted stock setup.

[Hujan]

Originally Posted by Billj747

I've gathered that test pipes are worth 30-40whp while axle-back alone is less than 10. I'd then infer that the TTP on stock exhaust would be a little less than the Akra evo due to the power differences between the mufflers.

I'd love to see some A-B dyno comparisons of different axle-back exhausts and the TTP on stock muffler vs catted stock setup.

You've also got to factor in the secondaries and the flow characteristics of the pipes.

The Akra's pipes undoubtedly flow better than the OEM due to their shape and, I believe, OD. And the secondaries are 100 cpsi cats instead of 200 cpsi cats. How much power those differences make is the question.

My ideal shootout would be a full stock, Akra Evo, TTP on stock, and for shits and giggles, a TTP on Akra slip.

[dasvolk]

Originally Posted by Billj747

How does the sound of the TTP on the stock muffler compare to stock, the Dinan axle-back, and (did I read correctly on another thread you ran: ) the akra evo or axle-back akra with stock x-pipe?

It was full evo. I prefer this setup because it has the loud bark on full throttle revving (such as revmatching a downshift) but it isn't loud in the cabin at all. The Dinan slip-on sounds good but without a race pipe or cats it's all sound and no power, and I did check that bit on the dyno, literally no difference at all. It's really like a cheap dual-mode setup because it really doesn't make more sound than stock until you're on it, then it sounds like all hell breaking loose.

[flipm3]

Test Pipes and a Tune is one bang-for-your-buck way of adding NA power to our wonderful S65B40.

I just did the Evolve X-Pipe and will be getting a tune this coming week.

This thread just got me all excited! Thanks for sharing.