New X pipe on the market it seems?

[Singletrack]

Looks good in pictures, but as most know, things are different when putting it on the car. So you never know how it will fit until you have it on the car. Still, based on the construction, it looks like they did a nice job. If they had a good jig, then the chances of fitment issues should be minimal.

[carlitosz]

This is the single most important aftermarket performance part for an M3 and you must refuse to go cheap. The x-pipe is the only mod in an M3 that provides a significant power gain. That x-pipe (which they call h-pipe), looks to be made out of tin can and looks to be 1" OD. Literally.

Spend a little more and a buy a proven X-pipe. I know $2,000 for an xpipe is quiet significant but try a second hand one if you can't buy new. This pipe can damage the O2 sensors, break at the flanges, weldings, cause leaks... It could be a nightmare.

[Rshane]

Originally Posted by carlitosz

This is the single most important aftermarket performance part for an M3 and you must refuse to go cheap. The x-pipe is the only mod in an M3 that provides a significant power gain. That x-pipe (which they call h-pipe), looks to be made out of tin can and looks to be 1" OD. Literally.

Spend a little more and a buy a proven X-pipe. I know $2,000 for an xpipe is quiet significant but try a second hand one if you can't buy new. This pipe can damage the O2 sensors, break at the flanges, weldings, cause leaks... It could be a nightmare.

Cool, I love a challenge.

[Boostin FD]

I think i'll order one this week as well... What do you guys do about Check engine light? Any cheaper solutions other than Akrapovic CEL removal?

[Malek]

I am interested in what posts will arise after these are installed and start to fail with some real usage.

[M3SQRD]

Originally Posted by Malekreza11

I am interested in what posts will arise after these are installed and start to fail with some real usage.

+1

[Sean05]

Originally Posted by carlitosz

This is the single most important aftermarket performance part for an M3 and you must refuse to go cheap. The x-pipe is the only mod in an M3 that provides a significant power gain. That x-pipe (which they call h-pipe), looks to be made out of tin can and looks to be 1" OD. Literally.

Spend a little more and a buy a proven X-pipe. I know $2,000 for an xpipe is quiet significant but try a second hand one if you can't buy new. This pipe can damage the O2 sensors, break at the flanges, weldings, cause leaks... It could be a nightmare.

WOW bro, its not that big of a deal...

Originally Posted by Boostin FD

I think i'll order one this week as well... What do you guys do about Check engine light? Any cheaper solutions other than Akrapovic CEL removal?

no other solutions the cheapest is AKRA delete R other than that its tune which cost 1k.

Originally Posted by Malekreza11

I am interested in what posts will arise after these are installed and start to fail with some real usage.

the welds looks pretty good its like megan exhaust i have seen no issue but cheap on the price.

[Boostin FD]

I have megan exhaust right now... I'm curious how it will sound with full open exhaust... Might add 200 Cell cats later on as i hate the smell.

Should be fun

[1MOREMOD]

As posted above I don't know if I would cheap out here. I got a almost new challenge for half price. They are for sale on here all the time.

[chibich]

been looking at this for a while. in my price range and truthfully how much x-pipes should cost, but couldn't find any write ups on this. As for the idea of having issues with it in the long run, honestly i doubt you'll have any problems. I'm sure the company just copied someone else's design, or may even produce them for another company that is charging double to triple the price. I ran a ebay "Godspeed" exhaust on my swapped 240 and never had any problems. No cracks or rusting and pretty good fitment, for the most part its just piping. A little bit different for a turbo car seeing as you don't want any back pressure at all after the turbo, but as long as they got the diameters right and its made from a decent stainless steel then really shouldn't have any problems. fitment might be the only issue. had a buddy making 540 whp on his sti running their fmic and when he got it tuned by a tuner up in maryland who does most of the subaru tunes on the east coast, said it was surprisingly good, only thing that could have been a little bit better with the fin design. something can be said for doing it right the first time, and not ending up having to just buy one of the more well known brand in the long run, but some of these ebay parts are well made. would be interested in seeing some dyno plots before and after. keep us updated

[Malek]

Originally Posted by Sean05

WOW bro, its not that big of a deal...



no other solutions the cheapest is AKRA delete R other than that its tune which cost 1k.



the welds looks pretty good its like megan exhaust i have seen no issue but cheap on the price.

How a weld looks does not constitute its quality or durability. A chop saw mated tube weld will look the same as a cold saw mated weld, however one will over time crack and fall apart, while the other will not. That is just tiny example.

Cheaply made products will not survive multiple track days per year, especially for those who use the car in the snow and also track during the warmer seasons.

The S65 power plant generates a tremendous amount of heat and exhaust velocity.

[Sean05]

Originally Posted by Malekreza11

How a weld looks does not constitute its quality or durability. A chop saw mated tube weld will look the same as a cold saw mated weld, however one will over time crack and fall apart, while the other will not. That is just tiny example.

Cheaply made products will not survive multiple track days per year, especially for those who use the car in the snow and also track during the warmer seasons.

The S65 power plant generates a tremendous amount of heat and exhaust velocity.

OIC but for 400... well cant beat that price... and if it does... ill toss it and most likely for me since its my daily and not a track car ill take the chance.

most people dont track the car but still runs xpipe and doubt it will have any issue. well... ill find out soon since i bought the xpipe already.. should have it by next week.

[Dave07997S]

Originally Posted by Kyoshi71

Why not order it? It was only a matter of time before an enterprising individual realized that us idiots (correction)...you idiots () spend so much coin on exhaust products that aren't very sophisticated to fabricate and can then undercut all of the overpriced stuff by removing the greed factor.

If it's good stainless and the fitment is also good...who cares?

Agreed, I still like the Turner Pipes as it allows you to keep the OEM rear resonators and cats. However, for those that want to go catless I would go for it. This is what this pipe should have cost from the get go..people spending 1000s of dollars for some mandrel bent stainless tubing is utterly ridiculous.

As far as pairing this up with a Megan Exhaust, it would be way loud. My car is borderline with the OEM rear cats and resonators. Its quiet if I keep my foot out of it, but as soon as I crack the throttle...look out.

Malek, I respect your opinion immensely..but I have to say this is what an xpipe without cats or resonators should cost. You start adding cats and resonators, especially high quality 200cpi cats then of course the cost is going up considerably.

Also, I spent a lot of money on parts for my E46 M3 (SuperSprint..cough, cough) and the midpipe along with the flange on the headers broke....only tracked the car once at Willow Springs but most of the time it was just a street car. My Eisenmann Race broke the brackets 3 times..finally had it replaced, sold it and bought a Borla with absolutely no issues for 3 whole years.

Dave

[Malek]

Originally Posted by Sean05

OIC but for 400... well cant beat that price... and if it does... ill toss it and most likely for me since its my daily and not a track car ill take the chance.

most people dont track the car but still runs xpipe and doubt it will have any issue. well... ill find out soon since i bought the xpipe already.. should have it by next week.

Best of luck with your purchase.

However, there is no sense in knocking other companies who offer decent products at higher prices. There is a lot of capital that gets invested in these types of things, and the better the product, the more R&D is involved and thus it demands a higher price. Often times there are threads that are in regards to why people are paying more for products on the M3 in comparison to other cars. Well the simple answer is, M3 customers have a much higher level of standards for what they are willing to purchase and the products needs to reflect and respect this demand. This will obviously drive up price, but will also promise longevity and quality.

Unfortunately there will always be a few companies here and there that pop out of the woodwork, demand a high price and deliver a less than mediocre product. Over time these weed themselves out.

-Malek

[Jon335iFL]

Originally Posted by Malekreza11

Best of luck with your purchase.

However, there is no sense in knocking other companies who offer decent products at higher prices. There is a lot of capital that gets invested in these types of things, and the better the product, the more R&D is involved and thus it demands a higher price. Often times there are threads that are in regards to why people are paying more for products on the M3 in comparison to other cars. Well the simple answer is, M3 customers have a much higher level of standards for what they are willing to purchase and the products needs to reflect and respect this demand. This will obviously drive up price, but will also promise longevity and quality.

Unfortunately there will always be a few companies here and there that pop out of the woodwork, demand a high price and deliver a less than mediocre product. Over time these weed themselves out.

-Malek

In some areas your right, alot of R&D goes into the more expensive products witch is understandable. However charging $5000 for an exhaust system ( no headers mind you) is kind of outlandish.

If your exhaust company took a big hit from developing an exhaust system for a market that is fairly small compared to other vehicles then you should not be making exhaust systems for that specific car. Its simply crazy spending that much money on a polished stainless steel pipe.


For example Borla, They make very nice sounding exhaust but they have money coming in for their R&D from civics to Ferrari's so their is no reason to charge $5000 for an m3 catback .



In any case the AKRA system is one of the nicest sounding systems on the market for the M3, But not $5000 nice. Thats a down payment on a new M3 LMAO!.

[chibich]

a lot of the reason that they charge such high prices is because they've realized that people will pay these high prices.

[Brucewonder]

ppls spending massive amount of $$$ on an xpipe is beyond me

[BMWJ]

This looks promising. There is almost no science behind the x-pipes being made for our cars. Some like to argue there's a ton of R&D going into design and placement of the X, but i suspect almost all, if not all are just placing the x where it best fits for fabrication and installation purposes. Interested to see how this works out. As other's have said, it's an easily fabricated piece. Just cause a certain x-pipe costs more than another, does not mean it's any better.

[Rekrul]

I mean these guys do a massive amount of business. I highly doubt there is much R&D involved in making a X pipe. Maybe in the muffler as this is where there seems to be so many variables in sound and what not. I'd be real curious to see how this Xpipe stacked up to the 1000+ xpipes that most people buy here.

[pbonsalb]

Originally Posted by Malekreza11

How a weld looks does not constitute its quality or durability. A chop saw mated tube weld will look the same as a cold saw mated weld, however one will over time crack and fall apart, while the other will not. That is just tiny example.

Cheaply made products will not survive multiple track days per year, especially for those who use the car in the snow and also track during the warmer seasons.

The S65 power plant generates a tremendous amount of heat and exhaust velocity.

The chinese factories that are making this and most of the other exhausts sold for these cars are not using chop saws. If you have bought and used one, you know that while they are really cheap, they are messy, take a long time to cut, are messy, and leave a rough cut that requires clean up. They are probably using band saws. If you have used one, you know they are pretty cheap, cut very cleanly and cut very quickly. It is also possible they are using more expensive metal blade chop saws but that is unlikely given the blade cost compared to the cost of a band.

I ran replica USA spec Supersprint headers for 2-3 years on my 400 rwhp centrifugal supercharged E36M3 with no issues. While I would love a titanium midpipe, I am not willing to pay for one. I will probably buy something along the lines of the one at issue in this thread or maybe the one Megan may be developing. In looking at some of the "name brand" midpipes, I see X sections that don't look very well done and I have no confidence the welds are any better done or the piping any higher quality.

[Dannys M3]

Originally Posted by Malekreza11

How a weld looks does not constitute its quality or durability.

This statement is completely false. I would like to know your qualifications to say this. I have been certified as a CWI (certified weld inspector) by the American Welding Society and I am currently qualified to do VISUAL WELD inspections at a Nuclear Facility. If you want to talk about pressure retaining welds then yes I also do radiography and ultrasound. The visual appearance of a weld has everything to do with its structural integrity. This is a gas tungsten arc weld also known as TIG (tungsten inert gas), you should look for adequate fusion at the toe of the weld beads and porosity. The welds are difficult to see. The photo of the "X" section show welds of less than desirable quality but I highly doubt they will come apart. The prices currently being charged are ridiculous.

[Dave07997S]

Originally Posted by carlitosz

This is the single most important aftermarket performance part for an M3 and you must refuse to go cheap. The x-pipe is the only mod in an M3 that provides a significant power gain. That x-pipe (which they call h-pipe), looks to be made out of tin can and looks to be 1" OD. Literally.

Spend a little more and a buy a proven X-pipe. I know $2,000 for an xpipe is quiet significant but try a second hand one if you can't buy new. This pipe can damage the O2 sensors, break at the flanges, weldings, cause leaks... It could be a nightmare.

The Turner Test Pipes provide as much as a gain as the $2000 xpipe...its been proven. Some of the cars that have made the most hp are the ones with the Turner Test Pipes..they cost $400.

Dave