Exhaust System vote??

S

SteveSAS

Guest
Hi everyone.
I've now narrowed it down to two choices for my upgrade before a re map.

Option 1 is a full custom system including downpipe, sports cat & system from Infinity Exhausts near Bristol who have good reviews & seem very knowledgeable & thorough from details on their website & over the phone with involving the customer throughout with system looks & sound, cost £950.

Option 2 is to buy the Piperwerx downpipe & sports cat & mate it with a Jetex system (non res) & then get a local garage to fit, cost £1200.

Any views & please give me a vote on which option you would pick.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Steve
 
I've got the pipewerx downpipe and de-cat, with miltek cat-back. Love the sound of it and when it came to fitting, it all went on really easily. Just my two pence like. :)
 
Thanks for input so far guys, I've ruled out the Relentless SuperKarl just through mixed reviews on quality & fitting issues.
I've also just realised I can get 10% discount on the custom exhaust at Infinity making the whole thing £855.
So guys please keep up the input & give me a valid reason to spend the extra £345 on the piperwerx & jetex combo?

Cheers
 
only thing with a custom downpipe jobbie is its not an easy job even for the pros, especially on the car. People like relentless and pipeworx have done the hard work and make them from a jig.
who knows what it could look like done on the car.
i know Bill puts alot of time into downpipes like on staceys car and will testify to how much of a cnut it is, but its no guarantee an unknown company will put the same time and care into it
 
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superkarl said:
only thing with a custom downpipe jobbie is its not an easy job even for the pros, especially on the car. People like relentless and pipeworx have done the hard work and make them from a jig.
who knows what it could look like done on the car.
i know Bill puts alot of time into downpipes like on staceys car and will testify to how much of a cnut it is, but its no guarantee an unknown company will put the same time and care into it
Click to expand...
Is very true what Karl is saying and after having a couple of custom downpipes I can say I would never go to a company that isn't familiar with these cars!

I went to a very highly recommended and reputable company but had nothing but issues, after a long dispute and about 5 visits to them they're parting comment was what do you expect if you ask for a 3' system on a car like this and saying I was expecting the impossible to have a 3' DP with the result of their work being it would rub and vibrate loose every few hundred miles
 
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I fitted a relentless downpipe & sports cat on Saturday, couldn't be happier with the fit. There is about 10mm clearance all round the pipe to clear the subframe, heat shield, prop etc.

Bought it off German eBay. Paid £200 for it and £15 for gaskets & joiner clamp.
 
Don't get a custom downpipe fitted, please.

We see this every week, somebody thinks they can do a better job cheaper than the proven manufacturers and then pride gets in the way and it ends up rubbish. Rubbing left right and centre, routed incorrectly, working itself loose through vibrations and thin materials...it's an endless list of poor figment and nightmares.

Then they percivere with it and keep moaning at us that the person they chose to fit and make their exhaust did a poor job. For weeks on end.

Just buy a Pipeworx or Relentless downpipe and be done with it.
 
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My vote is for you to buy a branded down-pipe and de-cat/sports cat then have a custom system matched up to it.
Thats the route i went and im very happy with mine. Even longlife wont manufacture a downpipe for the mk4 platform cars simply because its a pain and they have had issues with the ones they have installed.
 
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Whaaaat?

A Mk4 1.8t downpipe is the easiest thing in the world, it's basically a straight pipe with a kink in it.

You guys need better exhaust fitters...
 
I had my custom cat back done by the guys at longlife exhaust centre in basingstoke and there exact words were "we dont have anything to do with downpipes on the mk4 platform" i only know the issues about the s3 due to owning one. But then MIJ in birmingham will do a full turbo back system.
 
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16Klappe said:
We see this every week, somebody thinks they can do a better job cheaper than the proven manufacturers and then pride gets in the way and it ends up rubbish.

Just buy a Pipeworx or Relentless downpipe and be done with it.
Click to expand...

16Klappe said:
Whaaaat?

A Mk4 1.8t downpipe is the easiest thing in the world
Click to expand...

:think:
 
You are obviously unaware that a Mk4 Golf uses a totally different turbo, downpipe and ISNT 4WD.
 
lol, obviously I am aware of that Jardo but I thought we were talking about S3 downpipes and Adam mentioned MK4 platform cars, of which the S3 is a member, I assumed we were still on the original subject of S3 downpipes.... my mistake
 
To put it simply, if your chosen exhaust company can't make this -

audi-a3-96-03-20v-1.8t-150hp-180hp-turbo-exhaust-down-pipe-decat-dp7928-1573-p.jpg


They have no place working on the exhaust.

Which I'm pretty sure is what I told the Longlife centre in Basingstoke when I tried to get them to rectify the "faultless" wonky exhaust on my old A3.
 
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I'm simply relaying what the fitters at long-life said to me in aid to help with the original question asked. Maybe they don't know the difference between the 1.8t a3 and the s3 and the space issues so therefore simply just don't fit them across the board. I had my cat back system made by them nearly two years ago and its been spot on, when they said they didn't do the down-pipe i simply just bought my own and fitted it.
 
my local longlife dealer didn't stock 3inch pipe, but said it would be no problem to order in, but obv might cost a tad more.
i was still quoted **** all ~£330
 
No, they don't have the clamps and tools to bend 3" tube.

Which is probably why they said they won't touch a Mk4 chassis car (it's not even called the Mk4 chassis, the A3 came out first...dickheads!) to just nip it in the bud.

That's the real reason most places won't custom build one.
 
Powerflow in Brighton quoted me under 400 for a 3inch DP and 200 cell CAT to mate with a 2.5in Miltek rear.
I have been warned off this route but it is an awful lot cheaper than buying the exhaust from, say Pipewerx for 550 and then 4-5hrs fitting would be close to 1k.
 
Have you been telling these people that the subframe needs to be dropped to fit a 3" downpipe to an S3? (properly)

Because they're probably NOT factoring in the labour costs properly, and might give you a shock at the end.
 
No, but I did ask if they knew about the S3 fit due to prop. shaft and they asked to look it over first. Don't want them messing with the subframe as this means re alignment. Bill told me the old one has to be cut off hence 4-5 hr job.
 
Cutting off the old one and careful fabrication plus a v-band in the right place makes it easier... here is one I made earlier (in true Blue Peter stylee...)

20140430_133459.jpg


20140430_133510.jpg


20140430_181522.jpg


20140430_181537.jpg


Not much space but then this is the S3 way lol...

<tuffty/>
 
Ok guys, this is really interesting & thanks to all the comments & experiences. I must say I'm really put off getting a custom downpipe & cat now, even though the guy on phone at Infinity exhausts gave me the impression he did know what a pig the job is & priced it accordingly.
So as far as the downpipe goes I think I will aim for the £550 pipewerx one.
Now, should I take the downpipe & cat to Infinity & get them to fit & mate their custom cat back system to it? Or get a Jetex cat back & get a local garage to fit the lot?

Thanks
 
Funny, so was I. Maybe you and I should do a poll on here for a group buy on the Pipewerx 3inch DP and 200 CAT?
 
Absolutely Chris, start a thread & see how many are interested :)
 
Check out EMP Performance in St Albans.. Might be a bit far from where you are, but they did a blinding job on my custom A3 2.5" turbo back. Very reasonable prices too!
 
The S3 is very inaccessible Gareth, hence you need someone with experience of doing them, not the usual exhaust place, IMO.
 
GarethEvans said:
Check out EMP Performance in St Albans.. Might be a bit far from where you are, but they did a blinding job on my custom A3 2.5" turbo back. Very reasonable prices too!
Click to expand...
well you were bent over. 2.5 is pointless on both an A3 and S3, that's like fitting a potato gun to a tank. No wonder it was a blinding job
 
Just reading another thread on exhaust for A3 & Prawn is saying 2.5" is perfect size if keeping power under 300bhp, this also is the case with the custom exhaust company I'm contemplating using as they quote on their site:
'As for turbo and supercharged cars as a rough guide, if your running between 200-300BHP your car will be happy with 2.5” system. When you start running more than 300BHP your forced induction engine will really benefit from having a 3” exhaust system to really allow those gasses to move as freely as possible.'
 
is the threshold really 300, if it was 301hp would everyone including prawn be recommending 3 inch?? No. Its not as clear cut as that.

on a turbo charged car bigger is always better, that's a fact, if 3inch is available and doable (which it is) you're a moron for not doing it. Doesn't matter if its 200, 250, 300hp, a 3 inch exhaust will be the best option.

only recently in our 'scene' have people been fitting 3inch+ downpipes, 3.5 and some even 4 inch. And for good reason. When faced with the option i don't see why not.

also, as an example, although not directly comparable, tuffty reported that a 2.75 inch miltek wasn't adequate for 350+hp. Id imagine 2.5 would be pretty similar at up to 300hp less.
 
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Good point but its the rear CAT back section that is the restriction on performance. As far as I know you can't buy an off the shelf rear system that is 3inch, at best the Miltek is 2.75 inch. So a 3inch DP and Decat or Sports CAT reduces to 2.75 inch rather than maintaining the same diameter throughout for optimum gasflow.
 
Yeah Chris, so if its a must to maintain the 3" system all the way back then has to be custom cat back.
I'm currently swaying to the pipewerx downpipe & sports cat with a jetex cat back system.
 
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