LaBree downpipes and Borla exhaust installed at Autospeed. First impressions, Dyno...(more)
10-02-2003, 06:44 AM
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LaBree downpipes and Borla exhaust installed at Autospeed. First impressions, Dyno...(more)
Finally, La Bree downpipes and Borla exhaust in place, here is complete write up, first impressions, comparison runs
Car: 2001 Avant, 6 spd, MTM chip, 710N, custom air intake, 93 octane
First about parts: La Bree downpipes are quality pieces. Borla, particularly Y - pipe is average craftsmanship. About half inch step inside Y pipe was removed, so it would not reduce/restrict gas flow. You will need 2 clamps for downpipes also, as it was not supplied. Parts purchased as group buy via Tartumwerks.
Installation / fitment: All parts were installed at Autospeed Performance in NJ. High quality shop, strongly recommend for this type of work as they have tons of special tools. All can be modified / fitted in place while you wait. Installation took abt 6 hrs, including lunch break. As Mark said, it went pretty much strait forward, no major complications. Everything fits ok. However, far left Oxygen sensor is too close to the drive shaft, wiring needed some re-routing.
None of downpipe's top heat shields would fit without modifications, so we left them out. Probably, need to reinstall them, as it gets much hotter now under the hood. My biggest concern however, was that under-car clearance was reduced for another ½ inch, as downpipes hangs too low. There is no way to adjust it, just have to live with it, fearing every manhole on a road. Exhaust centers quite good, but I think tips sticks out too much. Probably as much as MTM, which is a lot for my taste.
Impressions: The whole set up sounds quite good, deep at idle and throaty at speed. It actually quiet-down a bit after 300 miles or so. Turbos seems to spool up faster and you can hear them now every time you step on a gas. Top end (weak point of MTM chip) now improved a bit. Motor is not afraid to rev up to redline and there is no significant drop in power after 5500 RPM as it was before. Mid range seems to have minimal gains
"Dyno testing": Well, I did not test it on dyno, but did 6 comparison runs before and after downpipes against friend's E46 M3. His car is nearly stock, 6spd. Difference in weight between cars is abt 270 lbs. All runs from 30-40 mph second gear till 110-120 in third/forth. Up till 60 or so, cars more or less are even, after MTM falls back but M3 still screams ahead. After my shift to the third, he is a car ahead, during his shift to third, I gain about half car, but right after he starts slowly walk away at a pace 2 ft per second. Based on our experience, it looks like an advantage of 20-25 hp on his side, but given difference in weight, my car actually makes in range of 330-335 hp also.
Results: Avant got closer to M3 but could not beat it. Downpipes and exhaust gave abt 25-30 hp and saved abt 25 lbs in weight. Looks and sound is a matter of personal preference, so I live it alone. Would I recommend it? If money is not so critical, yes. For people on a budget, I believe Piggy pipes and Neuspeed would do the business
Car: 2001 Avant, 6 spd, MTM chip, 710N, custom air intake, 93 octane
First about parts: La Bree downpipes are quality pieces. Borla, particularly Y - pipe is average craftsmanship. About half inch step inside Y pipe was removed, so it would not reduce/restrict gas flow. You will need 2 clamps for downpipes also, as it was not supplied. Parts purchased as group buy via Tartumwerks.
Installation / fitment: All parts were installed at Autospeed Performance in NJ. High quality shop, strongly recommend for this type of work as they have tons of special tools. All can be modified / fitted in place while you wait. Installation took abt 6 hrs, including lunch break. As Mark said, it went pretty much strait forward, no major complications. Everything fits ok. However, far left Oxygen sensor is too close to the drive shaft, wiring needed some re-routing.
None of downpipe's top heat shields would fit without modifications, so we left them out. Probably, need to reinstall them, as it gets much hotter now under the hood. My biggest concern however, was that under-car clearance was reduced for another ½ inch, as downpipes hangs too low. There is no way to adjust it, just have to live with it, fearing every manhole on a road. Exhaust centers quite good, but I think tips sticks out too much. Probably as much as MTM, which is a lot for my taste.
Impressions: The whole set up sounds quite good, deep at idle and throaty at speed. It actually quiet-down a bit after 300 miles or so. Turbos seems to spool up faster and you can hear them now every time you step on a gas. Top end (weak point of MTM chip) now improved a bit. Motor is not afraid to rev up to redline and there is no significant drop in power after 5500 RPM as it was before. Mid range seems to have minimal gains
"Dyno testing": Well, I did not test it on dyno, but did 6 comparison runs before and after downpipes against friend's E46 M3. His car is nearly stock, 6spd. Difference in weight between cars is abt 270 lbs. All runs from 30-40 mph second gear till 110-120 in third/forth. Up till 60 or so, cars more or less are even, after MTM falls back but M3 still screams ahead. After my shift to the third, he is a car ahead, during his shift to third, I gain about half car, but right after he starts slowly walk away at a pace 2 ft per second. Based on our experience, it looks like an advantage of 20-25 hp on his side, but given difference in weight, my car actually makes in range of 330-335 hp also.
Results: Avant got closer to M3 but could not beat it. Downpipes and exhaust gave abt 25-30 hp and saved abt 25 lbs in weight. Looks and sound is a matter of personal preference, so I live it alone. Would I recommend it? If money is not so critical, yes. For people on a budget, I believe Piggy pipes and Neuspeed would do the business
10-02-2003, 06:49 AM
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Is your car Nogaro?.... 1.8t symbol on the back?...
I was there a couple weeks ago and there was a Nogaro avant getting the LaBree DPs installed, but what was interesting about this car was that it had the 1.8t symbol on the back, but it was an S4 ... Is this you? .. Trying to fool people? =]
10-02-2003, 07:22 AM
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Re: Is your car Nogaro?.... 1.8t symbol on the back?...
yes, I saw your too. That trick is common in Europe, I got smoked once in my 3000GT (non turbo)by BMW 540 with 520 badge. Now is time to pay back...
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10-02-2003, 08:12 AM
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Re: is it possible your MTM chip is not adapting to take advantage of the dps?
you probably right. Joe Hoppen also shares same opinion. Time for stage III software...
10-02-2003, 08:14 AM
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btw, what is the drag coefficient of the M3?
I'm not really in favor of the MTM chip because they proved rather dissapointing results for me. I guess they are a little more conservative compared to GIAC or ABT.
If I might add, I think the drag coefficient of the M3 might be lower than ours. Hence, the better results as the cars go over a certain speed.
What I found interesting was that an M3 that I ran with was not able to walk way that quickly against my set up of giac and borla.
If I might add, I think the drag coefficient of the M3 might be lower than ours. Hence, the better results as the cars go over a certain speed.
What I found interesting was that an M3 that I ran with was not able to walk way that quickly against my set up of giac and borla.