help with custom piping for exhaust

[harryd14]

Ok so i recently bought the AWE dual tip exhaust from the classifieds and had it installed over the weekend and it sounds wonderful. I love the deep tone that it gives and it is pretty loud (although i wouldnt mind it being a bit louder, i can't get enough of the sound). Now i bought it and it was for an automatic, but it was installed on a manual (jauggernaut) and so i did the same thing as him. However, it wasn't fully catback as the automatics have a different exhaust setup?! which im not fully understanding of but either way its not fully catback so i am wondering if i can get Midas (where i got it installed and they did a great job, and told me that after i drive it for a while and get all the kinks out they can tinker with it for free and make any needed adjustments) to create some custom piping that will go from the stock cats to where the piping for the AWE exhaust starts? I have 2 reasons for wanting to do this: a) the stock piping going to the AWE exhaust is so much smaller that it basically fit inside the piping which seems like it will reduce the performance as there will still be more backpressure than if it were fully catback and b) it doesnt make much sense to me to buy the exhaust and have it go that far back and not go all the way to the cats...

if anybody has any idea for this or insight that would be good. I am pretty sure this can be done, but also want to know some of the numbers for the sizes of the piping coming from the stock cats etc...

Also, when the guy installed it he showed me that it was really tight with the heat shield on the underside of the car and possible rubbing (i didnt feel it for myself) but have anybody else heard of this issue before? seems kinda wierd that a company would make an exhaust that wouldnt fit easily? could this be due to the fact that it was welded to the stock exhaust near the cats and as a result sits slightly higher up and the larger diameter tubing causes it to rub?

sorry for so many questions but any help would be great. thanks a bunch guys.

[harryd14]

nobody has anything to say?

[apatchin]

yes, i believe the tranny's make it so the piping is routed differently. im sure they can make a custom pipe (basically a downpipe is what your talking about), or depending on the setup can just buy one from AWE, which is what i would do if I were you. Call AWE and see if you can just get the DP.

not sure about the rubbing. everything is pretty tight, when i adjusted my hangers on my STaSIS exhaust i had a bit of rubbing/rattling sound on the heat shield above the muffler, but i just pushed the shield back until it stopped...hehe[wrench][up]

[apatchin]

http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo269/apatchin/b7a4_full_system_640copy.jpg

[harryd14]

thanks for the picture, i tried to edit it and repost it, but for some reason i am not allowed to post attachements and dont feel like uploading it to a website, but on the middle part that attaches to the DP, it was cut around the first bend and looked like it may have been cut a but more when it was welded to the stock exhaust... should i still but the DP from AWE and then just ask the shop to weld the two together with a bit of spare piping?

[Weem]

had to have a custom pipe made when I got the APR exhaust installed on my tip a4

[apatchin]

not sure if you should do that, or if it would be in your best interest to get one custom.

I would just contact awe with info, pictures if you can and tell them your situation. they will have a more definite answers.

good luck

[harryd14]

thanks apatchin i will do this tmrw afternoon before i go to wash/clay my car!! any idea as to how much they are going to charge me for just the DP?

[Charles]

I'd take a look at the welds that your local Midas crew is capable of. I'd be more likely to go to a local performance shop. A place that makes custom exhausts on a regular basis. A downpipe shouldn't cost you more than 200 bucks (with a flex connector).

[WayzataAudi]

if you have a problem with the heat shield it is not a problem to just push them back, it wont damage anything and it should stop the rubbing. as for the downpipe, i know they can be spendy to buy straight from AWE so i would just see if midas or wherever can weld you up a new one, it should cost a lot less and resolve the problem in the same way. i know a lot of guys on here would say go with the AWE downpipe but to tell you the truth its waaaay to expensive for what it actually is, i mean a metal pipe that would cost you like max 90 bucks at midas.. just my .02 [:d]

[harryd14]

ok well im going to call AWE tmrw and see how much they want to charge me for the DP and then go from there, if it is more than $200 i may consider it, otherwise ill have to think about it...

[swoardrider]

To my understanding, the exhaust on a Tip is the same as a manual except for the downpipe. The Tip trannys are really fat, so the bends on a manual downpipe are different, and won't fit a Tip. I believe when you buy an aftermarket Tip exhaust, they include a reducer as opposed to a new downpipe so the bigger aftermarket exhaust will attach to the stock Tip downpipe.
I don't think anyone is mass producing a Tip downpipe yet. Techtonics is supposed to release one in about a month. I believe some guys here on AZ have Labree custom make them as well.
So if the previous owner was a Tip, then there might be extra piping in the form of a reducer??
Seeing you are 6 speed manual, the logical thing to do if you want it done right, is to buy the AWE downpipe for manuals.

[harryd14]

yeah i read the thread about the Tip downpipe, but i have a manual so im not worried about having trouble with replacing the DP (i assume you were just helping to clarify the difference between manual and Tip, thank you swoardrider!), i just wanted to see what ppl thought about custom making one vs. buying one from AWE to replace it.

However, taking some pictures from the underside of my car today, i see that Midas cut the pipe that connects the DP to the exhaust tips (middle pipe on the picture)at the bend closest to split... which means that when/if i buy the DP from AWE i will still have to get Midas (or where ever i get it installed to cut and weld another piece of metal together to connect them... i dont think it should be too difficult but im just kinda worried about the beds that were cut and how this might make the process slightly more difficult :-(

[Tru NY Player]

just so you can have the awe logo on your dp is kind of a waste of money that could totally go somewhere else on the car..

i would pay midas or your locals to weld a new pipe on there..
you spent that extra bread to get the custom sounding exhaust awe offers, just finish your exhaust the easiest way possible..

0.02

[harryd14]

just so you can have the awe logo on your dp is kind of a waste of money that could totally go somewhere else on the car..

im not getting the DP for the AWE logo, im just concerned with having fitment issues and the fact that the pipe that connects to the DP has been cut so far back and connecting them with the bends that should have been there if it hadn't been cut...

[Tru NY Player]

im not getting the DP for the AWE logo, im just concerned with having fitment issues and the fact that the pipe that connects to the DP has been cut so far back and connecting them with the bends that should have been there if it hadn't been cut...

my bad..i didnt mean it like that necessarily..

im just saying theyre gunna have to custom weld that piece on regardless so if thats the case, you might as well do it sooner rather than later, and get them to do the custom dp...[wrench]

i think thats 0.04 now..

[harryd14]

i think thats 0.04 now..

alright well enough info from you for now, its starting to cost me too much... this money needs to go to getting a DP... well im not sure if Midas does custom piping/exhaust work so i am going to have to call them and see, but i was jus thinking about getting the AWE dp incase i chose to sell it in the future for one reason or another... i guess it all depends on what AWE tells me tmrw when i call them and how much they wanna charge me, then ill have to call Midas and see if they do custom exhaust and see how much they would charge me...

[RedS-line]

how much does awe want for the dp? there is a 30 dollar price difference between their automatic and manual exhausts so it should not be more than 50-100 bucks. Labree makes a nice downpipe for about 250. either one will work and you can get a clamp to connect them, no welding needed.

[Charles]

Also, if you do the custom route, make sure you get stainless steel. Midas might only have aluminized.
But yeah, while you're at it, might as well get a custom down pipe and test pipe to replace the cat. You'll get a nice power bump from that.

[harryd14]

i would get a TP as well, but here in GA they are pretty strict about emissions and so i would fail the test with a TP, so i think i am going to wait until after i get my next emissions until i do a TP if i decide to do it... not sure if i like to sound of them yet, but i gotta check youtube to see how AWE sounds with a TP...

unfortunately i didnt have anytime to call AWE earlier today and must have just missed then 15 min ago as they close at 6 so i will have to give them a call tmrw as i should be much less busy... hopefully they wont want too much for it! *knocks on wood*

[harryd14]

ok so i just called AWE and the guy i spoke with didn't seem very knowledgable on the issue, but it could very well be my mistake. But he was trying to tell me the piping for the exhaust is different from the automatic and the manual... not just the DP, but everything else as well... this doesnt seem correct to me but i could be mistaken.

Either way he said he was going to get back to me with a price for the DP so im just waiting now...

[WayzataAudi]

yeah hes right. auto and manual are different, i dont know how or why but they are..seems kinda pointless to me but whatever so does the whole 1k for an exhaust system.

[harryd14]

oh really? he said that as a result there would be problems fitting it onto my car, but it is on and i the only problem the mechanic said was that it was really tight around part of the protective heat shielding and that was it... should i be worried or not really..

[WayzataAudi]

well i think what he meant is that the area around the heat shield would be where the downpipe is. which, if i understand your situation, you dont have the aftermarket downpipe correct? so i wouldnt be worried as long as everything fits its fine. but your right the only difference is fitment, which is why i dont understand it. id say the safest thing to do is just have one custom made with the same size piping, because if you end up ordering the TIP one and it wont fit, then your screwed. but if you order the manual one and it doesnt fit to the rest of your existing exhuast then your also screwed...well slightly screwed at that moment. but it would so save time and money to just get one custom made... .02 [:d]

[harryd14]

alright, well i still havent heard back from AWE which doesnt make me feel like they have very good customer support, (i mean how long would it take for them to figure out much if could cost for just a DP) and just go the custom route which seems much less complicated and probably cheaper as well... so hopefully i will be able to do this over the weekend, time permitting (stupid managerial accounting exams [:(])