[BAN_M2C]

Wednesday I received the screws that had been missing from the initial shipment of the exhaust.

After interchanging emails and getting some more info from Fabspeed on how to adjust the tips I started working on the car in the afternoon.
They recommended just getting the tips a 1/4" into the tailpipe to allow articulation and adjustment but that's when I emailed them back with this pic.



So emailed them telling them 1/4" wouldn’t even make it past the portion that screws the tip appropriately. That I would think at a minimum it should go in far enough to cover that gap hole. The picture itself showed at least 1/2" in and it still didn't cover the gap.

Their response was that the gap should definitely be covered, so it may be a little longer than 1/4".

They asked me if I was missing the tip rings. Responded they were there but since they do not complete the full circle the opening on them was aligned with the gap shown in the pic that is why it couldn’t be seen.
I let them know that I aligned everything as expected and just pushed the tips far enough in so they sit as close as possible compared to the OEM tips (distance far out of bumper) and everything seems to be exactly where it should be based on their recommendations.

In summary their recommendations were:

The chrome ending of the Y meets the connecting tube at the dead middle of the clamp.





I then pushed the tip to go all the way in so it basically meets the clamps end.



Everything seemed leveled out (hanging straight) but overall it still seemed rather low, which makes me think it could be the hanger portion not being where it should. But I also had initial thoughts on the third clamp (where the Bypass meets the OEM exhaust) being the cause of all this.



When installing this at the shop, they did mention the clamp was tedious because the OEM pipe seems a bit larger than the Fabspeed ending. Getting the clamp over the OEM pipe was tight and if you removed the bolt completely to fit over the OEM part it would be very difficult to get the bolt started again.

My next move was to try to adjust at that rear point to see if the tails met at the bumper closer. You have the hangers working as the pivot point and depending the angle that rear clamp grabs it could move the entire bypass up or down.

I gave up after being under the car for about 2.5 hours straight trying to adjust.

After the two+ hours trying to get everything aligned and tips closer to the bumper I sent this note to Fabspeed:

"Since it was still laying too low after adjusting all the tips as you recommended, I decided to try to loosen up the rear clamp in case that's what is causing them to be angled.

The rear clamp is definitely the one causing this since the angle it takes when you tighten it makes the complete end to pivot.

At one point trying to get it better aligned it disconnected completely and that's when the fun started. The piping size on the OEM end is definitely slightly bigger than the muffler delete. Loosening the clamp to adjust I noticed the OEM piping is bent (kind of caved in) from when it got installed initially. Again seems like the clamp caused it to close out like this.

I loosened the clamp enough to reattach but it goes in so far with the nut at least started on the bolt. I can't remove the bolt completely because the bigger piping will not allow me to close it enough to put the bolt and nut back on. Did my best to get the OEM piping side back in. Tightened everything back and now there is an exhaust leak on the OEM piping side right where the clamp joint is at. It's coming most likely from the caved in portion the OEM piping got when the clamp was initially attached.

I loosened and pushed it in a bit further and tightened but still gases coming out from there.

Pondering what options I have now. Either try to source a larger clamp that allows me to grab the OEM portion better and still hold the bypass side.

Or just ditch all this and get a muffler shop to actually connect the OEM pipe to the bypass with a connecting pipe and while at it have them properly align by ensuring the tails are higher and closer to the bumper.

The pivot can only be pushed to some point given that the differential has a cable attached to it which could be too close to the piping is I keep trying to angle it to get the tails closer to the bumper.

Will visit my local muffler shop 8am. They did my full exhaust on my last car to see what they recommend to resolve.”

Here you can see where the clamp bent the OEM portion:



And reason why I can really play too much with adjustment in that rear clamp) cable running by differential:



I visited the exhaust shop at 8am and had a talk with them, but was waiting to hear back from Fabspeed on the pics and emails before deciding anything.

Didn't hear anything during the morning so midday I sent them a follow up email:

"Following up on this, not sure if your team could assess the details in the email and pics to recommend steps forward if any.

Had the muffler shop visit, they recommended to ditch the clamp and join the bypass to the stock portion permanently to avoid any leaks from the clamp. They would need to have as SS tube reducing from the stock size to the bypass.

Told them I need to think about the route to take, plus didn't want to decide anything before hearing back from you guys on recommended actions.

Loved the sound of it when initially installed just the fitment was off. But now with the leak it’s not sounding the same.

Any feedback will be appreciated."

Posting here, seeing the account was active yesterday maybe I can get a quicker response here than thru email..

[arquitecto]

I'm sorry to hear this is being such a pita! I agree that it does sound awesome from your videos, hopefully it all gets resolved soon and you are able to enjoy it again. Thanks for the detailed write ups, they are great! Best of luck, bud!

[zkeeper]

Very fascinating and your pics and details are spot on. As in previous post, am curious as well as to how this is resolved, as I also desire same set up.
BUT how have I missed the video spot? Went thru all series in thread, and can't locate it. My idiocy of course, but would like to hear it.
Do keep us posted on this.
1. The pipe dimensions ought to be exacting, ie. enough to clamp easily and without final angle issues.
2. Hangers provided ought to have been correct length without amazon's help.
3. Did you change the diffuser? I know its not the OEM, but has cutout affected final tip height from what Fab would have seen on their mule?

Thanks for further details...

[BAN_M2C]

Originally Posted by arquitecto

I'm sorry to hear this is being such a pita! I agree that it does sound awesome from your videos, hopefully it all gets resolved soon and you are able to enjoy it again. Thanks for the detailed write ups, they are great! Best of luck, bud!

Thanks Lucas! I can't complain about the sound. I love it. The fitment is the pain here. Hopefully I can hear back from them on steps forward.

I really like the sound but the plug and play part of this was attractive cause I really wanted to go with the Akra setup but I have too much going on right now with a second house I am selling and don't want to hash out the 6K right now until I close the house and take the hit it has based on the market being bad where its located at.

Thanks for reading all details, hopefully I see you guys again in a couple weeks over in the next Cars & Coffee in Orlando!

[BAN_M2C]

Originally Posted by zkeeper

Very fascinating and your pics and details are spot on. As in previous post, am curious as well as to how this is resolved, as I also desire same set up.
BUT how have I missed the video spot? Went thru all series in thread, and can't locate it. My idiocy of course, but would like to hear it.
Do keep us posted on this.
1. The pipe dimensions ought to be exacting, ie. enough to clamp easily and without final angle issues.
2. Hangers provided ought to have been correct length without amazon's help.
3. Did you change the diffuser? I know its not the OEM, but has cutout affected final tip height from what Fab would have seen on their mule?

Thanks for further details...

Hopefully this is an isolated issue, they expressed they have sold many of these setups for M2's and nobody has had issues, but I haven't seen many reviews on the boards so that's why I was on the fence initially. I had reached out to them on the same thread they advertise it way before buying asking why not a full plug and play system to avoid any installation issues. But they had expressed that the mid section on these cars was pretty efficient and no gains would be seen with a full mid pipe so to reduce costs they had decided to only do the rear section like they did.

Fabspeed let me know that the MPE also required cutting the OEM exhaust so thats when I knew this could be an option for me seeing the MPE also required cutting.

Here is the video:

To answer your questions:

1. The dimensions are not the same, or at least that what my initial measurements show. I have been looking online to find a better rear section clamp and wanted to have exact measurements. Since its still connected, although it leaks, I measured circumference to not have to disconnect again. Tight spot cause I didn't lift the car and its lowered I was able to measure and Stock Pipe was around 10", the Bypass I measured to be 9 3/4". So its a difference of approximately 1/4" in circumference difference.

2. Just to be clear, no hangers were provided by Fabspeed with the Bypass, I am reusing the stock ones. The pics I showed with the tails closer to the bumper was after lifting the car on jacks and supporting the exhaust with the floor jack to lift and see if it had some wiggle room to adjust and I added some tie wraps from the bypass hanger to the cars hanger point to keep in place. After seeing this worked I then decided to order the aftermarket hangers to remove the stock ones and the temporary tie wraps.

3. I am using stock diffuser, no modification to my rear bumper, so this should not be affecting fitment since its stock on my car.

Updated the sizes above:

Measured and took some pics, not sure how much this size difference would affect. I do know that clamp is a pain to get over the stock pipe side. And once tightened down to seal it basically crushes the stock piping. Not sure if its just not the proper size.

Stock side 10"



Fabspeed Bypass side 9 3/4"

[zkeeper]

Hey great write-up. You surely answered my inquiry. Most guys are just too quick and too short on details. Thanks. Sure feel tough you are continuing this fitment saga. Have had same issue in racing vintage sports cars, and yes definitely a pain.
I will be interesting to see if Fab can address the circum differences. This still seems so odd if they were using an M2 mule at their place. Would fully explain clamping issues.

Thanks for posting the vids...probably your second time, as somehow I missed them. Very nice comparison. Definitely a nice change to the baritone side. A bit tenor now.

Last, the "hangers" you purchased on amazon? Fab doesn't provide them probably due to thinking not needed. New car, new hangers; remove one rear section, bolt on another new one, hang the new rods in M2 stock hangers: done. But your pipe and final tip placement, begs the clarifications.

I for one thank you, and will be standing by on this one. Please keep us updated. Thanks again, and beyond these fettling issues, have a decent New Year.

[BAN_M2C]

Originally Posted by zkeeper

Hey great write-up. You surely answered my inquiry. Most guys are just too quick and too short on details. Thanks. Sure feel tough you are continuing this fitment saga. Have had same issue in racing vintage sports cars, and yes definitely a pain.
I will be interesting to see if Fab can address the circum differences. This still seems so odd if they were using an M2 mule at their place. Would fully explain clamping issues.

Thanks for posting the vids...probably your second time, as somehow I missed them. Very nice comparison. Definitely a nice change to the baritone side. A bit tenor now.

Last, the "hangers" you purchased on amazon? Fab doesn't provide them probably due to thinking not needed. New car, new hangers; remove one rear section, bolt on another new one, hang the new rods in M2 stock hangers: done. But your pipe and final tip placement, begs the clarifications.

I for one thank you, and will be standing by on this one. Please keep us updated. Thanks again, and beyond these fettling issues, have a decent New Year.

You are most welcome, I try to add as much detail as possible because information I can provide to others I know is appreciated since I also appreciate when searching on forums and find answers to questions I have myself.

Hopefully I will hear back from Fabspeed today, last communication I received was last Wednesday.

Had a great New Year with family and friends that visited from out of state!

Too much food as always, hope you also had a great one!

Happy New Year Everyone!

[M2GB]

Sorry to hear about all your problems but hopefully will be resolved soon!

I thought the Oem pipe was slightly larger so that the fabspeed exhaust could be slotted inside it at the join point - and then the clamp on top to hold it in place?

[BAN_M2C]

Originally Posted by M2GB

Sorry to hear about all your problems but hopefully will be resolved soon!

I thought the Oem pipe was slightly larger so that the fabspeed exhaust could be slotted inside it at the join point - and then the clamp on top to hold it in place?

Not 100% sure, the cut point Fabspeed has on the website pretty much makes them meet face to face not inside each other. The shop installing pretty much lined them up face to face. Similarly how the tube for the tails and the ending on the bypass meet face to face not inside each other.

The wording on their page states the Fabspeed portion would fit over the stock not vice versa:

http://www.fabspeed.com/bmw-m2-f87-m...xhaust-system/

NOTE: Installation requires cutting the factory exhaust near a factory break point. Everything required for installation is included. The Fabspeed system installs quickly over the factory piping using the included Torca clamp. Reinstallation of the factory rear muffler (for our friends with leased vehicles) is quick and easy!

The only issue I see here is the clamp size might be perfect for the bypass piping but a bit on the small side for the OEM.

I thought the idea behind these clamps was having exact sizing of piping on both sides to be able to seal properly?

Still waiting to hear from them with pointers or resolution. Haven't heard thru email either. Cancelled the appointment I had at the muffler shop tomorrow since I dont want to have it joined permanently to the car yet until I hear back from Fabspeed.

[M2GB]

Originally Posted by EL BAN

Not 100% sure, the cut point Fabspeed has on the website pretty much makes them meet face to face not inside each other. The shop installing pretty much lined them up face to face. Similarly how the tube for the tails and the ending on the bypass meet face to face not inside each other.

The wording on their page states the Fabspeed portion would fit over the stock not vice versa:

http://www.fabspeed.com/bmw-m2-f87-m...xhaust-system/

NOTE: Installation requires cutting the factory exhaust near a factory break point. Everything required for installation is included. The Fabspeed system installs quickly over the factory piping using the included Torca clamp. Reinstallation of the factory rear muffler (for our friends with leased vehicles) is quick and easy!

The only issue I see here is the clamp size might be perfect for the bypass piping but a bit on the small side for the OEM.

I thought the idea behind these clamps was having exact sizing of piping on both sides to be able to seal properly?

Still waiting to hear from them with pointers or resolution. Haven't heard thru email either. Cancelled the appointment I had at the muffler shop tomorrow since I dont want to have it joined permanently to the car yet until I hear back from Fabspeed.

I agree the clamp should match the pipes assuming they are the same width. The only logical reason they are not is so that one side slots over the other and then a clamp to hold them in place.

Makes no logical sense to me for the fabspeed part to be a different size otherwise

[Corinne]

This is all a bit worrying. I'm thinking of getting a Fabspeed set-up when I get my M2 and my local garage is going to have to fit it. If the parts are not the right size my car is going to be immobilized while a French speaking garage owner tries to sort it out

[M2GB]

Anything back from fabspeed? Why are the pipes a different size!?

[BAN_M2C]

Originally Posted by M2GB

Anything back from fabspeed? Why are the pipes a different size!?

Nothing specific yet, but they sent me a PM a bit over an hour ago. Asked to not post up pics yet while they tried to sort out. But I responded I had already summarized and posted details on this thread. Told them to check the emails from last week and this thread for more details.

Stated they are looking into my email/feedback to hopefully be able to resolve.

[zkeeper]

Some of us are standing by on this one. It's going to be interesting to see the resolve and trust it will for you. Been a couple of weeks now.

[BAN_M2C]

I have been putting off releasing any additional information until a final resolution is met.

I do understand many people are looking into this thread and resolution since I have received messages in my inbox and also emails regarding this. I appreciate you guys following up also ensuring I get this fixed.

After receiving the messages I described in my last post, I received a call from Fabspeed Motorsport . Couple people on the call (including a sales representative, I believe one of the machinist and also the Owner) and they were looking to help resolve the fitment situation.

An initial resolution was discussed but after putting some thought into it I sent them a note saying I would prefer a different route and wrote them a suggestion.

Currently they are talking to Auto Tuning House whom ordered and installed this for me.

Fabspeed sent me an email yesterday letting me know their head of customer service is working with ATH to resolver in a proper way.

I got some insight from my guy at the shop, but no formal communication about what they discussed has been talked directly with me. Auto Tuning House said to expect a call from Fabspeed summarizing what they discussed with him.

[BAN_M2C]

Following up on the Exhaust.

Got the call I was expecting last Friday, just had a hectic weekend so hadn't updated.

The call summarized what they had spoke with Auto Tuning House.

They will be shipping out a replacement exhaust to reinstall and return the one currently on for further investigations.

Should be here in a couple weeks. Will update further once we receive it. Thanks again all for the PMs and interest on this.

[BAN_M2C]

So, bit of an update. Was able to head to an Autocross event help last Sunday.

It was 36 degrees and was freezing for me! I am accustomed to Tropical weather from Puerto Rico mostly and although I have been in FL 3 years anything under 60 to me is freezing!

Got some more pics and videos to edit.

Used the BMW Drive Analyser and App but not sure why it did not register my throttle and braking properly. Was alternating between that and the Go Pro so maybe I just messed up something.

Car behaved very well although the PSS wanted to break traction a lot probably because it was so cold.

Had a blast regardless, will edit vids and post them.

Had issues with classification, I went to organizers before registering and they classified me in STU since I have springs and exhaust mod. Stock they say the car is B Street but I didn't care where I was placed I just wanted to run and have fun.

Apparently the only other car in STU was complaining about having me in STU and was told to run with no category assigned until they sorted. They mentioned sending me to CSP class.

After some runs they came back and said I was good to be in STU so probably they just saw I was slower than who was complaining and dropped the whole issue..

[zkeeper]

Nice update and thank you. Yes, some of us are standing by on it. I think we all be verrry interested in how a new unit will mate up. COULD BE, that they put the wrong diameter pipe to mate up with OEM, as they say they have not had it happen prior.

Glad you had some fun with the 2ffer--your new "sound" probably made others just a bit scared.
Ahhh jealousy, wrapped in their desire for equity, on the tarmac often takes many forms.

[BAN_M2C]

Originally Posted by zkeeper

Nice update and thank you. Yes, some of us are standing by on it. I think we all be verrry interested in how a new unit will mate up. COULD BE, that they put the wrong diameter pipe to mate up with OEM, as they say they have not had it happen prior.

Glad you had some fun with the 2ffer--your new "sound" probably made others just a bit scared.
Ahhh jealousy, wrapped in their desire for equity, on the tarmac often takes many forms.

Will add more details when it arrives and we go thru the installation!

Maybe it was the sound.. regardless it was tons of fun and the same way I might have caused some rubbing with some people many others walked up very interested in the car and had many questions which I gladly answered.

Looking forward to the next one in February, hopefully better weather by then!

[BAN_M2C]

Best run of the day.. lots of fun

[Fabspeed Motorsport]

Looks like you're having too much fun!

[BAN_M2C]

Originally Posted by Fabspeed Motorsport

Looks like you're having too much fun!

Nonsense! You can never have too much fun in an event like this specially behind the wheel of an M2

I think it’s your guys fault the classification thing happened. They heard the cars exhaust and contested my classification.. "That thing is loud, must be fast"