[tenkies]

I was looking to upgrade my stock DP and ended up getting a good deal on the catted DP by AA. They guarantee no CEL so I decided to pull the trigger and get one. Delivery from AA took almost 2 weeks. DP arrived well packaged with plenty of bubble wrap .

First Impressions:
Looks ok. The welding on the pipe that connects to the exhaust is a bit sloppy. The other end that connects to the Turbo looks really good. So, I'm not sure what happened *

Install:
I loosely followed some DIYs off of YouTube. I ended up not removing the belly pan completely. Just removed all the 17mm bolts and only the 8mm screws from the front axel back, letting the pan hang from the front 5 screws. I purchased new OEM v-band clamps for the exhaust and turbo side along with 17mm belly pan bolts(I recommend getting these for peace of mind. After torquing these down to spec I'm pretty sure they get stretched a bit). Also purchased a new turbo gasket. With only 10k miles on the car The gasket looked fine and I ended up not replacing it. Biggest issue I found installing the AA DP was that the bracket flanges do not line back up and was not able to re-install all of the DP brackets back completely. I was only able to bolt the bracket on the turbo side and only 2 out of the 3 bolts. The way the DP fits and the V-bands I doubt it's going to move but what's the point of bracket flanged on the DP then...

Initial Start up and driving Impressions (stock/no tune)
First and foremost no CEL on startup Cold start is louder. No raspiness though and it sounds good. I have an Akrapovic exhaust and IMO start up is .5x times louder. I have a garage but for those that park their cars outside...you might not be the "favorite" neighbor during early morning commuting. Driving around, I now have subtle burbles in comfort mode. The exhaust is a bit louder on acceleration but nothing obnoxious. Cruising at speed is no different that when I had the stock DP. In Sport and Sport+ mode is a different story. Acceleration sounds aggressive and you can now hear the turbo spool. On declaration the burbles have increased and are pronounced and louder. Cruising volume is a tad louder barely louder than the stock DP. The butt Dyno is telling me the car feels a bit more torqueier and a bit more responsive.

After driving 15-20 miles still no CEL(hope this last long term) Overall I'm happy with the DP. It's louder but nothing obnoxious. My GF rode in the car and did not complain about noise levels. The car feels better driving overall. If you feel that the car is loud in stock form and not a fan of burbles this DP is not for you. For the rest of you it might be worth getting as long as they fix the bracket issue. Maybe I got a batch who knows.

[ahass]

Thanks for the review! Really interested in getting the AA catted downpipe in the future. Hopefully it stays without a CEL (since that what they state on their site) but I guess time will tell

[cecaa850]

How can they miss on the brackets?

[Happy Motoring]

Originally Posted by cecaa850

How can they miss on the brackets?

Maybe they used the same mfg as Fabspeed lol

[cecaa850]

Originally Posted by Happy Motoring

Maybe they used the same mfg as Fabspeed lol

Mine was spot on when I put it in. Don't know.

[VisualEcho]

Great detailed review. Looking forward to the updates that say no CEL.

[Happy Motoring]

Originally Posted by cecaa850

Mine was spot on when I put it in. Don't know.

There were issues with their first batch. Asked people to return it after they switched mfgs I think. It's all good now.

[tenkies]

Originally Posted by cecaa850

How can they miss on the brackets?

Not sure. There is only 1 way the DP will fit and the flanges to the brackets on mine did not fit. Maybe I got a bad batch or they sent the DP for a different N55 motor.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Thank you for the review OP, hundreds of this downpipe have been sold without any issues. Its either an install issue or you got a bad pipe

[mr.almeida]

I couldn't agree more with your review. I put mine on last week and have a MPE. Everything you said was spot on. I want to tune, but will defer until I put on intake, IC, and charge pipe.

[nioh_lbbm2]

how much did you pay for the DP if you don't mind me asking?

[tenkies]

Originally Posted by mr.almeida

I couldn't agree more with your review. I put mine on last week and have a MPE. Everything you said was spot on. I want to tune, but will defer until I put on intake, IC, and charge pipe.

Did your Bracket hangers line up?

[tenkies]

Originally Posted by nioh_lbbm2

how much did you pay for the DP if you don't mind me asking?

close to $900 shipped

[mr.almeida]

Originally Posted by tenkies

Did your Bracket hangers line up?

Originally Posted by tenkies

Did your Bracket hangers line up?

It wasn't easy, but I did get them lined up. For me I left the bolts hand tightened to the vband on the turbo got the transmission bolts first and then the 11mm screw and bolt to the hangar. Luckily I was working on a lift I can only imagine how big a pain in the ass this would be working on the ground.

[tenkies]

Originally Posted by mr.almeida

It wasn't easy, but I did get them lined up. For me I left the bolts hand tightened to the vband on the turbo got the transmission bolts first and then the 11mm screw and bolt to the hangar. Luckily I was working on a lift I can only imagine how big a pain in the ass this would be working on the ground.

My Quickjack is on back order and did not arrive in time for my install. I did the swap on jack stands. Honestly, I'm not too worried of only having a partial bracket. I think even without the bracket I don't think the DP would be going anywhere.

[mr.almeida]

Originally Posted by tenkies

My Quickjack is on back order and did not arrive in time for my install. I did the swap on jack stands. Honestly, I'm not too worried of only having a partial bracket. I think even without the bracket I don't think the DP would be going anywhere.

Originally Posted by tenkies

Did your Bracket hangers line up?

Originally Posted by tenkies

My Quickjack is on back order and did not arrive in time for my install. I did the swap on jack stands. Honestly, I'm not too worried of only having a partial bracket. I think even without the bracket I don't think the DP would be going anywhere.

Haha I'm waiting for Costco to have it on sale again and I'll be buying one too. If it's not rattling I think you'll be fine without the bracket.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by nioh_lbbm2

how much did you pay for the DP if you don't mind me asking?

Let me know if you are interested in getting one soon

[PAC]

Originally Posted by tenkies

I was looking to upgrade my stock DP and ended up getting a good deal on the catted DP by AA. They guarantee no CEL so I decided to pull the trigger and get one. Delivery from AA took almost 2 weeks. DP arrived well packaged with plenty of bubble wrap .

First Impressions:
Looks ok. The welding on the pipe that connects to the exhaust is a bit sloppy. The other end that connects to the Turbo looks really good. So, I'm not sure what happened *

Install:
I loosely followed some DIYs off of YouTube. I ended up not removing the belly pan completely. Just removed all the 17mm bolts and only the 8mm screws from the front axel back, letting the pan hang from the front 5 screws. I purchased new OEM v-band clamps for the exhaust and turbo side along with 17mm belly pan bolts(I recommend getting these for peace of mind. After torquing these down to spec I'm pretty sure they get stretched a bit). Also purchased a new turbo gasket. With only 10k miles on the car The gasket looked fine and I ended up not replacing it. Biggest issue I found installing the AA DP was that the bracket flanges do not line back up and was not able to re-install all of the DP brackets back completely. I was only able to bolt the bracket on the turbo side and only 2 out of the 3 bolts. The way the DP fits and the V-bands I doubt it's going to move but what's the point of bracket flanged on the DP then...

Initial Start up and driving Impressions (stock/no tune)
First and foremost no CEL on startup Cold start is louder. No raspiness though and it sounds good. I have an Akrapovic exhaust and IMO start up is .5x times louder. I have a garage but for those that park their cars outside...you might not be the "favorite" neighbor during early morning commuting. Driving around, I now have subtle burbles in comfort mode. The exhaust is a bit louder on acceleration but nothing obnoxious. Cruising at speed is no different that when I had the stock DP. In Sport and Sport+ mode is a different story. Acceleration sounds aggressive and you can now hear the turbo spool. On declaration the burbles have increased and are pronounced and louder. Cruising volume is a tad louder barely louder than the stock DP. The butt Dyno is telling me the car feels a bit more torqueier and a bit more responsive.

After driving 15-20 miles still no CEL(hope this last long term) Overall I'm happy with the DP. It's louder but nothing obnoxious. My GF rode in the car and did not complain about noise levels. The car feels better driving overall. If you feel that the car is loud in stock form and not a fan of burbles this DP is not for you. For the rest of you it might be worth getting as long as they fix the bracket issue. Maybe I got a batch who knows.

How's the pipe hold up

[tenkies]

No CEL still so far. Haven't driven it too much though due to the current enviornment. But when I have been driving, it's been fairly aggressive and still no CEL. Burbles seem to have gotten a bit louder as the cat seems to be broken-in now

[vrooooom]

So what's different about this and the, say Fabspeed, which is almost double the price?

[carchrism5]

Originally Posted by vrooooom

So what's different about this and the, say Fabspeed, which is almost double the price?

AA uses a GESI cat and Fabspeed I think uses an HJS. The AA seems to be a better option, also has a longer warranty on the cat (around 5 years I think) versus the Fabspeed 1 or 2 year, and a number of people have gotten CELs with the Fabspeed. Run a search as there are a number of threads on it with more details about people getting them and what Fabspeed requires you to do if you do get one.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by vrooooom

So what's different about this and the, say Fabspeed, which is almost double the price?

Originally Posted by carchrism5

AA uses a GESI cat and Fabspeed I think uses an HJS.

Pretty much