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      05-27-2018, 06:59 PM   #89
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Who? View Post
Im waiting for fabspeed to say they have identified the problem, and it has been with customers reporting the same. So far, they said for the majority, it fits fine, which to me is not really good enough of an answer
It's already been done, in these two posts from Fabspeed:Which are in this, which was the original, thread: http://www.2addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1488578, which was linked already, earlier in this thread.
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      05-28-2018, 12:22 AM   #90
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nezil View Post
It's already been done, in these two posts from Fabspeed:Which are in this, which was the original, thread: http://www.2addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1488578, which was linked already, earlier in this thread.
Ah awesome, good to hear
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      05-28-2018, 03:53 AM   #91
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When exactly did the problems start? I have one I revived in March and haven't installed it yet. Mine does not have a dent, it's supposed to have a dent?
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      05-28-2018, 10:40 AM   #92
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BSMF87 View Post
When exactly did the problems start? I have one I revived in March and haven't installed it yet. Mine does not have a dent, it's supposed to have a dent?
Only Fabspeed might know when the issue started. The dent or no dent is only a partial indicator.

At some point in the last few months, Fabspeed changed the design to a cast top cone rather than a top cone made of sheet stainless and a machined turbo flange. This was intended to cut down on assembly error and complexity because there are fewer parts to weld, and it also removed the need for a dent.

The fitment issues stem from some damage to the assembly jig that ruined the alignment of the mounting bracket. Only the cast top cone jig was damaged, but I don't know when this damage occurred, probably some time into production.

So if you have a cast top cone, you might be affected, but might not. If you have an earlier sheet + machined + dent top cone, you're not affected.

If you're worried, contact Fabspeed and I'm sure they'll make sure you're ok.
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Last edited by Nezil; 05-30-2018 at 12:25 PM..
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      05-28-2018, 11:19 AM   #93
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I have a cast top cone shipped May 4.

Chiming in since I just encountered the same issue with my sport cat downpipe. I even had a Fabspeed catless that came off the car to compare to (which fit perfectly) I was installing on jackstands in a garage and my end solution was a longer bolt ($1 at Lowes) and slowly tightening the brackets together like the OP (see pics). Fabspeed did a great job being responsive after I initially encountered the issue and worked with me on resolving. Although this isn't the route I wanted to go while installing an expensive item in a cramped position on the ground, the quality of the product is excellent.



After
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      05-28-2018, 11:41 AM   #94
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This is a real good example of what can go wrong in the manufacturing process and how it gets noticed and then debugged. Its hard for a manufacturer, after shipping hundreds or thousands of a product without issue, to admit to themselves that this one time, despite a myriad of user errors in the past, this time, there really IS something wrong in the manufacturing. Glad the cause was found and that customers are being made whole.
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      05-30-2018, 12:16 PM   #95
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To anyone that is following or has any interest...

I hate to publicly air my dirty laundry but I guess at this point my goal is to prompt SOME sort of response.

I initially ordered the fabspeed DP from x-ph on 5/8 and was notified of a 2 week lead time. I received the product 5/24.

On 5/24 I attempted to install it and noted the atrocious fitment. The cast cone is entirely too thick to be clamped down (definitely thicker than the stock pipe for absolutely no reason), and the brackets don't line up. I wasted multiple hours fiddling with it 5/24 PM, but clearly it just does not fit, as the stock pipe went back on first try without issue.

5/24 PM (late), I messaged fabspeed on this forum, and received a reply (early) 5/25 AM. An email was sent to me from fabspeed with 2 other fabspeed people copied on it stating I had an issue with the sport cat, and could someone get me a return shipping label ASAP. All day Friday goes by....no further communication.
I reply to that email thread Friday night asking for follow up. Saturday (yes, they are open Saturday) comes and goes with no communication.

I emailed again on 5/28, which I understand is a holiday. I received a response early 5/29 AM. This response was apologetic and stated they are a small company and the customer service rep is out on vacation. Ok great - but there is no way not a single one of the 40 employees can spend the 15 minutes max it takes to generate and send me a shipping label. I responded explaining my situation - I wasted an entire evening mucking about with a part that doesn't fit, had to go back to stock, and will eventually have to take the stock pipe down and replace it with the fabspeed one all over again. In addition, with me continually attempting to follow up and getting nowhere, this entire ordeal has become and is continuing to be a giant waste of my already scantly available free time.
To that email, I received no reply.

I emailed again 5/29 PM requesting follow up as to why 1) I had still not heard anything at all, and 2) why no one still had sent me a shipping label/RMA as promised.
To that email, I received no reply.

Buyer beware. I would absolutely avoid this company at all costs. In my experience, this is a trash product from a trash company. There is absolutely no reason why parts should be getting shipped that don't fit, or that it should take now almost 4 entire working days to provide a shipping label.
I will be filing a dispute with my CC company, reporting to BBB, and going down every pathway available to me to set this right. I wish I had looked at their BBB rating before ordering - multiple reports of poor or nonexistent customer service for parts that don't fit.

At this point I am not interested in this garbage part whatsoever, and would like to be able to ship it back to them 5 days ago. I want a refund immediately!

tl;dr: DO NOT PURCHASE THIS PART - either go without, or buy a part from a company that actually knows how to make a part that fits, or at least stands by their product
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      05-30-2018, 12:32 PM   #96
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Hello Dieskte,
I am very sorry about the slow response. Yes, we are open on most Saturdays but it is a limited crew at best, and we were not open this past weekend due to the holiday. I understand you are very busy and this needs to be resolved. The lack of communication is unexceptable and unfortunately due to the customer service rep being on vacation but that is no excuse because we had a serious problem with the sport cat downpipes and it is priority number one for us. Like I believe I said in the email to you you should have a return Number and label within the hour and I am very sorry for the inconvenience.

Please know that we are standing by our product and plan on making this correct asap.
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      05-30-2018, 12:36 PM   #97
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Quote:
Originally Posted by diesekte View Post
To anyone that is following or has any interest...

I hate to publicly air my dirty laundry but I guess at this point my goal is to prompt SOME sort of response.

I initially ordered the fabspeed DP from x-ph on 5/8 and was notified of a 2 week lead time. I received the product 5/24.

On 5/24 I attempted to install it and noted the atrocious fitment. The cast cone is entirely too thick to be clamped down (definitely thicker than the stock pipe for absolutely no reason), and the brackets don't line up. I wasted multiple hours fiddling with it 5/24 PM, but clearly it just does not fit, as the stock pipe went back on first try without issue.

5/24 PM (late), I messaged fabspeed on this forum, and received a reply (early) 5/25 AM. An email was sent to me from fabspeed with 2 other fabspeed people copied on it stating I had an issue with the sport cat, and could someone get me a return shipping label ASAP. All day Friday goes by....no further communication.
I reply to that email thread Friday night asking for follow up. Saturday (yes, they are open Saturday) comes and goes with no communication.

I emailed again on 5/28, which I understand is a holiday. I received a response early 5/29 AM. This response was apologetic and stated they are a small company and the customer service rep is out on vacation. Ok great - but there is no way not a single one of the 40 employees can spend the 15 minutes max it takes to generate and send me a shipping label. I responded explaining my situation - I wasted an entire evening mucking about with a part that doesn't fit, had to go back to stock, and will eventually have to take the stock pipe down and replace it with the fabspeed one all over again. In addition, with me continually attempting to follow up and getting nowhere, this entire ordeal has become and is continuing to be a giant waste of my already scantly available free time.
To that email, I received no reply.

I emailed again 5/29 PM requesting follow up as to why 1) I had still not heard anything at all, and 2) why no one still had sent me a shipping label/RMA as promised.
To that email, I received no reply.

Buyer beware. I would absolutely avoid this company at all costs. In my experience, this is a trash product from a trash company. There is absolutely no reason why parts should be getting shipped that don't fit, or that it should take now almost 4 entire working days to provide a shipping label.
I will be filing a dispute with my CC company, reporting to BBB, and going down every pathway available to me to set this right. I wish I had looked at their BBB rating before ordering - multiple reports of poor or nonexistent customer service for parts that don't fit.

At this point I am not interested in this garbage part whatsoever, and would like to be able to ship it back to them 5 days ago. I want a refund immediately!

tl;dr: DO NOT PURCHASE THIS PART - either go without, or buy a part from a company that actually knows how to make a part that fits, or at least stands by their product
I guess they tried to cut manufacturing costs by the redesign and the result was an epic fail. I did not see a price reduction so they should of stuck with the initial design and called it a day. I was intending to buy one as well but after all these fitment issues I'll wait until they get their act back in order.
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      05-30-2018, 12:44 PM   #98
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ///M² View Post
I guess they tried to cut manufacturing costs by the redesign and the result was an epic fail. I did not see a price reduction so they should of stuck with the initial design and called it a day. I was intending to buy one as well but after all these fitment issues I'll wait until they get their act back in order.
The redesign was not the issue with the sportcat. There was an issue with the jig. It has been fixed there is no issue going forward. We have identified the issue and have fixed the problem.
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      05-30-2018, 12:53 PM   #99
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Whilst I'm sympathetic to diesekte having problems like I did, he is claiming there is an additional issue with the thickness of the down pipe to turbo mounting flange.

I can't comment on the previous FabSpeed design because I only have experience of the cast design. I will admit that the flange is slightly thicker than the stock down pipe, but not that there is an issue per se. That top clamp is fiddly to be sure, but it's certainly not impossible, and the quality of the casting is good.

I installed my sport cat myself, and several others on this forum have also done the same. It would probably help A LOT if the support bracket lined up so that you don't have to try and fit the top clamp with one hand, whilst taking the full weight of the down pipe with the other.

Unless there is an additional isolated issue with diesekte's downpipe, I don't believe there is an issue with the mounting flange.
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      05-30-2018, 12:59 PM   #100
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Quote:
Originally Posted by diesekte View Post

Buyer beware. I would absolutely avoid this company at all costs. In my experience, this is a trash product from a trash company.
I learned the hard way over ten years ago with Porsche parts, and they were one of the reasons I decided to go to welding school and build a fab shop in my home.

By and large, the aftermarket is crap compared to OE pieces. There are some worth buying, but they're few and far between. I wouldn't let Fabspeed make me a sandwich.
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      05-30-2018, 02:16 PM   #101
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fabspeed Motorsport View Post
The redesign was not the issue with the sportcat. There was an issue with the jig. It has been fixed there is no issue going forward. We have identified the issue and have fixed the problem.
I received a sportcat in late March and have not installed it yet, would I be affected?
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      05-30-2018, 02:40 PM   #102
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BSMF87 View Post
I received a sportcat in late March and have not installed it yet, would I be affected?
you should not be affected. Please send me a picture of the sport cat asap.
phillip.janssen@fabspeed.com
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      05-30-2018, 11:35 PM   #103
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Update:
Did finally get a return shipping label today - as long as I can sneak away from work during lunch or something, I will 100% be dropping this thing in the mail tomorrow. Also supposed to speak with them on the phone today about the fitment issues so good to have this picture up so everyone can reference.

For those interested, here is a "side by side" comparison. My actual product is on the left, while a screen capture from the fabspeed website is on the right. I assume the right hand picture is before the redesign, as the consensus is those seem to fit perfectly fine.
Not a perfect comparison as I don't physically have both and the angles of the photos aren't exactly the same.


The well known issue of the bracket not lining up will not be addressed here, as it isn't included in the photos well enough to evaluate.

As we can see on the L vs the R, the "cone" is longer. The angle of the flange is vastly different. The lip inside the flange on the L picture seems to protrude further (not sure if this matters honestly). Also this inside lip is thicker than stock. The flange is noticeably thicker and shaped differently. The R picture (and stock pipe) are essentially flat, while the L sided picture flange lip is clearly thickened and sloping.

My other question is why the fabspeed DP only has one bracket for mounting (which isn't even aligned properly), while the other brands (wagner, AFE, supersprint...) and BMW seem to be able to have two that are appropriately placed/shaped.

Last edited by diesekte; 05-31-2018 at 07:52 AM..
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      05-31-2018, 06:40 PM   #104
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I actually received my DP today and will attempt to install this weekend. Good thing is that a friend will be helping and he is a professional and we will be using a lift. Fingers crossed it fits.
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      06-01-2018, 06:06 PM   #105
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Update: I sent pics of my Fabspeed pipe that I received yesterday to Phil at Fabspeed and they want me to send it back to them so that can correct the problem. I am just waiting for the return label. I understand that shit happens and that others didn’t have a good experience but I will say that so far Fabspeed seems to be trying to remedy the fitment issues.
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      06-02-2018, 09:45 AM   #106
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dcgolfdr View Post
Update: I sent pics of my Fabspeed pipe that I received yesterday to Phil at Fabspeed and they want me to send it back to them so that can correct the problem. I am just waiting for the return label. I understand that shit happens and that others didn’t have a good experience but I will say that so far Fabspeed seems to be trying to remedy the fitment issues.
Good thing they responded to you before wasting hours of frustration!
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      06-09-2018, 08:55 PM   #107
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How could you guys honestly believe that a device that is intentional installed to alters a vehicle's carbon emission levels, in violations federal emissions laws, would NOT void the manufacture's warranty?

Not trying to be a buzzkill but you whole drivetrain warranty is gone the second the dealer sees a different catalytic converter installed or the emissions system has been tampered with.

The manufacture of the sports cat should just be honest; you have to pay to play..



Do downpipes void warranty? https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=139335
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      06-10-2018, 03:47 AM   #108
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Poochie View Post
How could you guys honestly believe that a device that is intentional installed to alters a vehicle's carbon emission levels, in violations federal emissions laws, would NOT void the manufacture's warranty?

Not trying to be a buzzkill but you whole drivetrain warranty is gone the second the dealer sees a different catalytic converter installed or the emissions system has been tampered with.

The manufacture of the sports cat should just be honest; you have to pay to play..



Do downpipes void warranty? https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=139335
It will defiantly void your warranty, and if the cops find out you'll get a huge fine too. I got a $450 fine for a DP on my last car, for some of you guys the fine is much more. Putting my Fabspeed SC on next week, I can't wait to hear this with my MPE
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      06-10-2018, 03:50 AM   #109
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BSMF87 View Post

It will defiantly void your warranty, and if the cops find out you'll get a huge fine too. I got a $450 fine for a DP on my last car, for some of you guys the fine is much more. Putting my Fabspeed SC on next week, I can't wait to hear this with my MPE
Over here in NY, if it doesn't trigger the check engine light, no one really cares, including the cops. But I know for a fact the dealer will be pissed if they spot it ..

Tampering with anything after the CAT, before the exhaust pipe, not only instantly voids the warranty, on principle, but is also illegal.

That said, good luck with Fabsport DP! I had no CAT on my first hooptie, it helped but I couldn't stand the awful smell...
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      06-10-2018, 07:15 PM   #110
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To those following my story in here...

Sent the DP back to fabspeed. They fixed it in a day or two and sent it back to me. I attempted reinstall today and went from jacking the car up to firing it up in just about 45 minutes. This time it actually fit. Bracket lined up, clamp went around the top....a little fidgety and not quite as easy as stock but world's better than the first time I tried with the pipe that didn't fit.
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