[Coconut]

QUALITY: 4.5/5
Beautifully made, TIG welds are neatly done. Dimensionally identical to OEM at the mounting points so fitment is perfect. Minor complaint would be the thickness of 2 hole mounting bracket which is a bit on the thin side compared to OEM and the non machined chamfer on the turbo mounting ring. The V-band clamp will still secure the downpipe to the turbo but it would have been nice to see a matching machined chamfer like the OEM downpipe. Again, minor complaints.

INSTALL: 2/5 DIFFICULTY
Not an easy 1-2 hr install as others have said unless you have a lift and a buddy helping. The stock downpipe was fairly easy to remove however the most time consuming parts was getting the v-band clamp on without the gasket falling off and pushing the the stock mid-pipe onto the downpipe. I had to have my friend hold the gasket in place on the downpipe while I push the downpipe up from below the car to seat into the turbo. I had to go down to harbor freight to get a pipe expander to widen the stock mid-pipe a bit so it would fully slide onto the downpipe. Other than that, it’s pretty straight forward.

OVERALL: 4/5
No CEL as advertised. Very very faint smell but that might just be it breaking in, for sure not something you’d ever notice unless you’re right behind the car and sniffing near the exhaust looking for a smell. I have a Dinan cold air intake and the stock exhaust. Cold start with valve closed is nearly twice as loud as stock, it definitely doesn’t sound stock. Cold start with valve open is again twice as loud and very noticeable, almost as loud as a straight pipe. Once it’s warmed up, starting it up again is maybe 25% as loud in both modes. With valves closed, cruising is just as quiet as stock with no drone on the highway and ~30% louder when accelerating somewhat hard. With valves open cruising is ~25% louder with minor drone/booming on the highway and ~40% louder accelerating. You don’t get any new pops or burbles over stock, but the pop and burbles you do get are maybe 30% louder. Overall I’d say it makes the car ~25% louder overall and the tone is exactly like stock but louder and more unrefined sounding. The turbo sounds are a tiny bit more pronounced. I did notice the turbo spools sooner and torque comes on a bit earlier which makes it feel more eager and easier to rev. It did what I expected it to do and it’s a good alternative over getting a mild exhaust like the OEM M Performance Exhaust (MPE).