[CarAbuser]

Been meaning to post this for a while, bit of a rant but hopefully saves some others the same hassle.

I purchased a 335i late last year and straight away wanted to get the basics mods fitted before the weather turned bad.
Having already fitted VRSF downpipes to my Z4 a couple of years ago I decided to just stay with what works. They fitted my Z4 perfectly and it made sense in my mind that the 335i ones would be even better given they probably sell 10x more of them.

Getting VRSF pipes in the UK turned out to be difficult, the only supplier of N54 stuff here had stopped stocking VRSF downpipes due to “custom complaints”. I should have stopped here and just gone with another brand but having already had good experience with VRSF I decided to ship them from the USA, I’d used Mike at N54tuning in the past for other mods and he was a straight-forward chap so got everything from him.

I ordered them through Mike but he doesn’t actually handle the items, just acts as a middle-man for VRSF. The BMS stuff on the order arrived in a week and fitted perfectly with no problems. The VRSF pipes took about 2 months to arrive and were shipped directly from VRSF.

Everything looked OK but when it came to fitting them they were a pig. For a start the pre-cat O2 sensor on the rear pipe was touching something up top (didn’t stop installation but was a bad sign), this was a complaint mirrored by other users on this forum who had received the same batch. The biggest problem was that the flange with the exhaust didn’t line up correctly. You can see in the photos that the rear pipe doesn’t sit flush with the exhaust flange when the pipe is clocked as it needs to be to clear the subframe (first 2 photos). The rear pipe needed to be clocked in such a way that it was in full contact with the subframe before the flange would sit close to flush. This meant lots of cabin vibration and a slight exhaust leak where the flange wouldn’t seal. I tried to flatten the heatshield a little to generate some room but made no difference. No amount of exhaust adjustment would solve this problem.

I contacted VRSF and predictably they told me I was fitting them wrong. I gave them the benefit of the doubt and the next weekend tried again, this time taking photos and videos of the install. This time Tiago agreed via email that it was indeed a fitment issue with the rear pipe and promised to send out a replacement set. After 2 weeks of waiting I emailed again just checking to see when I should expect them and from then on was ignored by VRSF.
I then contacted Mike@N54tuning explaining the situation, he had been kept in the loop all along but this time I wanted him to put pressure on VRSF to sort the problems out. After another month of pestering Mike via email he also started to ignore me. Since I paid via PayPal I gathered up all the evidence and communications and sent them over to PayPal and opened a claim. Mike then suddenly decided to start talking again, this time claiming Tiago had also stopped replying to him and he was still trying.

During all of this I found a local member that was selling some used ceramic coated VRSF V2 pipes, they had been fitted to his car with no issues so I decided to just buy them and get them fitted. They should have been identical to my new ones (Both “V2”) but during fitting it became obvious that these used pipes were much better. They slotted into place without any contact, just perfect fitment first time (as seen in last photo). The fact the old pipes fit perfectly is proof the new VRSF pipes are wrong.

I got sick of looking at the nice shiny poorly fitting pipes sat in my garage to after another month of waiting I told PayPal to step in. They told me to ship the pipes back to Mike and I would be issued a full refund. Instead of just refunding the $300 for the downpipes they issued a $1000 refund for my entire order with Mike, I kept the cost of the return shipping and sent him the remainder. Given the hassle I went through just to get basic customer service from him I was tempted to keep it all but that wouldn’t feel right.

Throughout the whole process I’ve been polite and patient, I have all the emails saved in case I’m accused of being a tool. This whole process was over the course of 5 months so I’m not exactly being impatient (ordered 12/10/2020, returned them 18/03/2021).

I’ve since found that a lot of other sellers have stopped selling VRSF stuff. X-PH for example don’t have a single on of their products for sale.

I know some might say that I should just get them modified but realistically the cost of doing that here in the UK is more than buying a new set of downpipes.

TL: DR
VRSF downpipes aren’t made to the same standard they used to be and Tiago no longer cares about the E9x market.

Inb4 “cool story bro”

[Emilime75]

Not surprised given many peoples experiences with VRSF lately, and I've posted the same about vendors no longer carrying their products. It's a shame, really, they had a good thing going and have been THE recommended downpipe brand for many years. Not sure what's going on over there, but the combination of poor fitting parts, terrible customer service/complete lack of communication and the fact that some people have to wait months for their parts...it's not looking good.

[NoGuru]

VRSF is Chinese low quality. Not saying there is not a place for them, just don't expect them to be a good vendor.

[CarAbuser]

Originally Posted by NoGuru

VRSF is Chinese low quality. Not saying there is not a place for them, just don't expect them to be a good vendor.

Agreed, but that's no excuse for the fitment problems or the terrible customer service. Even the Aliexpress stuff fits.

The downpipes I had from them for my Z4 are great. They are also one of the only pipes that fit the Z4. The used VRSF ones I put on my 335i are also really good, perfect fitment and good welds.

It's like they gave up trying and are just rinsing the last few dollars out of the brand name before sinking the company.

[Dave92N54]

Originally Posted by CarAbuser

Agreed, but that's no excuse for the fitment problems or the terrible customer service. Even the Aliexpress stuff fits.

The downpipes I had from them for my Z4 are great. They are also one of the only pipes that fit the Z4. The used VRSF ones I put on my 335i are also really good, perfect fitment and good welds.

It's like they gave up trying and are just rinsing the last few dollars out of the brand name before sinking the company.

Not denying your issues but, this is certainly more of a hit or miss scenario. Purchased and installed my pipes from them no more than a month ago, perfect fitment.

Also the Aliexpress stuff is certainly more of a hit or miss, seen way more of them that have issues than VRSF

[CarAbuser]

Originally Posted by Dave92N54

Not denying your issues but, this is certainly more of a hit or miss scenario. Purchased and installed my pipes from them no more than a month ago, perfect fitment.

Also the Aliexpress stuff is certainly more of a hit or miss, seen way more of them that have issues than VRSF

There is that saying about a broken clock being right twice a day. Given the tolerances they can probably get away with a certain amount of error in their fabrication for most sets. Seems quite simple to make a jig to test fit each set of pipes to, has to be easier than dealing with angry customers.

I would have normally just binned them and got another set from elsewhere but the way Tiago dealt with things got to me.

[Saif2018]

Originally Posted by CarAbuser

Been meaning to post this for a while, bit of a rant but hopefully saves some others the same hassle.

I purchased a 335i late last year and straight away wanted to get the basics mods fitted before the weather turned bad.
Having already fitted VRSF downpipes to my Z4 a couple of years ago I decided to just stay with what works. They fitted my Z4 perfectly and it made sense in my mind that the 335i ones would be even better given they probably sell 10x more of them.

Getting VRSF pipes in the UK turned out to be difficult, the only supplier of N54 stuff here had stopped stocking VRSF downpipes due to “custom complaints”. I should have stopped here and just gone with another brand but having already had good experience with VRSF I decided to ship them from the USA, I’d used Mike at N54tuning in the past for other mods and he was a straight-forward chap so got everything from him.

I ordered them through Mike but he doesn’t actually handle the items, just acts as a middle-man for VRSF. The BMS stuff on the order arrived in a week and fitted perfectly with no problems. The VRSF pipes took about 2 months to arrive and were shipped directly from VRSF.

Everything looked OK but when it came to fitting them they were a pig. For a start the pre-cat O2 sensor on the rear pipe was touching something up top (didn’t stop installation but was a bad sign), this was a complaint mirrored by other users on this forum who had received the same batch. The biggest problem was that the flange with the exhaust didn’t line up correctly. You can see in the photos that the rear pipe doesn’t sit flush with the exhaust flange when the pipe is clocked as it needs to be to clear the subframe (first 2 photos). The rear pipe needed to be clocked in such a way that it was in full contact with the subframe before the flange would sit close to flush. This meant lots of cabin vibration and a slight exhaust leak where the flange wouldn’t seal. I tried to flatten the heatshield a little to generate some room but made no difference. No amount of exhaust adjustment would solve this problem.

I contacted VRSF and predictably they told me I was fitting them wrong. I gave them the benefit of the doubt and the next weekend tried again, this time taking photos and videos of the install. This time Tiago agreed via email that it was indeed a fitment issue with the rear pipe and promised to send out a replacement set. After 2 weeks of waiting I emailed again just checking to see when I should expect them and from then on was ignored by VRSF.
I then contacted Mike@N54tuning explaining the situation, he had been kept in the loop all along but this time I wanted him to put pressure on VRSF to sort the problems out. After another month of pestering Mike via email he also started to ignore me. Since I paid via PayPal I gathered up all the evidence and communications and sent them over to PayPal and opened a claim. Mike then suddenly decided to start talking again, this time claiming Tiago had also stopped replying to him and he was still trying.

During all of this I found a local member that was selling some used ceramic coated VRSF V2 pipes, they had been fitted to his car with no issues so I decided to just buy them and get them fitted. They should have been identical to my new ones (Both “V2”) but during fitting it became obvious that these used pipes were much better. They slotted into place without any contact, just perfect fitment first time (as seen in last photo). The fact the old pipes fit perfectly is proof the new VRSF pipes are wrong.

I got sick of looking at the nice shiny poorly fitting pipes sat in my garage to after another month of waiting I told PayPal to step in. They told me to ship the pipes back to Mike and I would be issued a full refund. Instead of just refunding the $300 for the downpipes they issued a $1000 refund for my entire order with Mike, I kept the cost of the return shipping and sent him the remainder. Given the hassle I went through just to get basic customer service from him I was tempted to keep it all but that wouldn’t feel right.

Throughout the whole process I’ve been polite and patient, I have all the emails saved in case I’m accused of being a tool. This whole process was over the course of 5 months so I’m not exactly being impatient (ordered 12/10/2020, returned them 18/03/2021).

I’ve since found that a lot of other sellers have stopped selling VRSF stuff. X-PH for example don’t have a single on of their products for sale.

I know some might say that I should just get them modified but realistically the cost of doing that here in the UK is more than buying a new set of downpipes.

TL: DR
VRSF downpipes aren’t made to the same standard they used to be and Tiago no longer cares about the E9x market.

Inb4 “cool story bro”

Oh man, sounds like terrible customer service. Won't be getting them.

[Saif2018]

Originally Posted by Dave92N54

Not denying your issues but, this is certainly more of a hit or miss scenario. Purchased and installed my pipes from them no more than a month ago, perfect fitment.

Also the Aliexpress stuff is certainly more of a hit or miss, seen way more of them that have issues than VRSF

Any good catted downpipe recommendations?

[Yotaismygame]

I had an issue with them recently where I did not receive tips with the street exhaust system. Finally after 6-7 weeks they're suppose to be here tomorrow. I did not order directly from VRSF but the company I did order from stayed on top of it despite VRSF not responding to the issue for some time. I feel the pain.

[_N54]

VRSF has gone to shit including the customer support. Some vendors have stopped selling their products. I had purchased their turbo outlets a few weeks back and the o-rings were way too bulky and would not fit. I reached out to them twice and did not hear a word back. After digging through the forums for over an hour I finally came across a thread where people were boiling the o-rings and pressing them into the outlets very firmly. I hope you get your down pipe issue resolved.

[Jeef]

some vendors stop selling their product because they also entered the chinese parts market and branded their own.

[CarAbuser]

Originally Posted by 6266N54

VRSF has gone to shit including the custom support. Some vendors have stopped selling their products. I had purchased their turbo outlets a few weeks back and the o-rings were way too bulky and would not fit. I reached out to them twice and did not hear a word back. After digging through the forums for over an hour I finally came across a thread where people were boiling the o-rings and pressing them into the outlets very firmly. I hope you get your down pipe issue resolved.

All sorted now thanks to Paypal , money back in my account and downpipes back with Tiago.

[_N54]

Originally Posted by CarAbuser

All sorted now thanks to Paypal , money back in my account and downpipes back with Tiago.

I have the circuit werks down pipes and they fit spot on with zero issues.

https://www.circuitwerksusa.com/product/product-1/

[turbohugh]

Originally Posted by Saif2018

Any good catted downpipe recommendations?

COBBs [if you can find them] . Fit perfectly .

[haaken675]

Originally Posted by 6266N54

VRSF has gone to shit including the customer support. Some vendors have stopped selling their products. I had purchased their turbo outlets a few weeks back and the o-rings were way too bulky and would not fit. I reached out to them twice and did not hear a word back. After digging through the forums for over an hour I finally came across a thread where people were boiling the o-rings and pressing them into the outlets very firmly. I hope you get your down pipe issue resolved.

At least you got o-rings...I did not receive any, couldn't get a response as to if they would actually send me some, what size i should just go purchase, etc.

[_N54]

Originally Posted by haaken675

At least you got o-rings...I did not receive any, couldn't get a response as to if they would actually send me some, what size i should just go purchase, etc.

Hard to say, but take the outlets with you so you can see which fits nice and firmly.

[MacGuberman]

I bought a VRSF catted downpipe and intercooler for my E90xi a week before this thread started. Just installed them. The intercooler fit. It hangs past the fan shroud a little but ok. The downpipe was very difficult to fit. After getting it loosely in place I realized it was touching the block near the tranny. I had to curse at it for hours to rotate it away from the engine yet still be able to connect to the exhaust. In the end I only have a quarter inch of clearance. It definitely added power and seems to breathe better but I would have liked a better fit.

I guess I'll feel lucky until something melts.