Projekt k24 Alpinweiss

[MikeLarwood]

Nope, did it all on the car in the garage. Doesn't matter, as you say, I know my car better and of course I can take all the time I like whereas they only had a day... Will have a chat with Charlie as there are a few others wanting the same job doing although from his text yesterday I think Hell might freeze over first

Cool! Well if you chat with him before you leave ask if he wants to make a couple of pipes today to get rid of my blowing! But really, the level of work that went into it (and the price quoted which Paul was ripped to pieces over all day!) was incredible. Absolutely the best you could get.

And I think he would take on the job again - I just think it might be a 4-figure sum when he does! Lol!

[Rusty]

It was Charlie who did the original quote and from speaking to both of them I though that they'd done the same job before a couple of times.

[MikeLarwood]

Lol! Ah well, bless him! I think he was just having one of those days yesterday, what with Custom Exhausts or whatever they're called stealing a car off them...

Charlie offered the courtesy car to your mate (I think over the phone?) and when he came off the phone Ali asked why they didn't offer to lend them the green car for the night... Doh!

[Rusty]

they might have got away with it, just swap the driver's seats over and you'd be pressed to tell the difference with the light fading...

[Rusty]

Spoke to Charlie earlier and am going to pick it up this evening. Will take some pics when I'm there.

[Error404]

Hoep you've not put them off for the rest of us mate

Looking forward to some sound clips - we need a drive-by

[Rusty]

Right, I'm back home now, more shattered than a greenhouse next to a playground .

The good bits:-

1. Charlie was a really decent bloke about things and he gets A+ for his attitude.
2. His work looks nice too.
3. The car as it stands looks completely stock and I think it's going really well too, the noise is pretty much unchanged so no worries for those using a car every day, a 3" DP and 2.5" system will give you performance and useability.
4. The tailpipes look great, just how I wanted them, subtle and simple.

Now for the not so good bits:-

1. They've chopped the old cats off even though all the bolts were brand new less than 1k ago! This was a little heavy-handed in my book but equally I didn't tell them not too, the Milltek is unharmed!
2. The old DP has been cut up to make the new pipe, great if you're on a budget but not what I wanted or was quoted, he was open about this and very fair. The 3" joins an inch or so below where the WG feed goes in. fine for a k24 car but I'm building the car for more power so it's not acceptable.
3. The system is 2.5" from just below the driver's seat, not after the centre box as I requested. In my mind this is not enough for the performance I want.
4. The system is as quiet as the original system, I wanted it as loud as I could but not too loud for track days, I might have to take a gamble on this and have the centre box removed...
5. And finally it rubs on the diff output flange as there's less than 1mm gap at rest and on the move it starts to rub...

He voluntarily reduced the price because of the methods that had been used to make the DP and to compensate me for the additional day. And, even better, he's promised to take the car back and to make a jig for a 3" DP for an S2 and whilst there I will instruct him to make some changes to sort the 3" and make it LOUDER!

So overall I'm pretty neutral about things, he's a really nice guy who's obviously worked his butt off to sort the car out in a short time frame, ironically he could have had it as long as he wanted but somehow we never seemed to share that information! Equally he claimed not to know that it was for a downpipe but there we are. Unfortunately none of this makes up for the utterly shyte week that I'm now facing due to over-exerting myself today. What was supposed to be some feel-good retail therapy has really ended up being a PITA!

The car will be going back there soon but I'll agree in writing the chages etc. beforehand and I would suggest that anyone looking for a system does the same so there's no confusion...

[Rusty]

Pictures tomorrow.. I've got to go passs out...

[s2driveruk]

Hmmmm, makes for interesting reading that...? Not exactly what I thought you would be coming back with, saw the update on the thread and was looking for a 'f**k me it louder and feels lively....'

I hope you end up getting this sorted out to your satisfaction, I think I'd say i was short changed as it stands

[Rusty]

Yes and no. The price was pretty agreeable and he's promised to sort it out but in my current state that's not what I needed as it's stress and energy that I just don't have... thankfully I've got super duper friends.

[MikeLarwood]

That's a shame - I was hoping you'd be overjoyed with it, although I did notice the Cats get butchered but only afterwards, so didn't say anything as I figured there was already enough on his plate!

Glad that it's getting sorted - he's a top bloke and I know he'll make it good to YOUR ideas, it's a lot to take on and even more when the customer isn't present - one of the key reasons I wanted to be there, was so that I could have every say on it to make sure it's 'perfect' in my books, not what someone else thinks is right. Very capable guys though, and I can't stress enough how good their attitude towards their work is - it's a million miles from off-the-shelf stuff, and also from Powerflow.

As far as a downpipe goes though I have to say, for me, I'd get one from (at least) an Audi tuner. That and the manifolds are the majority of what makes or breaks a performance system! As for the 2.5" pipe from the driver's seat, I think you'll probably find that's fine. I've seen 800-odd bhp run through 3inch systems that are well designed, so a well laid out 2.5" system should be more than capable of running up to 400bhp. Remember it's bends (and the quality of them) that kill flow more than the diameter.

[Error404]

a 2.25 inch pipe can support 400bhp, the diameter is really what gives you the spool and driveabilty.
One thing that has always ******** me off with custom exhaust fabbers - you are paying hundreds of pounds for an exhuats - the least they can do is take everything off carefully and supply the f**king flanges as well as the pipes to make the exhaust up.
When I pay for an exhaust to be made up i expect the one that came off to be in the back of my car in one piece when i drive away.
I have taken an 18 year old rusted to **** exhaust off in one piece with the car jacked up on my drive in the snow for funks sake
Hope it was worth the effort Andy, sounds like you didn't get what you wanted

[Rusty]

Mike, I hear what you say about the exhaust being fine but basically it's not what I asked for and that's the gripe. The only reason I replaced the already proven one that was on the car was to get a bigger bore and effectively the reverse has occured. If I wanted a 2.5" system then I could have gone up the road to Longlife. I also asked for it to be fairly loud and it's only just as loud as before... subjective I know but again, not what I wanted.

The old cats being damaged has done me out of 50 notes as they were basically sold. And the fact that there was no need has annoyed me. As Error says, if we can get them off the car on axle stands then surely on a ramp it's not a big deal to use a spanner on 6 basically new bolts?

As for being there, I assure you that if it wasn't for the ME i'd have been there at 9 and left when it was done, probably Sunday morning! As you say, I too try and oversee any work to ensure that it's done to my high standards, no probs working no my car as I'm sure a lot of my threads will testify! When you're driving a 2 ton car on track at high speed I want to know everything is just so.

I'm going to detail the issues and what was agreed last night in an email and thus get it in print whilst it's still fresh between us.

I'm so British though, felt really sorry for the guy even though it wasn't my fault and then having to phone him to say the system was rubbing I felt even worse.

[Jamo]

That's a shame - I was hoping you'd be overjoyed with it, although I did notice the Cats get butchered but only afterwards, so didn't say anything as I figured there was already enough on his plate!

Glad that it's getting sorted - he's a top bloke and I know he'll make it good to YOUR ideas, it's a lot to take on and even more when the customer isn't present - one of the key reasons I wanted to be there, was so that I could have every say on it to make sure it's 'perfect' in my books, not what someone else thinks is right. Very capable guys though, and I can't stress enough how good their attitude towards their work is - it's a million miles from off-the-shelf stuff, and also from Powerflow.

As far as a downpipe goes though I have to say, for me, I'd get one from (at least) an Audi tuner. That and the manifolds are the majority of what makes or breaks a performance system! As for the 2.5" pipe from the driver's seat, I think you'll probably find that's fine. I've seen 800-odd bhp run through 3inch systems that are well designed, so a well laid out 2.5" system should be more than capable of running up to 400bhp. Remember it's bends (and the quality of them) that kill flow more than the diameter.

What Audi tuner makes a 3" downpipe for of the shelf purchases?

They don't, they all are custom made. There are options for them but only in europe from PK motorsports.

The 034 off the shelf system does not fit the S2 very well and needs modification to fit.

Regarding the system, it's not fine 2.5" from under the drivers seat, the stock system is 2.5 from the dp.

A good 3" system would be 3" to centre box and the either 2.75 or 2.5 over the drive shaft on the Coupe.

Andy I hope you get it all sorted out and get the system "you" want not the system people think you want.

[s2driveruk]

agree Jamo...though stock is 2.25in and i guess you meant 3in to centre box then 2.75 from there? Otherwise thats some strange routing you got going on there