[sammy_0559]

I was thinking of getting electronic cutouts, but placement is my issue.
i did my reasearch but I'm doing this for performance and not sound.
im debating if i should put it before my secondary CATS(basically straight cat less pipes)
or After my Resonator (basically an electronic muffler delete).
Since this is strictly for performance i read over a loss in backpressue aka loss in power/Tourq but that dosnt stand true for a turbo charged car because back pressure is only needed for Naturally aspirated cars. couldn't really find a straight answer.

so here is my question will doing an electronic cutout increase performance?

if so before secondary cats or after resonator(right before the muffler)

And drone is not an issue at all, for i will only be using it on the track logs/dynos

as usual I'm always wearing a flame suit so they are welcome
and any input would be greatly appreciated!

[benzy89]

From a hardware perspective, Akrapovic currently sells a wireless exhaust cutout kit that might help you in making this realistic

[nailer335]

I remember participating in a thread about this in the past. IIRC it was determined that the electric cutouts the OP of the thread looked at wouldn't fit anywhere before the secondary cats. I dont know about the variance in size between products by different manufacturers. I would become much more interested in doing the same thing again if you were able to locate these before the secondary cats. I recall a few who have installed these after the secondaries.

[idrift4wd]

before secondary cats IMO.

some argue that no backpressure is needed at all for Forced induction or N/A

[sammy_0559]

Originally Posted by nailer335

I remember participating in a thread about this in the past. IIRC it was determined that the electric cutouts the OP of the thread looked at wouldn't fit anywhere before the secondary cats. I dont know about the variance in size between products by different manufacturers. I would become much more interested in doing the same thing again if you were able to locate these before the secondary cats. I recall a few who have installed these after the secondaries.

Yeah I went over a bunch that had it after the resonator didn't find anything about before secondaries, I did find some "low profile" cutouts, my car is at a body shop right now I cant really eye ball anything at the moment, I will as soon as I get it back , more than likely this is gonna be DIY for me as usual lol

[nailer335]

Cool. Keep the thread up to speed on this- I'd likely do it too if they were before the secondaries.

[guru_method]

I have used electric cutouts before in an 06 STi I had. Apart form the issues with placement on our cars that you may run into, maybe you can take my experience with them into consideration when deciding to use them or not.

Quality:

I used the QTP brand cutouts first, absolutely awful they leaked everywhere when fully closed. You could tell just by looking at them out of the box they wouldn't seal right. Returned it.

Later on I changed to an BadlanzHPE kit, which in all honesty is a better quality unit than QTP by far. They advertise it like it never leaks and it doesn't for a while, but eventually the little electric motors gets a little play and you'll be leaking all over the place again. The owner of the company does a great job at replacing them with warranty but the hassle of taking them out every few weeks is tiring.

There might be better brands but I haven't bothered to look, because I quit on these a long time ago.

Performance:

I had absolutely no gains whatsoever. The car spooled slower and felt slower. I dynoed it and it didn't show real power loss but the curve was different. Since the turbo was an 18g I guess I wasn't in for any gains at all anyways. The people that have GT35s and such get the best results.

According to my experience, combined with the fact that the n54 has small turbos and a pretty good exhaust from the factory, I really don't expect that it'll give you a lot of power. You'll probably be making a lot of noise for nothing and even when you want to quiet down your exhaust will sound like it's farting because it leaks from the cutouts. Between that, wastegate rattle and the click clacks of the n54 you'll have an interesting orchestra.

Not worth the $500+ you'll spend on the kit and getting it installed IMHO. Get some Meth!

[sammy_0559]

Originally Posted by guru_method

I have used electric cutouts before in an 06 STi I had. Apart form the issues with placement on our cars that you may run into, maybe you can take my experience with them into consideration when deciding to use them or not.

Quality:

I used the QTP brand cutouts first, absolutely awful they leaked everywhere when fully closed. You could tell just by looking at them out of the box they wouldn't seal right. Returned it.

Later on I changed to an BadlanzHPE kit, which in all honesty is a better quality unit than QTP by far. They advertise it like it never leaks and it doesn't for a while, but eventually the little electric motors gets a little play and you'll be leaking all over the place again. The owner of the company does a great job at replacing them with warranty but the hassle of taking them out every few weeks is tiring.

There might be better brands but I haven't bothered to look, because I quit on these a long time ago.

Performance:

I had absolutely no gains whatsoever. The car spooled slower and felt slower. I dynoed it and it didn't show real power loss but the curve was different. Since the turbo was an 18g I guess I wasn't in for any gains at all anyways. The people that have GT35s and such get the best results.

According to my experience, combined with the fact that the n54 has small turbos and a pretty good exhaust from the factory, I really don't expect that it'll give you a lot of power. You'll probably be making a lot of noise for nothing and even when you want to quiet down your exhaust will sound like it's farting because it leaks from the cutouts. Between that, wastegate rattle and the click clacks of the n54 you'll have an interesting orchestra.

Not worth the $500+ you'll spend on the kit and getting it installed IMHO. Get some Meth!

Meth is seriously on the list! QTP was what i was gonna get, but mean over th years I'm sure that they improved somewhat in the sealing technology, i know they were a big issue in the past but I'm guessing now they should have already figured it out

[hemi to e90]

i mean you should never just assume, id do research before id invest money into anything

ps, i guess your syrian huh?

[sammy_0559]

Originally Posted by hemi to e90

i mean you should never just assume, id do research before id invest money into anything

ps, i guess your syrian huh?

yeah i did some research and kinda assumed lol

and yeah i am syrian, and its really sad whats been going on over there. im always trying to raise awareness for whats been going on syria.

this is part of what me and my buddies did yesterday
we COVERD downtown dallas. i didnt wanna post all the pics but here are some lol

ASSAD 2012

[hemi to e90]

yeah man, got friends that are syrian, and i got syrians in my family (through marriage obviously), real shame how the world isn't doing right by syria.

[sammy_0559]

Originally Posted by hemi to e90

yeah man, got friends that are syrian, and i got syrians in my family (through marriage obviously), real shame how the world isn't doing right by syria.

i lost family members in this revolution
and apparently the world awaiting...
the Russian and Chinese government

[Dr. G]

Electric cutouts are gonna fail on your eventually, you'll probably have a longer lifespan with them though in texas.

If you can get vaccum controlled cutouts you will be MUCHH better off.

[guru_method]

Originally Posted by sammy_0559

Meth is seriously on the list! QTP was what i was gonna get, but mean over th years I'm sure that they improved somewhat in the sealing technology, i know they were a big issue in the past but I'm guessing now they should have already figured it out

I though the same thing about the QTPs, but I just looked on their site again and they look like the same crap they've been dishing out for years. That design is flawed. They use barriers to stop the blades when closed, but they don't offer a good seal and they will not close completely after a while. There are many reviews on these and they all state the same thing.

You did spark my curiosity though, and I searched for new products on the cutout front and read many good reviews indicating that Race Ready Performance offers the best product and they supposedly seal 100%. They seem to have a high temp o-ring which seems to me like the best idea ever. They are the priciest but if they seal... it's worth it. They will eventually fail, but warranty replaces them.

Other swear by DMH brand, too. And they are pretty cheap.