So I just got my car back from getting some things installed today and figured I would write a review. I had the install done at a shop called ACI Dynamix in Seymour, CT and had them install a few goodies. I had the VRSF DP's, FMIC, and TMS brake kit installed. First thing i'm going to talk about is the shop.
ACI Dynamix & Bryce:
Bryce, the owner, was a great guy to deal with and extremely helpful with answering all my questions regarding the install. He kept me updated throughout and was very detailed with his install. He even pointed out some things he discovered as he worked on the car which helped me find out about my cars history
Apparently the dealership we bought the car from forgot to mention it was the front bumper had been repaired
. Anyways I dropped my car off Saturday morning and picked it up Monday afternoon. Throughout the install process Bryce texted me pictures and provided me with updates on what was done and what would be done the following days. The shop is really organized and the prices are extremely reasonable which was my main goal since this is a pretty big install. Anyways thanks again Bryce, I hope I didn't annoy you too much with the constant texts and questions.
VRSF DP's and FMIC:
I have an Xi and because of that there aren't many options in regards to our downpipes. I've been waiting for an affordable set to come out that's still good quality and I knew that would be the VRSF's.
When I received the pipes I looked over the welds and they seemed very nice especially considering these were a test fit set, not a production set. The FMIC also looked very well constructed and came with everything needed to install.
After getting the car back today I did a few pulls on the way home and definitely noticed a difference. Boost was building up much faster than it did before and the car was pulling much harder up top. It was also nice to be able to do repeated back to back pulls without the car heatsoaking. The DP's also added a good amount of sound.
I was actually surprised at how much of a difference they made to the exhaust note since I have an E90 with secondary cats and resonators. They also made the turbo's much more audible then they were before and I can now hear them spool up even during normal driving.
VRSF:
As many other reviewers have stated, VRSF is great. Tiago is a great guy to deal with and always responds very quickly when you email him. I asked him tons of questions throughout the process and he always replied with no issues. I hope I didn't annoy you too much Tiago
. I'm very happy with the quality of the products I ordered and the price you can get them at. There really is finally a quality company that sells quality products without the "BMW tax." I will definitely order from VRSF again and i'm looking forward to adding more of their products to my car such as the exhaust.
TMS Brake Kit:
I opted for the slotted rotors, HPS pads, SS lines, and ATE blue fluid. Before the install my brakes were squeaking pretty badly to the point where it would turn heads when I was pulling up to a red light. After getting in the car after the install it will definitely take some getting used to but i'm happy with the way it feels. I lost the initial bite of the OEM brakes but its now a much nicer progressive feel. The first thing I thought about when I got in was how similar the braking felt to my friends STi with the Brembos. Along with the improved performance I also think the brakes look a lot better than they did before even though I know i will get flamed for the ///M decals
I was a strong believer in not putting M logo's on a non-m car but after seeing the pictures from the guy I bought them from I liked how it looked. If I did it over again I would probably do "BMW Performance" instead.
Since the fluid reservoir is shared with the clutch fluid, I also noticed a difference in my clutch pedal feel. It's a little bit less stiff and the engagement seems like its smoother.
Pictures/Videos:
Here's some pictures of the pipes and FMIC before install, during install, and after install. The video isn't the best but I just wanted to get home and record a quick video for everyone to hear. I was in the garage and only revved the car to around 3-4k but I think you can obviously tell the difference from the stock exhaust. The downpipes made it a bit deeper with more turbo noise. I'm hoping to get some better video soon and when I do i'll update this thread. Anyway here's the pictures and video:
Edit: Took a quick video showing a start when the car is warmed up and some revs outside. A bit louder and deeper than the stock exhaust in my opinion. The note really changes when its under load like in the second clip of my first video.
Edit 11/14/12: Finally got a chance to take some logs today so I figured it would be a good idea to graph them and post them. The 3 runs from today were done with all the mods I have now and 93 octane. I don't remember the weather but I think it was around 50 degrees. I basically did 3 pulls in a row with very little cool down time. All I really did was pull over, save the files, and then hop back on the road to take another.
I also overlayed a stock run just for comparison although I don't know how fair it is... The stock FMIC run was taken from 9/22/12 and i'm pretty sure the temperature was somewhere in the 60's maybe even hotter. I used the 3rd pull for the VRSF and the 4th pull from 9/22 since it was my cleanest out of all the pulls that day. Below i'll post all the regular logs and graphs.
Run 1:
Run 2:
Run 3:
VRSF Vs. Stock:
