[asutrave]

Being a college kid with hobbies that are expensive, I was in the market for some good DPs. I just wanted to share my experience in case anyone else is in the same position as me and with all of the help that this forum has given me, I wanted to give back. I searched through the forums and could not find anyone selling a set which would have been cheaper than buying one brand new. I finally looked on Amazon and found a set which I would not mind getting. I contacted the seller and some of the reviewers to make sure there were no fitment issues before pulling the trigger.
3" DP: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Along with this you want to go and but a M12 x1.75 x 50 bolt which you will have to replace on the bell housing for clearance issues.

I made a youtube video of my install so that you can see the steps which I have listed below:

Picture of the new DP compared to stock:


It has been about a week since they have been installed and they are wonderful! No exhaust leaks or anything!



These are the basic straightforward steps to complete the install(works with any DP I'm sure). There are other posts which have a list of all the tools that are needed as well.

Step 1: Lift the car and remove the under panels.
Step 2: Remove the Steering wheel rack(does not affect alignment). You will need to have Torx sockets.
Step 3: Pull the steering rack towards the motor so that you have more clearance to work with the V-bands on the DP.
Step 4: Remove the exhaust hanger located on the middle of the car.
Step 5: Remove the bolts from the midpipes to the DP, and the ones on the DP hanger.
Step 6: Remove the O2 Sensors and remember which ones go where.
Step 6: Remove the bolt on the V-bands and unhook them from the DP
Step 7: Remove the stock DP(pull the midpipes away from the motor and its easier)
Step 8: Install the rear turbo DP first and install the O2 sensors as well. DO NOT tighter the V-bands all the way since you need some play when attaching the midpipes on. (Putting the V-bands on is frustrating so be patient)
Step 9: Remove the bell housing bolt and replace with the one stated above.

Step 9: Install the front turbo DP and install the O2 sensors.
Step 10: Attach the midpipes and insert the given bolts. (This part took some force to get them to align correctly so be patient).
Step 11: Tighten all of the bolts on the V-bands and DP.
Step 12: Install the power steering rack.
Step 13: Install the under panels.
Step 14: Enjoy!

If you have a JB4, to activate the code clear feature for the DP, you need to use the steering wheel functions. Push the bottom corner buttons and move up to 1 on the left (speedometer) using the up and down buttons on the left. Then using the up and down buttons on the right go to 3. Now only push the bottom left button to save the settings. Now you will not get a CES light for having cat less DP.

All in all, it took me 6-8 hours to do this job the first time since I had to leave to buy tools and bolts and just triple checking everything. If I had to do it again, it would take me 3 hours for sure since I now know what to do and what to look out for.

Feel free to contact me if you had any questions or concerns about the install or any of the products which I used.

[Drifter2090]

Great write up! Can't wait to get my 3" DPs, still haven't decided what brand, probably n54 tuning. Not excited for the install though, after helping my friend install his lol ��

[totti84]

Why exactly did you remove/replace bell housing bolt? lol

[BeastMode335i]

Just a heads up, it's always recommended to not use a torque wrench for removal of nuts and bolts, only torquing.. But overall nice job..

[asutrave]

Originally Posted by totti84

Why exactly did you remove/replace bell housing bolt? lol

It was causing slight clearance issues with the DP. I wish I had better pictures to describe it. With more clearance, I was able to line the DP's to the Mid-Pipes easily without any serious rub. Does that kind of make sense?

[asutrave]

Originally Posted by BeastMode335i

Just a heads up, it's always recommended to not use a torque wrench for removal of nuts and bolts, only torquing.. But overall nice job..

Thank you for that information, I was unaware of that, last thing I want is to strip threads or something! I'm not a mechanic, or have a full set of tools, by any means so I just had to use what I had to get the job done. Although I have been spending more time on fixing issues such as the wastegate rattle (front turbo needs to be fixed too :|), so I will make sure to use the proper tools for the right job moving forward. Hopefully!

[9double8]

Nice write up...keep us posted on the quality of the pipes...they look nice...Houston here as well!

[roadkillrob]

Originally Posted by asutrave

It was causing slight clearance issues with the DP. I wish I had better pictures to describe it. With more clearance, I was able to line the DP's to the Mid-Pipes easily without any serious rub. Does that kind of make sense?

Interesting, I have never seen anyone else replace that bolt in 10 years of putting DP's on these cars, but I have also not experienced that brand so maybe specific to those DP's.

Nice work and nice write up - it is certainly not the most fun job to do, although there are a long list of things that are not much fun on these cars (inlets, turbos, DP's, waterpump etc!)

[asutrave]

Originally Posted by 9double8

Nice write up...keep us posted on the quality of the pipes...they look nice...Houston here as well!

Let me know if you need help and I'll try and come by! It's not a fun job I promise!

Originally Posted by roadkillrob

Interesting, I have never seen anyone else replace that bolt in 10 years of putting DP's on these cars, but I have also not experienced that brand so maybe specific to those DP's.

MAPerformance DP's have the same or similar issue i believe. That is how I figured out (after I realized that I was having clearance issues) that I needed to replace a bolt. The clearance issue is very subtle, 2-3mm at most. They have a video of their install, if you click on the link it should go right to where they mention replacing bolts for clearance issues. At the end of the day, as long as it is working and things are still working as they should, it's a good day!