[lukemcmullen45]

I would go with an ARM charge pipe for $50 more, however I’ve had problems with my Downpipes from ARM getting backordered and terrible customer service, same thing with VRSF. Let me know if there’s anyone of you guys running a cheap charge pipe. My only concern is fitment.

I’m thinking of these ones below

https://www.ebay.com/itm/174246128383
https://www.ebay.com/itm/143046556560

[Smgs1992]

Heard good things about Cobb chargepipe and if I remember it was cheaper. If you're concerned about fitment from even reputable brands I definitely wouldn't recommend anything off ebay. FWIW my VRSF chargepipe fits perfect.

[lukemcmullen45]

Originally Posted by Smgs1992

Heard good things about Cobb chargepipe and if I remember it was cheaper. If you're concerned about fitment from even reputable brands I definitely wouldn't recommend anything off ebay. FWIW my VRSF chargepipe fits perfect.

It’s not fitment I’m concerned with on reputable brands, I just don’t want to be waiting a month to get my charge pipe like I am with my Downpipes right now

[Smgs1992]

Buy used I believe there is at least 1 posted in the for sale section here

[type-dRew]

I've not ordered anything from arm i didn't have within 3 days

Call them. They'll tell you what's in stock

[stewbets]

That second eBay link is the one I purchased for my car last year. I didn't have any fitment issues with it. It's working great paired with my "Tial" BOV.

[lukemcmullen45]

Originally Posted by stewbets

That second eBay link is the one I purchased for my car last year. I didn't have any fitment issues with it. It's working great paired with my "Tial" BOV.

Thanks!

[lukemcmullen45]

Originally Posted by type-dRew

I've not ordered anything from arm i didn't have within 3 days

Call them. They'll tell you what's in stock

That’s the same what I hear, but just my experience is I ordered a set of Downpipes that said in stock, and then the next day they didn’t ship, and then on the website they said Pre Order May 30th, so I ended up calling customer service and nobody could help me, they couldn’t even help me cancel my order I had to send an email to this one guy.

[Boosted12a]

I got a cheap cp off evil bay that uses the stock cbv. No fit issues, I've got about 10k miles on it and still moving along good. The hose and t bolt clamps were cheap tho. I had some quality ones I just used on it and I upgraded to some adjustable cbv(again china crap) and still no problems. I had the cbv routed back to the intake pipes with the stock hoses but I'm going to go with relocated inlets so I just got some cheap 3/4" inlet breather filters to put on em and now they are vta.

[mike@x-ph.com]

We offer VRSF, please let me know if you are interested. You are more than welcome to call us and check availability before placing an order.

Ebay brands almost always have fitment issues. Since they are offered by a no-name brand, support is very limited and you never know when the vendor disappears.

Also In case of any return or warranty request, you have to cover shipping costs to China. Most take the loss and never send back the product

[stewbets]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

We offer VRSF

Ebay brands almost always have fitment issues. Since they are offered by a no-name brand, support is very limited and you never know when the vendor disappears.

Meh, I had no issues with my eBay special. I am curious why you think someone would need support with a $60 aluminum tube 😂

I get it though. You're working hard for that sale!

[alpnwss]

Originally Posted by stewbets

Meh, I had no issues with my eBay special. I am curious why you think someone would need support with a $60 aluminum tube

I get it though. You're working hard for that sale!

Wait until it starts leaking and you get a 30FF and you won't sound so confident.

[Saif2018]

Originally Posted by lukemcmullen45

I would go with an ARM charge pipe for $50 more, however I’ve had problems with my Downpipes from ARM getting backordered and terrible customer service, same thing with VRSF. Let me know if there’s anyone of you guys running a cheap charge pipe. My only concern is fitment.

I’m thinking of these ones below

https://www.ebay.com/itm/174246128383
https://www.ebay.com/itm/143046556560

Possible fitment issues, reliability issues are reasons not to get a cheap charge pipe. Got a VRSF one myself and haven't had a single issue since.

[Saif2018]

Deleted wrong thread

[autoart]

make sure you get one that uses the stock connection to the throttle body.

[stewbets]

Originally Posted by alpnwss

Wait until it starts leaking and you get a 30FF and you won't sound so confident.

I'll go ahead and preemptively reduce my level of confidence.

I will also concede that your aluminum tube is of much higher quality and has much better product support than my aluminum tube.

The buyer's remorse is real here.

[alpnwss]

Originally Posted by stewbets

I'll go ahead and preemptively reduce my level of confidence.

I will also concede that your aluminum tube is of much higher quality and has much better product support than my aluminum tube.

The buyer's remorse is real here.

Support is probably not necessary on a CP but... it's like $140 for a brand name CP? Why not just guarantee you won't have issues. I feel like it's the same 'Chinese turbos' argument.

[Smgs1992]

Originally Posted by alpnwss

Support is probably not necessary on a CP but... it's like $140 for a brand name CP? Why not just guarantee you won't have issues. I feel like it's the same 'Chinese turbos' argument.

Unfortunately here's how I look at it. When the cars become as cheap as they have. You get kids buying them who cannot afford them, can't afford to maintain them and can't afford to mold them. So they end up buying cheap ebay parts like trying to argue over saving $40 on a chargepipe from a reputable brand. Part time jobs only go so far.
Dont mean to offend anyone but if the shoe fits maybe this isn't the right platform for you.

[alpnwss]

Originally Posted by Smgs1992

Unfortunately here's how I look at it. When the cars become as cheap as they have. You get kids buying them who cannot afford them, can't afford to maintain them and can't afford to mold them. So they end up buying cheap ebay parts like trying to argue over saving $40 on a chargepipe from a reputable brand. Part time jobs only go so far.
Dont mean to offend anyone but if the shoe fits maybe this isn't the right platform for you.

100% agreed. I also agree that the cars are relatively cheap, but I didn't buy mine because I wanted it to be cheap or economical. Many nice is's can go for more than 22k (call me stupid). Hence my point of why not pay a little more for guaranteed quality.

[stewbets]

Originally Posted by Smgs1992

Unfortunately here's how I look at it. When the cars become as cheap as they have. You get kids buying them who cannot afford them, can't afford to maintain them and can't afford to mold them. So they end up buying cheap ebay parts like trying to argue over saving $40 on a chargepipe from a reputable brand. Part time jobs only go so far.
Dont mean to offend anyone but if the shoe fits maybe this isn't the right platform for you.

Could I interest you in a different perspective? What if there are people out there who value their six kids and wife over a lifestyle that buys the premium option for everything? What if there are people who like to drive performance vehicles while having their house paid off and carrying no debt? What if these same people (OK, I'm thinking of a specific person I know really well) would rather save as much money as possible for the future because their family is the most important thing in their life and not some silly car? What if these people don't mind the occasional fitment issue in the pursuit of the road less traveled (do you know how easy it is to get a refund on a crappy part)?

And since I seem to have been the one to draw out these rather narrow comments (that most every BMW owners appear to agree with) I'd like to share my thought process a little. I happen to have a wife and six kids (in no way related to those hypothetical people above ) and we enjoy saving money, partly out of necessity and partly because it's a fun game for us to do more with less. I have a FULL-time job (a whole 40 hours a week) and my wife stays home with the kids and teaches them (that's right, one of those weird home-school families). When we got married, my wife had college debt. I didn't like that so step one was pay that off. We got a cheap, crappy apartment and aggressively attacked those loans until they were gone, and then we started saving for a house. That's when the kids started popping out. We paid off our first house in less than six years and bought another one that was three times bigger for less money than we sold the first one. It needed work and we gladly fixed it up ourselves over the next 9 months. We feel so incredibly blessed to be in a great home in a great neighborhood that's so close to our church and my work. But it did require some work and some sacrifices. I work in an office, but I love working with my hands, and that makes an N54-powered car a great opportunity to do just that.

But yeah, I'm cheap. I bought a cheap car and I mostly put cheap parts on it, and most of the time they work great. Sometimes they don't. My charge pipe happens to be one that has worked great. So for you to think it's a no-no-brainer to spend over twice as much for a name-brand aluminum tube is a perspective that I cannot personally relate to. That's 2 whole Popeyes chicken dinners for the family worth of savings! Not saying you're wrong, but I would humbly propose that there is nothing wrong with buying eBay parts either. I'm not tied to my job. I don't take my work home and I'm not trying to climb the corporate ladder. My job adequately pays the bills and gives me free time to spend with my family and endure the occasional inconvenience of an economy purchase gone bad. But I could certainly see the 60-hour-a-week businessman pulling down over $300k a year not wanting to risk a possible CP fitment issue over $60. My problem is that I have trouble picturing that guy working on his car or choosing this model in the first place, but that's just me. I'd have no problem with that decision.

I get that it's really tempting to play the "all these kids can't afford an N54 like I can" card, but I'm simply asking you to broaden your perspective to include, at a minimum, penny-pinching freaks like myself. Two things absolutely thrill me: hard acceleration and saving money. And I intend to do both.

[alpnwss]

I'm not gonna quote that to keep the thread short, and while I agree with and respect that train of thought, I was more thinking along the lines of 'Skip the cheap option that will break, becuase either way you end up buying the quality one'. Charge pipes might be a no brainer but I feel like there are quite a few threads of people buying cheap stuff and then having it break. Maybe that's just me. Big respect for living on both sides of the highway.

[Jerain]

I have bought two, cheap one and more expensive brand one. The alu pipe itself from the cheap one wasn't the problem, the connections, clamps and the drilled holes for the tmap sensor were a problem... I am not saying every cheap one does have these problems, mine did.