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      07-10-2015, 09:39 AM   #1
hellomyBMW
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AR DPs or AA DPs?

For those of you who has installed AR DPs or AA DPs - in comparison, which is a better DP in terms of pricing, quality and sound?

I see that not many active users are on X6 E71/E72 forums compared to E92 forums...

Your input can help my decision!
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      07-10-2015, 05:26 PM   #2
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sound will be the same if both are catless dp
build quality should be fairly equivalent as well
pricing would depends on where you buy from and if you can get a good deal, I have remember seeing AA going on discount once at around 1200

the main thing is the need to modify or leave off heat shield, to my knowledge, AA requires the leave off the lower part of the heat shield or as AR requires heat shield cutting or trimming to fit properly
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      07-12-2015, 02:23 PM   #3
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My Active Autowerkes Downpipes (not installed yet). No, I didn't get them for the reduced price that was stated... they didn't want to budge much at all, even being a returning customer... I originally bought their tune and was very impressed with it. Their best offering was to include an updated tune for the new downpipes at a total cost of $1599 (free shipping).

I am impressed with the build quality, but $1600 still seems like a severe M penalty tax...

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      07-13-2015, 12:15 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gixxerboy63 View Post
My Active Autowerkes Downpipes (not installed yet). No, I didn't get them for the reduced price that was stated... they didn't want to budge much at all, even being a returning customer... I originally bought their tune and was very impressed with it. Their best offering was to include an updated tune for the new downpipes at a total cost of $1599 (free shipping).

I am impressed with the build quality, but $1600 still seems like a severe M penalty tax...


I appreciate your two cent to both of you.

I will most likely go with AA also since ARs are out of my budget for DPs.

After installing your AAs, can you please share a video clip?

Thank you! ^^
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      07-13-2015, 12:54 PM   #5
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I have AR catted DPs on my 50i and absolutely love them. Exhaust note is much improved with a deeper growl on the stock exhaust. Gives it that fart noise during mid-high rpm upshifts. Along with my Burger tune, the power is drastically increased over stock. Ran a 12.98 @107 1/4 mile with these mods.

Just wanted to let you know my experience with AR DPs is a positive one.
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      07-13-2015, 01:00 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nickytables View Post
I have AR catted DPs on my 50i and absolutely love them. Exhaust note is much improved with a deeper growl on the stock exhaust. Gives it that fart noise during mid-high rpm upshifts. Along with my Burger tune, the power is drastically increased over stock. Ran a 12.98 @107 1/4 mile with these mods.

Just wanted to let you know my experience with AR DPs is a positive one.
Hey Nick,

Thanks for your input.
12.98 is very impressive!
Are you running the N63 Stage 1 tune from BMS?

I want to get the AR DPs also but it is way beyond my price range unless I can find a used one for a descent price...
Are you running the catless or catted?

Please share a video of cold start when you get a chance!! I would love to hear them and maybe it will change my mind lol
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      07-13-2015, 01:05 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hellomyBMW View Post
Hey Nick,

Thanks for your input.
12.98 is very impressive!
Are you running the N63 Stage 1 tune from BMS?

I want to get the AR DPs also but it is way beyond my price range unless I can find a used one for a descent price...
Are you running the catless or catted?

Please share a video of cold start when you get a chance!! I would love to hear them and maybe it will change my mind lol
Hey, I'll post a video i have running the 1/4 mile to Youtube and put up the link. You can hear the exhaust note really well. I'll get a video of cold start sometime this week when I get a chance.

And yes, I'm running the Stage 1. I will be getting the stage 2 shortly.
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      07-13-2015, 01:18 PM   #8
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      07-13-2015, 01:20 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nickytables View Post
Hey, I'll post a video i have running the 1/4 mile to Youtube and put up the link. You can hear the exhaust note really well. I'll get a video of cold start sometime this week when I get a chance.

And yes, I'm running the Stage 1. I will be getting the stage 2 shortly.
That would be VERY much appreciated!!
Thanks Nick!
Maybe this will help me decide between the two DPs I have been pondering on for a while now.... lol

And how is the BMS N63 Stage 1 from your point of view?
Was it hard to install? Any big noticeable difference?
I installed JB4 on my 335is N54 my self and that wasn't too hard. Probably took about 2-3 hours.
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      07-13-2015, 01:21 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nickytables View Post
VERY nice pass!

Was that a Mustang 5.0?
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      07-13-2015, 01:28 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hellomyBMW View Post
VERY nice pass!

Was that a Mustang 5.0?
No it's my friends 2015 Mustang ecoboost. It's a 4 cylinder turbo, but he was running 13.8-13-9. It's surprisingly quick.
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      07-28-2015, 08:53 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nickytables View Post
No it's my friends 2015 Mustang ecoboost. It's a 4 cylinder turbo, but he was running 13.8-13-9. It's surprisingly quick.
Hey Nick-

Any update on that cold start video of your AR DPs? =)
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      08-05-2015, 01:36 PM   #13
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video doesn't work :{
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      08-05-2015, 04:45 PM   #14
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Here's my Active Autowerkes Downpipes cold start video.
It's noticeably louder than stock and makes all the glassware tingle in our kitchen.

(currently waiting on revised tune from AA)

click on the picture below:
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      09-03-2015, 11:50 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gixxerboy63 View Post
My Active Autowerkes Downpipes (not installed yet). No, I didn't get them for the reduced price that was stated... they didn't want to budge much at all, even being a returning customer... I originally bought their tune and was very impressed with it. Their best offering was to include an updated tune for the new downpipes at a total cost of $1599 (free shipping).

I am impressed with the build quality, but $1600 still seems like a severe M penalty tax...

Just bought same exact dp's for $1200
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      09-25-2015, 07:38 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cattivo View Post
Just bought same exact dp's for $1200
Where did you get them?
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      09-27-2015, 09:59 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gixxerboy63 View Post
Where did you get them?
Andrew at AA
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      09-27-2015, 12:51 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cattivo View Post
Andrew at AA
Looks like I paid retail and the revised "Catless" tune still needs work.... I'm still getting a gaseous odor and it's not so faint. Head to head performance is virtually the same as my prior "tuned" against "non-tuned" X5M experience... so there is no road going performance improvement with DPs over "tune only", which happened to be my primary goal for the DP upgrade in the first place.

So what did I pay all this money for? So far... the only difference is significantly less heat in the engine bay and improved exhaust sound. AA is trying to work with me to decrease the gaseous odor and improve the performance.

Please let us know if your experience is different (or better).
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      09-28-2015, 11:02 AM   #19
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Justa a datapoint. I have Agency Power catless (with resonator) downpipes and Velos stage 2+ on X6M. Stock otherwise. The AP are the only pipes I've had on so I can't compare. I like that they have the flex portion. Sound is nice...hardly noticeable under very easy acceleration, a noticeable difference under moderate to heavy power and in M mode it's quite noticeable. It still is a quite ride at cruising speeds. I have zero smell, and no CEL light. Glasspacks on a big Chevy V8 still sound better and are louder IMO but the sound did get a little deeper and "throatier". I'm happy with it as it's comfortable to talk while in cruise with others in the car yet when I want to stomp on it, I get the additional thrill with the sound.
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      09-28-2015, 03:37 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gixxerboy63 View Post
Looks like I paid retail and the revised "Catless" tune still needs work.... I'm still getting a gaseous odor and it's not so faint. Head to head performance is virtually the same as my prior "tuned" against "non-tuned" X5M experience... so there is no road going performance improvement with DPs over "tune only", which happened to be my primary goal for the DP upgrade in the first place.

So what did I pay all this money for? So far... the only difference is significantly less heat in the engine bay and improved exhaust sound. AA is trying to work with me to decrease the gaseous odor and improve the performance.

Please let us know if your experience is different (or better).
I'm scheduled to have the dp's installed next week(hopefully) Just having less heat in the engine bay is a huge advantage with catless dp's... I hope I don't get the gaseous odor since my 1 yr old daughter rides in the truck from time to time.
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      11-14-2015, 11:07 AM   #21
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I installed AA Catless Downpipes and was disappointed. The right DP did not fit properly: the lower flange was twisted a few degrees, not allowing the bolt holes to line up.

Initially, AA swore that this couldn't happen since they use a jig for fabrication and final testing, but when I showed them photos of the misalignment in the car and compared with the stock DP on a bench, they were quite gracious and paid for me to ship the pipe back to them next day air, then turned it around in a day for Saturday delivery back to me.

It turns out that there is a significant gap between the downpipe flange and their jig's holes, so there's more play for getting bolts installed on the jig than in the actual stock system. Also, I wish they used studs or at least welded the bolts onto the flange to make install easier. It's a royal pain to hold those bolts in place within the tight confines under the car. I finally dropped the stock exhaust and bent a box end wrench to get access to those bolts for tightening.

Alas, the repair shortened the pipe by 3/16" or so and it wouldn't quite fit length-wise. Tiring of having my X5M on jack stands, I managed to get it to fit without leaks after a couple attempts by installing 2 stacked gaskets that I luckily had laying around that fit perfectly. These went between the DP flange and transmission bracket, taking up the gap that the shortened pipe caused.

A final fitment issue was the little heat shield cups that the O2 sensors fit into that help seal in the heat under the heat shielding. The O2 bungs were too far below the heat shield for the cups to reach. I ended up grinding the lip off the 2 cups so they would slip deeper down into the heat shield.

Oh, and their instruction manual (as of when I installed the system) was specific to the N63, not the S63 and had some errors to boot. I mentioned these to them, so hopefully, they'll update the manual.

Results: I'm sure there's better response and power potential since turbos love bigger pressure differentials. It's got a loud, raspy cold start sound that I'm slightly embarrassed at, but sounds nice once past this. I might have considered a resonated version knowing this.

So while I managed to get the DPs installed without leaks, the process was too painful. I'd go with AR if I were to do it again.


DP alignment issue in the car:


Flange alignment compared to stock:
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      11-14-2015, 07:41 PM   #22
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grayforge thanks for posting up the review. However I should say that AR's fitment isn't spot on either, I know a few who have installed them and they all had to trim the heatshield. I have the Gintani DP and the fitment is good, except for the secondary O2 sensors which is touching the edge of the heatshield. I think the only aftermarket DP that actually fits perfectly and uses all the stock bolts is the Akrapovic once, I guess there is a reason why they costs so much
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