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Author Topic: Best exhaust system for gti  (Read 28576 times)

Offline absolute

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Re: Best exhaust system for gti
« Reply #15 on: October 29, 2016, 01:38:14 pm »
I'd be interested in a group buy for Powervalve.

Edition 30 #1994 now sold. *cries*

Offline bonelorry

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Re: Best exhaust system for gti
« Reply #16 on: October 29, 2016, 01:41:18 pm »
He's right you know.

All you guys umming and ahhing over downpipes, cats, whatever, just hold on until the new year (saving cash in the meantime) and I'm sure @Powervalve Nige will oblige another group buy.

That's what I did, and I'm so damn happy I waited. Apart from the power and torque gains I posted above (I've got graphs to show this if anyone's interested) the noise of the thing still puts a big smile on my face. In fact I've recently noticed something new; usually going from 3rd to 4th at full chat I'm now getting a nice 'POP' between gears. I'm on a Loba pump now so the extra grunt might be something to do with it. But whatever, it's mega. And I know it'll handle anything a k04 can throw at it when I go down that road. You get what you pay for.

IF I ever had to buy a System for my ED30 it would be a BCS for my car, No question.

Offline AJP

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Re: Best exhaust system for gti
« Reply #17 on: October 29, 2016, 01:43:35 pm »
He's right you know.

All you guys umming and ahhing over downpipes, cats, whatever, just hold on until the new year (saving cash in the meantime) and I'm sure @Powervalve Nige will oblige another group buy.

That's what I did, and I'm so damn happy I waited. Apart from the power and torque gains I posted above (I've got graphs to show this if anyone's interested) the noise of the thing still puts a big smile on my face. In fact I've recently noticed something new; usually going from 3rd to 4th at full chat I'm now getting a nice 'POP' between gears. I'm on a Loba pump now so the extra grunt might be something to do with it. But whatever, it's mega. And I know it'll handle anything a k04 can throw at it when I go down that road. You get what you pay for.

IF I ever had to buy a System for my ED30 it would be a BCS for my car, No question.
If you ever feel the urge for the full fat 2+ setup then you can't do much better. I'm sure one day you might be tempted

Offline AJP

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Re: Best exhaust system for gti
« Reply #18 on: October 29, 2016, 01:46:49 pm »
I'd be interested in a group buy for Powervalve.
The last one was early this year, around Jan/Feb. Just PM Nige near the time; he was happy to get the last one going when I asked him. I assume he'll do a maximum of one a year, that seems to be the case. But you never know.

Offline FJ1000

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Re: Best exhaust system for gti
« Reply #19 on: October 29, 2016, 03:08:34 pm »
Or wait for one to come up used. I just had a used system fitted, bought through the forum


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Offline Powervalve Nige

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Re: Best exhaust system for gti
« Reply #20 on: October 29, 2016, 04:10:01 pm »
Black Fridays coming round soon - will be doing GB price for a day - you've been warned folks... :happy2:
Cheers
Nige

Offline AJP

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Re: Best exhaust system for gti
« Reply #21 on: October 29, 2016, 04:49:03 pm »
There you go folks. Get on it!

Best mod I've done.

Offline Rippers

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Re: Best exhaust system for gti
« Reply #22 on: October 31, 2016, 09:03:36 am »
I agree with AJ.

Offline pudding

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Re: Best exhaust system for gti
« Reply #23 on: October 31, 2016, 12:09:49 pm »
Yeah I've got a downpipe + standard cat back on mine.  I like it.  Meatier at idle but OEM quiet every where else, which suits and old guffer like me.

I've noticed bugger all in terms of performance improvement though.  Maybe my Stage 1 map needs tweaking a bit.
Really? I noticed an immediate improvement when I had a full Powervalve fitted (even made the clutch slip). That was on the existing Stage 1 R-Tech map. After Stage 2 it felt like I gained the same again. In fact, from memory it went like this:

Stage 1 - 243bhp 296lb/ft
Stage 1 & exhaust - 260bhp 320lb/ft
Stage 2 & exhaust - 270bhp 345lb/ft

You should definitely feel some gain from the downpipe. As I understand it the vast majority of the restriction is from the downpipe/cat and not the catback section. But maybe that's not the case after all? What downpipe is it?

It pulls a bit more vigorously to the redline than it used to, but everywhere else, I'm not really detecting much of a change.  I think the map probably needs a tweak to be honest!

The factory DP is awful!  Removing the cat material is only a third of it's problems!  I'm amazed Edition 30s make 300hp with that thing!


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Offline absolute

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Re: Best exhaust system for gti
« Reply #24 on: November 01, 2016, 11:51:56 am »
Sweet. Can I be added to a list or something? :)

Interested in knowing what options are available.

Edition 30 #1994 now sold. *cries*

Offline absolute

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Re: Best exhaust system for gti
« Reply #25 on: November 03, 2016, 12:07:14 pm »
@ajp what setup do you have?

Do you mind writing a small bit about it, pros cons etc

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Offline GTIEagles

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Re: Best exhaust system for gti
« Reply #26 on: November 03, 2016, 12:44:34 pm »
I'm on a non resonated Scorpion exhaust, not out of choice as it was already on my car when I bought it. Would I recommend it? Not if you like something subtle, it's too droney at motorway speeds and on over run at high revs it's very blarey. The plus side is that it sounds mega when idling and when giving it some beans  :driver:

Offline AJP

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Re: Best exhaust system for gti
« Reply #27 on: November 03, 2016, 03:30:23 pm »
@ajp what setup do you have?

Do you mind writing a small bit about it, pros cons etc
I've got a Powervalve (aka BCS) turbo back, valved, R32 style, with 'R' tips, sport front silencer, 200 cell cat:




I had it fitted around February this year after getting the group buy going. I did lots of reading up before I made the decision and the more I researched things the more it stacked up in favour of BCS. One thing I kept hearing about 'another brand' was that some parts of the systems weren't stainless. And then the idea of an exhaust being quiet off boost and mad on boost appealed to me. I'm in my 30s, and it's a road car.

I'll list pros and cons rather than rambling. I may miss some stuff out but if you search some of my past posts I'm sure I've said plenty about it before.

Pros:

It's genuinely subtle and mature sounding off boost. If I'm in a situation where I don't want to draw attention to myself it's fine. I'd say off boost it's a touch louder than stock and a fair bit deeper, without sounding too boomy. It's a 'warm' tone (if you're into music in any way you'll know what I mean). If you lift off from partial throttle at low-mids revs it makes all sorts of lovely burbles and grumbles, but again in a good way. It's tasteful.

On boost and on full chat it's loud, and really howls. It's a noise I like to hear though; if it was loud and a crap tone it would have got on my t*ts by now, but it really is a gorgeous sound. I've run the exhaust on Stage 1, Stage 2, and Stage 2 with an uprated fuel pump, and every time the power has increased it seems to have brought a new characteristic out of the exhaust. Most recently I've noticed a nice pop between gear changes when I'm giving it the beans. I've actually removed my parcel shelf so I can hear more of the exhaust.

The 'R' tips follow the angle of the exhaust cutouts of an R32 rear bumper perfectly. It's a small detail but makes a huge difference. You can spec the more traditional R32 style tips which are slashed at a different angle (15 deg rather than 35), but for me the R tips look spot on.

Power and torque. As my earlier post explained, it just works. Massive increases across the revs. As soon as I set off home after having it fitted I noticed the turbo spooling earlier and the boost hitting harder. That was still on the Stage 1 map. My clutch started slipping before I'd even gone to Stage 2. It feels like getting a mini-remap.

Sport cat handles emissions with ease. Can't remember if it's in this thread or another but I posted up the emissions sheet from my last MOT.

3" all the way from turbo to just before the tailpipes. Some other systems go to 2.75" after the downpipe. I'm not in a position to categorically say what's better, but the power increase speaks for itself. The R32 style system in particular was apparently in development for 3 years, so in terms of flow and performance I'd say things are pretty much optimal.

No apparent disadvantage to opting for a the sport cat version rather than the decat version at k03 and k04 levels. I've researched lots of dyno graphs and I'm yet to see any evidence that either the sport cat or decat is any better than the other. The cat is made 'oversized' to ensure it flows as well as the decat.

Cons:

None really.

Some have argued that is at the higher end of things price wise. But it's not expensive for what it actually is. Compare it to any other variable-tone exhausts of the same quality and it's very good value. In fact, I can't think of any comparable exhausts. For me it's worth every penny and the best mod I've done. Powervalve will always be doing at least one group buy a year, and of course they're doing group buy prices on Black Friday this year.

Final note: I'm well aware that I can sound a bit of a fan boy when it comes to Powervalve. I can assure you I'm not getting paid for any stealth marketing. Although Nige, if you're reading this, giz a job! Joking aside, it's simply a damn good bit of kit and I'll sing the praises of any mod I feel is up to scratch, just the same R-Tech maps, H&R springs, the list goes on. I've had Milltek exhausts, Cobra, and so on, so I think I'm in a fair position to judge. If it was a sh*t exhaust I'd tell you. If it had faults I'd tell you. Bottom line - it's pure quality.

Offline AJP

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Re: Best exhaust system for gti
« Reply #28 on: November 03, 2016, 03:36:08 pm »
And after reading that back I realise I sound like that Red Robin guy that used to be on here...

Offline pudding

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Re: Best exhaust system for gti
« Reply #29 on: November 03, 2016, 04:21:25 pm »
It doesn't read as anything other than an impartial and detailed review mate.  It's certainly a contender for a replacement when my OEM one eventually dies!

I don't mind a bit of extra noise but I really detest drone, and by the sounds of it, this system is free of it.

And your like looks bloody nice to boot!


2007 ED30 | 2009 TDI 140 | 2016 BMW 330D