Downpipes and warranty

[6SPD GOD]

Hi guys!


I want to keep this question short, but specific.


What are your overall thoughts or experiences on downpipes and warranty?

I would like to get some down pipes on my F82 and remove them every time I take the vehicle to dealer

- Would clearing the CEL after the stock pipes are installed back be enough for them not to notice there were DPs installed?

- If necessary, could they look deep into data (not experienced at all) on ECU, etc to check previous erased CELs?



My overall purpose behind this is to gain a nicer exhaust tone without spending $3k-$5k on an exhaust system

[Yas__Plz]

Originally Posted by gforgold

Hi guys!


I want to keep this question short, but specific.


What are your overall thoughts or experiences on downpipes and warranty?

I would like to get some down pipes on my F82 and remove them every time I take the vehicle to dealer

- Would clearing the CEL after the stock pipes are installed back be enough for them not to notice there were DPs installed?

- If necessary, could they look deep into data (not experienced at all) on ECU, etc to check previous erased CELs?



My overall purpose behind this is to gain a nicer exhaust tone without spending $3k-$5k on an exhaust system

You're not going to want to install/re-install your downpipes every service. Like any mod, warranty will really depend on your Service Advisor. IF something were to happen to your car that would need a big warranty claim there is a POSSIBILITY that BMW is going to try to pin it on that.

I've had downpipes on my car for a while and take it in for service with all of my mods -my jb4 and my SA doesn't seem to mind and has never mentioned my mods or flagging my car.

But any modification can void your warranty, you have to pay to play.

[gatorfast]

^ what he said. Definitely not realistic to un-install/re-install for dealer visits.

If you are after a better exhaust note I would definitely steer more towards a midpipe like the AA one everyone seems to love. Removing your primary cats will prob just add rasp and loudness and smell like fuel while keeping them but changing the midpipe should produce a louder deeper tone.

[EALm4]

I've never removed my down pipes or JB4 prior to any sort of dealer service and no one has cared.

Obviously the techs know they are on there when they start her up but they dont care either.

[SanchoDivine]

First, let's make this clear, mods DO NOT void your warranty per The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (P.L. 93-637).

Coverage can only be denied if the mod was the cause of the issue. With that being said, you still have to be careful with what you do and understand that some things are likely a "pay to play" situation. Something like tuning the performance of your engine with a piggyback or flash tune can be easily blamed if you have any major engine issues. Not many people are going to go through the litigation process so before doing such mods, they understand that they are accepting the risk.

Now to address your quest for better exhaust sound.

There are a number of things you can do. If you want the cheapest solution, you can take your car to a shop and delete either your resonator or your secondary cats or both of them. This will probably only run you a couple hundred dollars. Maybe replacing your secondary cats with an x-pipe would cost a couple bucks more but will do a better job of affecting your exhaust sound.

If you want something that is more easily reversible and more effective, you can get a mid-pipe or spend some money and get an axleback muffler or an exhaust system with a midpipe.

The most effective is obviously a full exhaust system but down pipes usually require a tune or something to eliminate the check engine light or take advantage of the downpipes. That would be the pay to play scenario.

There is a lot threads that have these discussions and also product review threads such as the one I did yesterday:

http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1432077

[schnell1982]

Supposedly techs are now supposed to make notes and notify shop foreman when a vehicle enters shop with factory emission parts tampered with "removed"

[IDBGOD]

Originally Posted by schnell1982

Supposedly techs are now supposed to make notes and notify shop foreman when a vehicle enters shop with factory emission parts tampered with "removed"

Vastly depends on the dealership. Some are mod friendly others aren't. BMWNA isn't really breathing down anyone's neck when it comes to warranty work unless it's something major. 99.9% of the time they will go with what the dealer says. They may make notes to cover their butt's, in the event something major happened and they know the car is modified.

However, if you are really worried about it, then don't mod...or stick with minimal plug and play mods that can be easily removed. When you start adding exhausts, down pipes, etc...it get's a little more difficult to just remove them before service. As always, pay to play...regardless of how minimal the risk is.

[schnell1982]

Originally Posted by IDBGOD

Vastly depends on the dealership. Some are mod friendly others aren't. BMWNA isn't really breathing down anyone's neck when it comes to warranty work unless it's something major. 99.9% of the time they will go with what the dealer says. They may make notes to cover their butt's, in the event something major happened and they know the car is modified.

However, if you are really worried about it, then don't mod...or stick with minimal plug and play mods that can be easily removed. When you start adding exhausts, down pipes, etc...it get's a little more difficult to just remove them before service. As always, pay to play...regardless of how minimal the risk is.

I agree with you. My work allows me to have interaction with service advisors with multiple dealerships on the European car platform so I like to share information that gets passed down and what I see.
Its a bigger issue then what is presented on the forums.
They are cracking down on modded cars and emissions is a hot topic of concern.