[hailpersia]

Hi all,

A few weeks back, I purchased an AA mid-pipe and got it installed but had some problems. During installation, couldn’t get the muffler side pipes to align and required me to shorten the muffler side pipe to about 1.3” and put some muscle in to get the muffler pipes aligned enough to put the coupler over it. Once tightened, it put strain on the hangers and pushed the single piece pipe to the side a bit which resulted in some rattling (not by the brace but in the tunnel where the second bend is). I had to go back under the car to wedge a spacer in the tunnel but that put further strain on the hangers and caused the muffle to be a bit mis-aligned from the back. I talked to AA (which are very helpful peeps) and they sent me replacements for the ball-joint to muffler pipes and installed them this weekend but still having the same issue. The muffler pipes don’t align organically and require some wiggling which puts strain on the hangers to get the coupler over them. Even with the muffler pushed up all they way up, the muffler pipe and the mid-pipe ball-joint pipe rub against each other and have to be forced.

All the hangers are installed in the correct position and the tightening order is correct (ball join gets tightened last). I’ve gone through many many adjustments and have spent 5 Saturdays under the car. I’m now wondering if the single mid-pipe piece is longer than it should or if it is slanted in some manner.

Has anyone experienced issues installing the muffler side pipes and noticed strain on hangers as well as misalignment of mufflers?

Car is 2018 M3 with ZCP package (stock downpipes), here are some pictures, any help and insight would be appreciated.