Equal-length exhaust discussion: new S55 sounds

[Soul Coughing]

Originally Posted by Finz

I used the Mosselman Turbo controller for a while on my M2C. Works really well, but I find with my current setup (AA non res mid and axleback) I'm not using it any more. DM me if you would like to try it out.

You piqued my interest. You have a PM.

[Kilabyte]

Originally Posted by Soul Coughing

Yeah, I think the burbles are just too much with this setup. I am currently looking at valve controllers so that i can run the car in efficient mode with the valves open. Is anyone else doing the same?

First thing I did.

[ONLYACTIVE]

Originally Posted by BYT_M4C

Get used to those ball/socket connections leaking, it will not stop. No matter which way you adjust them, re-tighten the clamps etc... they will leak where the gap in the clamp is no matter the positioning. Ive talked with AA a bit when I first installed my single midpipe and they didn't have an answer that solved this issue. If you are driving along concrete dividers you can hear it "ticking" thru that leak, its also bad on cold starts if you step out of your car while its warming up. It's annoying enough that I just bought a Akra Titanium DP back exhaust to get rid of the ball/socket connections. I do love the sound of the single mid (haven't heard the Akra yet, it comes tomorrow) but the leaking at those connections and the annoying sounds that come with it drove me to buy something else and not even try the EL midpipe (because they have those same connections).

Single mid FS btw lol...

Edit: AA suggested that overtime, with carbon build up, they should seal up. Its a year later, still the same leak...

Please contact us via phone and I can see if we have a solution.
(305)233-9300 Thanks.

[BYT_M4C]

Originally Posted by ONLYACTIVE

Please contact us via phone and I can see if we have a solution.
(305)233-9300 Thanks.

I had contacted via email with pics and explanations, I was told it couldn't be doing what I was finding, yet here we are. There's nothing to discuss further, I have already removed your product and installed something that fits better and actually seals up completely.

[ONLYACTIVE]

Originally Posted by kindafrosty

This is how my non-res EL midpipe arrived after nearly 5 months of waiting. I contacted AA and they offered to RMA the midpipe and wait for the next batch, or pay for a shop to finish the weld. As many of you know, the wait is near unbearable and the shipping box is too thick to easily return, so I opted for the later.

I'm still appalled and upset by the lack of quality control for the cost. I understand the repair is quick and this is an isolated issue, but I did not pay or wait for a midpipe missing a critical weld :/

We responded right away and tried our best to resolve the issue and not ignoring the customer. We try our best to deliver a quality product but sometimes mistakes happen as we have human beings building and inspecting them. We offered all that was possible, send it back for repair, have it repaired locally or get a full refund, all at our cost. We don't have any in stock for immediate replacement, but making a negative post on the forums after we tried our best to please the customer, not cool !! In spite of all this we still kept our word and is paying for the repair that he elected.

[1000hp]

Originally Posted by kindafrosty

"Inspecting them" WHAT?? The missing weld was so obvious, it's like the midpipe wasn't even inspected before you packaged it up and took my money.

You were brazen enough to tell me today you do not "appreciate" my bashing and claimed you are "accommodating" me. Do you think I appreciated waiting 5 months for a faulty product? Do you think I appreciated losing time and going out of my way to fix your mistake? Last time I checked, paying to fix your own fuck up is not accommodating someone, that's fixing your own error that never should have happened.

Before posting, I requested a partial refund for the hassle and lost time you have caused me (in addition to fixing the weld), but you were not interested in dipping further into the profit margins.

I'm not sure what you expect, for folks to not share negative experiences? I know this forum has censored negative experiences in favor of the vendor in the past, so who knows...

In their defense, they were dealing with a mad rush to get out probably hundreds of accumulated orders that were delayed by supply chain issues. Those issues are what caused your five-month wait.

You obviously shouldn't have received a substandard product for the price that you paid, but if they offered three options for compensation I would call that making it right. And if, after they responded to your complaint with three options for making it right, you went on the internet and bashed them anyway, I have to agree that it was unnecessary and I understand their not being happy with you.

If your request was for them to give you a partial refund in addition to covering the cost of the repair or repairing it themselves at no cost, I think that's unreasonable. If you want to be compensated for pain and suffering because your exhaust is missing 1/4" of weld, you can try bringing that claim before a court. I think the court would tell you to pack sand, personally. That's probably a twenty-dollar, ten-minute repair at a fab shop.

[Mp3Supply]

I had nothing but a great product delivered and quality was top notch. The welding technique here is not propriety to AA and it sounds as though AA gave you a few options to remedy the situation, they didn't tell you to go pound sand. Taking it to a good welder in your area is a viable path forward. We all know that would be bad customer service IF they did that but even them offering to pick up the tab was/is also reasonable.

I'm with 1000hp on this one....Inconvenient, yes, end of the world, no. It's not like every customer is coming on here posting about unfinished welds. Humans are making these, mistakes DO happen, contrary to what you think.

I know you will snapback at me on this but common'. You sound like a customer that is unsatisfaiable and there is no winning with that customer so I'd take the return RMA and part separate ways and respectfully just disagree and remove the post.

[RugbyBro]

kindafrosty at the end of the day they are offering you a full refund so they are making an effort to make it right and tbh given they are offering a full refund, I don't see how there can be an expectation of a partial refund and fix. Having said that, I do understand your frustration as it has been a long process and AAs products are marketed as premium products. I will say that offering a refund doesn't buy companies silence from their customers... so that's a bit of an unrealistic expectation for any company to have. Silence ALWAYS costs extra

[JamesGames]

It's pretty obvious at this point their welds are weak or they turned them over way too quickly and have QC issues. I have owned AA EL pipes on both the F*X cars at home with tabs that broke near the downpipes section. Both tabs broke and rattled within a few hundred miles. This isn't isolated to just us, skim through the thread and you'll see other people who also had the same exact issues (and that's only counting those that responded to me). Prior to AA EL pipes I owned 2 sets of AA single mid pipes and both leaked at the ball clamp areas, especially by the rear axle (obvious from condensation on cold starts). Minor issues I could all deal with.

With that said, the issues are small, albeit annoying AF, but theres no replacement for the sound to this date still, so I deal with it. Do I wish the quality control was better, yes - but I can't stand the stock mid pipe sounds so like the old saying goes "beggars can't be choosers" is the mentality I currently have.

Do I recommend the pipes still? Yes. Our cars sound like ass without them, buy and deal w/ a chance there may be an issue that muffler shops can usually fix.

[1000hp]

Originally Posted by kindafrosty

No, there is no valid defense for sending me an uninspected, sub-standard product for such a cost. I pointed out my negative experience which many others in this thread have as well.

If you took a moment to read instead of typing up such an extensive and defensive response, you'd realize they offered two options, neither of which fully remedied MY situation because I still lost MY time and MY money to have their fuck up fixed.

Good for you that you are willing to accept such a remedy, but I am not.

According to the response from AA that was posted here, they offered to A) give you a full refund, B ) have you send the pipe back for them to fix at no cost, or C) reimburse whatever cost you incurred to have the problem fixed at an outside shop. That sounds like three options to me. All of which would remedy your situation, with the exception of whatever time it took you to either ship it back and forth or drive over to an exhaust shop and have three dabs of weld added to the pipe. I'd guesstimate about an hour for option C. Kind of a pain, but not the end of the world considering you just waited five months to get the part.
Yes, I would have accepted at least one of those offers (probably the third one, since that would be the easiest and fastest). I would not ask for one of those solutions plus compensation for the inconvenience. That sounds like Karen horseshit to me.

[kindafrosty]

Originally Posted by 1000hp

According to the response from AA that was posted here, they offered to A) give you a full refund, B ) have you send the pipe back for them to fix at no cost, or C) reimburse whatever cost you incurred to have the problem fixed at an outside shop. That sounds like three options to me. All of which would remedy your situation, with the exception of whatever time it took you to either ship it back and forth or drive over to an exhaust shop and have three dabs of weld added to the pipe. I'd guesstimate about an hour for option C. Kind of a pain, but not the end of the world considering you just waited five months to get the part.
Yes, I would have accepted at least one of those offers (probably the third one, since that would be the easiest and fastest). I would not ask for one of those solutions plus compensation for the inconvenience. That sounds like Karen horseshit to me.

No, there were two options: ship the part back to them or pay for someone local to do this, and the first option was not feasible for a multitude of reasons. There was never any mention of a full refund.

I believe my initial post briefly but clearly articulates the issue, AA's swift but in my eyes unfortunate response, & my unsatisfactory feelings. I've worked with other vendors in the past that would've handled such conflicts differently, but hey, your mileage may vary and I'm not here to discuss that.

I'm looking to move on from this and collect the bare minimum reimbursement for the fix, which as I highlighted in my initial post, AA offered to do right and fix their mistake. However, in no way do I regret sharing this unpleasant event with the community, especially after recently reading a slew of other issues forum members are experiencing.

By the way, the fix wasn't $20.... The pinch weld fix looks great though

[1000hp]

Looks good. Glad you got it resolved.

[pawelczyk7]

M2 comp owner chiming in ,,, currently have AA EL (non res) and MPE (previously AA single) and agree the sound is a game changer for the S55 platform. also find myself holding and rowing through the gears up in the rev range to listen to the sound (coded out burbles as well)....

[hurricane56]

I installed the non-resonated version on my 2017 today. Did anyone find that the overall fitment was average at best? Closest to the downpipes, the mid pipe has minimum clearance on the drivers side. After the s-curve to the rear section, the mid pipe seems to have minimal clearance to the passenger side. All in all the pipes fit, but it required a couple adjustments after the initial install and some bending of the heat shields to eliminate any contact points. Wondering if anyone had the same experience?

Other than that, the mid pipes sound great. ASD and Burrbles coded out for me. The system sounds great with one loud "brappp" when I let off the gas. I'm running the stock downpipes and stock ZCP muffler. Plenty loud for my liking.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by hurricane56

I installed the non-resonated version on my 2017 today. Did anyone find that the overall fitment was average at best? Closest to the downpipes, the mid pipe has minimum clearance on the drivers side. After the s-curve to the rear section, the mid pipe seems to have minimal clearance to the passenger side. All in all the pipes fit, but it required a couple adjustments after the initial install and some bending of the heat shields to eliminate any contact points. Wondering if anyone had the same experience?

Other than that, the mid pipes sound great. ASD and Burrbles coded out for me. The system sounds great with one loud "brappp" when I let off the gas. I'm running the stock downpipes and stock ZCP muffler. Plenty loud for my liking.

fitment is always tight with equal length pipes

[rmanm4]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

fitment is always tight with equal length pipes

That's what she said!

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by rmanm4

That's what she said!

[hurricane56]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

fitment is always tight with equal length pipes

Yeah, tight indeed. I guess my expectations with the fitment of the product is that they wouldn't need too much motivation to get into the right position not to rattle against the heat shields. Given how much readjustment was needed. For my case about three test drives and adjustments, it just felt the Active's welding jig was off or at the very least they have some room for improvement.

[kindafrosty]

In light of recent posts, I wanted let you folks know that ONLYACTIVE took care of me. Obviously this was an isolated incident; they did not intentionally ship the midpipe missing a weld, however I was overly frustrated as you all read. I don't believe I misrepresented Active in my posts, but I did not intend to paint Active in a bad light. While there was some miscommunication, Active promptly responded and solved my issue, and I would shop with Active again.

The fitment is perfect and the midpipe sounds glorious. There's much less rattle than my old VRSF dual midpipe. Looking forward to providing a long-term review in the future.

[Rjpacman]

Originally Posted by JamesGames

It's pretty obvious at this point their welds are weak or they turned them over way too quickly and have QC issues. I have owned AA EL pipes on both the F*X cars at home with tabs that broke near the downpipes section. Both tabs broke and rattled within a few hundred miles. This isn't isolated to just us, skim through the thread and you'll see other people who also had the same exact issues (and that's only counting those that responded to me). Prior to AA EL pipes I owned 2 sets of AA single mid pipes and both leaked at the ball clamp areas, especially by the rear axle (obvious from condensation on cold starts). Minor issues I could all deal with.

With that said, the issues are small, albeit annoying AF, but theres no replacement for the sound to this date still, so I deal with it. Do I wish the quality control was better, yes - but I can't stand the stock mid pipe sounds so like the old saying goes "beggars can't be choosers" is the mentality I currently have.

Do I recommend the pipes still? Yes. Our cars sound like ass without them, buy and deal w/ a chance there may be an issue that muffler shops can usually fix.

Count me another one that broke in the same spot.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by kindafrosty

In light of recent posts, I wanted let you folks know that ONLYACTIVE took care of me. Obviously this was an isolated incident; they did not intentionally ship the midpipe missing a weld, however I was overly frustrated as you all read. I don't believe I misrepresented Active in my posts, but I did not intend to paint Active in a bad light. While there was some miscommunication, Active promptly responded and solved my issue, and I would shop with Active again.

The fitment is perfect and the midpipe sounds glorious. There's much less rattle than my old VRSF dual midpipe. Looking forward to providing a long-term review in the future.

Im glad to hear that

[RugbyBro]

Originally Posted by kindafrosty

In light of recent posts, I wanted let you folks know that ONLYACTIVE took care of me. Obviously this was an isolated incident; they did not intentionally ship the midpipe missing a weld, however I was overly frustrated as you all read. I don't believe I misrepresented Active in my posts, but I did not intend to paint Active in a bad light. While there was some miscommunication, Active promptly responded and solved my issue, and I would shop with Active again.

The fitment is perfect and the midpipe sounds glorious. There's much less rattle than my old VRSF dual midpipe. Looking forward to providing a long-term review in the future.

Where are they holding you??? We’ll send help