Chargepipes? Which to buy?

[E92TiAg335i]

Hey guys. My car is currently BM3 stage 1 93, GTS DCT flash, afe intakes, active auto downpipes.

I'll be getting midpipes and doing the crankhub soon, but figured i'd get chargepipes next.

With that said— from previous posts, it seems like all chargepipes are more or less the same. I'm not trying to get carbon fiber or any fancy colors.

I think i've seen slight variations for meth bungs. I MIGHT consider running meth in the future, but i'm not sure yet.

Which brand did you go with?

I noticed the VRSF cold side and hot side are comparably in price to the BMS cold side and hot side pipes. Which is better? Are there any differences at all?

Are there other brands that everyone buys?

[RSXDC5]

Originally Posted by E92TiAg335i

Hey guys. My car is currently BM3 stage 1 93, GTS DCT flash, afe intakes, active auto downpipes.

I'll be getting midpipes and doing the crankhub soon, but figured i'd get chargepipes next.

With that said— from previous posts, it seems like all chargepipes are more or less the same. I'm not trying to get carbon fiber or any fancy colors.

I think i've seen slight variations for meth bungs. I MIGHT consider running meth in the future, but i'm not sure yet.

Which brand did you go with?

I noticed the VRSF cold side and hot side are comparably in price to the BMS cold side and hot side pipes. Which is better? Are there any differences at all?

Are there other brands that everyone buys?

Mishimoto Charge-pipes.

[E92TiAg335i]

Originally Posted by RSXDC5

Mishimoto Charge-pipes and a CTS turbo J-pipe

Got it! Why did you opt for those if i may ask? I saw the difference in quality between my AA Downpipes and the popular brand i used for a week before i got my AA (no names mentioned), but these are just metal pipes— so i figured there are minimal differences, no?

[RSXDC5]

Originally Posted by E92TiAg335i

Got it! Why did you opt for those if i may ask? I saw the difference in quality between my AA Downpipes and the popular brand i used for a week before i got my AA (no names mentioned), but these are just metal pipes— so i figured there are minimal differences, no?

Charge-pipe fitment needs to be suuuuuper exact or there will be rubbing issues, Mishimoto is one of a few brands with perfect fitment. Lots of brands don't fit that well.

There are a couple brands that make j-pipe's with tighter radius bends (seems to 'pinch' the air flow) and ones that have smoother radius bends that don't pinch.

Good luck & happy modding!

[x622]

Instead of going with metal pipes which are more prone to heat soak, I chose to go with VTT silicone charge pipes. It's that or carbon to avoid the usual heat soak issues that metal ones have.

There's a bunch of vendors that sell the same thing though, it's all the same thing for the most part.
https://vargasturbo.com/product/s55-...-pipes-bundle/

I have the VSRF J-pipe.

[s55jesus]

I have the BP Engineering titanium chargepipes. Fitment is spot on. Includes the J pipe as well.

[Carguy1994]

Originally Posted by E92TiAg335i

Hey guys. My car is currently BM3 stage 1 93, GTS DCT flash, afe intakes, active auto downpipes.

I'll be getting midpipes and doing the crankhub soon, but figured i'd get chargepipes next.

With that said— from previous posts, it seems like all chargepipes are more or less the same. I'm not trying to get carbon fiber or any fancy colors.

I think i've seen slight variations for meth bungs. I MIGHT consider running meth in the future, but i'm not sure yet.

Which brand did you go with?

I noticed the VRSF cold side and hot side are comparably in price to the BMS cold side and hot side pipes. Which is better? Are there any differences at all?

Are there other brands that everyone buys?

I went with injen charge pipes and plm mid pipe https://privatelabelmfg.com/products...0f2f&_ss=r

The mid pipe paired with my older stock competition exhausts was crazy loud it would literally rattle Windows and store front doors.

You won't go wrong going with vrsf charge pipes my buddy has them on his f10 m5 and they fit perfect and do the job just as well as any charge pipe in the market.

[Rokoz]

If you want aluminum ones, Mishimoto is easily the best fitment

[RElias21]

I personally wanted silicone, and went with ESS.

If I were you, I would start first by decided I'd you want silicone or not.

If not, VRSF is a good price point.

Regardless of what you decide, I would look in the classified section and pick up a used one.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Lots of good options, are you looking for aluminum or silicone charge pipes?
If aluminum, matte black, gloss black, or any other finish?

[Trevorstein]

I went with CTS Turbo.

Great Pipes, Good Fitment, Good Pricing and Made in Canada!

[jballer123]

I just bought silicone through Mike at extreme, easy to install the bms, I trimmed my engine cover a little also to keep the oem appearance.

[tomlong]

I would avoid the CTS Turbo charge pipes and J-Pipe. I experienced fitment issues with both. Specifically:

1) Rear charge pipe too short and easily coming loose very frequently, especially under load and heavy vibration. Front charge pipe fits fine. Current solution: I run OEM rear charge pipe with front CTS charge pipe for 20k miles now, no issues.

2) The nipple design on the J-Pipe does not do a good job of creating a tight seal with OEM BMW vacuum line connection. Current solution: Evolution Racewerkz J-Pipe. Nipple connection is shaped just like OEM J-Pipe vacuum line connection.

I can dig up pics if anyone wants more context.

[karlskry]

I went with Mishimoto due to the fitment review's i read on here. My car is otherwise stock, just done for preventative maintenance while it was all off for the spark plugs.

[E92TiAg335i]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

Lots of good options, are you looking for aluminum or silicone charge pipes?
If aluminum, matte black, gloss black, or any other finish?

Most likely aluminum. Is there anything really different between the two?

I'm fine with a regular black chargepipe.

[E92TiAg335i]

Originally Posted by tomlong

I would avoid the CTS Turbo charge pipes and J-Pipe. I experienced fitment issues with both. Specifically:

1) Rear charge pipe too short and easily coming loose very frequently, especially under load and heavy vibration. Front charge pipe fits fine. Current solution: I run OEM rear charge pipe with front CTS charge pipe for 20k miles now, no issues.

2) The nipple design on the J-Pipe does not do a good job of creating a tight seal with OEM BMW vacuum line connection. Current solution: Evolution Racewerkz J-Pipe. Nipple connection is shaped just like OEM J-Pipe vacuum line connection.

I can dig up pics if anyone wants more context.

Wow, really? That's shocking with all the praise they get. You're 100% sure everything was installed correctly? Did you reach out to them?

[tomlong]

I took it to 2 different reputable performance shops who sell CTS Turbo products and they acknowledged the issues outlined above.

Now, it can also be I received mine from a bad batch. Which often happens from mass-produced parts made from molds overseas. Nevertheless, I represent one anecdotal story and probably a negative outlier versus the many others whom did not experience fitment issues.

The silver lining from me, at the end of the day, was that it allowed me to spend 3-4 weeks identifying 4-5 boost leaks prior to hitting the dyno and hitting some very solid numbers. As well as now having a much better understanding of the S55 engine.

[SYT_Shadow]

Originally Posted by E92TiAg335i

Wow, really? That's shocking with all the praise they get. You're 100% sure everything was installed correctly? Did you reach out to them?

just in general, you'd be surprised at the products that receive 'rave reviews' and are garbage

[RSXDC5]

Originally Posted by tomlong

I took it to 2 different reputable performance shops who sell CTS Turbo products and they acknowledged the issues outlined above.

Now, it can also be I received mine from a bad batch. Which often happens from mass-produced parts made from molds overseas. Nevertheless, I represent one anecdotal story and probably a negative outlier versus the many others whom did not experience fitment issues.

The silver lining from me, at the end of the day, was that it allowed me to spend 3-4 weeks identifying 4-5 boost leaks prior to hitting the dyno and hitting some very solid numbers. As well as now having a much better understanding of the S55 engine.

I had this exact same scenario play out on my end in fall.

Btw thank you for pointing out the vacuum nipple issue on the cts j pipe, I have that issue as well but had forgot. I used 2 small zip ties to anchor the oem clip into the cts nipple, wrapping them around the j-pipe circumference.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by E92TiAg335i

Most likely aluminum. Is there anything really different between the two?

I'm fine with a regular black chargepipe.

Best value BMS, MAD, ARM Motorsports, and CTS Turbo.

Best quality Mishimoto and Evolution Racewerks

[Trevorstein]

Originally Posted by tomlong

I took it to 2 different reputable performance shops who sell CTS Turbo products and they acknowledged the issues outlined above.

Now, it can also be I received mine from a bad batch. Which often happens from mass-produced parts made from molds overseas. Nevertheless, I represent one anecdotal story and probably a negative outlier versus the many others whom did not experience fitment issues.

The silver lining from me, at the end of the day, was that it allowed me to spend 3-4 weeks identifying 4-5 boost leaks prior to hitting the dyno and hitting some very solid numbers. As well as now having a much better understanding of the S55 engine.

Strange. I must've received one from a "good batch" because I've had no problem with these coming
loose and I do track my car - at least 5 times since having installed these early last year.

Sure the install is a bit tough, as these are constant diameter (id) pipes as opposed to what (OEM)
was in that (tight) space previously. [Edit: No J-Pipe]

If you thought you received one from a "bad batch", why didn't you contact CTS directly?

CTS assured me they manufacture these in their own facilities so, "molds overseas" (Canada?)
wouldn't be the issue here.


Cheers!

[TopJimmy]

I see you're in Florida where it can get hot. Will you be adding methanol injection? If yes, you need quality metal pipes for good fitment (Mishi, ER, like Mike said). If you want your top engine cover to fit then metal pipes are suggested.

If you will go for power then pick a set of silicone CPs since they don't soak up or transfer heat. They take some tweaking to fit but they work great. You can get an engine cover on but it took me a good bit of playing.

Eventuri has CF tubes shaped like OEM but they're crazy pricey.