| Boss Paco |
02-27-2014 07:12 PM |
My Invidia Overpipe Fiasco [Product Review]
9 Attachment(s)
First off, let me state this for the record: I have owned and installed several Invidia products in the past. Up until just recently, you could say that I was 100% satisified. I am currently running a full Invidia exhaust on my BRZ save an inch section to extend my overpipe to fit.
Recently I installed the Speed by Design turbo kit and Invidia front pipe on my car which already had the N1 catback. I thought the SBD downpipe would replace the overpipe but I was wrong. In the interest of moving forward, we tuned it as is. The car made 248whp and I was happy.
Monday I placed an order for the Invidia overpipe and had it later that week. The following Tuesday I went back to RIP Tuning to put it back on the lift so we could slap it on, then get more dyno time.
When we examined the piece, it was definitely a well built pipe and I was stoked. Well, that was until we bolted it to the down pipe and noticed that it was touching the back of the head and the frame rail. Upon closer inspection we saw that with the front pipe at the point where it could bolt to the bracket, the overpipe was coming up nearly an inch short and the flange was a little cock-eyed. It wasn't going to work.
I tried tugging and such, but there was no hope. Brad called Invidia directly after I could not find contact information for the vendor I purchased from since this was sort of a critical moment. The support on the other end of the line at Invidia was a tad bit lack-luster.
Perhaps it's cultural differences, but he was not very sympathetic nor understanding that he wasn't talking to two teenagers in their mother's garage trying to put loud pipes on their ride. We tried to explain all of the issues, but all he seemed interested in was telling us that we needed to start from the front to the back in the mounting sequence.
He didn't listen when we tried to explain the lack of clearance and where it was touching the motor and no matter what, it would not mate to the flange on the front pipe. Basically, we told him that we were going to have to chop it in two and add more to it. That caught his attention and asked us to email pics. We did. As far as I know right now, they have not called Brad back at RIP Tuning and that was on Tuesday.
Nevermind the fact that the stock overpipe fit just fine and that if someone just wanted to buy an overpipe (why?) to bolt in, it wouldn't work. It's too short and it's a little tweaked.
So, below is a few pics of our journey. I may make a video to show just how much work went into fixing their mistake. I documented it on my video camera. Thankfully, Brad at RIP Tuning is a talented welder/fabricator. Thanks to Invidia for the $200.00 in materials. Sure is shiny!
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