iCarbon DP Review w/ Berk DP Back Street...

[Juicehead]

I installed my icarbon DPs this past Saturday so I wanted to do a bit of a review. The DPs looked great, great welds etc...


Installation

If you know someone with small arms, bribe them with beer to help! My forearms are bruised to hell trying to finagle around to get to various bolts.

The holes for the O2 bungs seem to be in a different place on the DPs. I had to unclip the wires from the engine to get more length, anyone else have to do this? Yes, I put the correct O2 bung in the correct hole

I took my time, the install would have taken about 4 hours except I made the classic clamp mistake and it was obstructing the turbo actuator arm, so I had to rinse & repeat...


Sound/Performance

To my shigrin, exhaust volume in cruise is the same as with the cats, under accel, it is a it louder, nothing near obnoxious though. Road noise is actually a tad louder during cruise (damn runcraps)... it does not get loud until about 4000 rpm. WOT is a whole other story!
The sound of the turbos is VERY evident now, sounds so nice.

The major plus to me is the small drone the exhaust had around about 1900-2100 rpm is completely gone.

Not much to say in the way of performance without a dyno honestly, I do notice a bit of a difference. I am Stage 1 Cobb, I get so much wheelspin already, it would be hard to tell if I am getting "more" wheelspin.


I will get some video for you guys ASAP...

[Frampton]

did you do both the berk street and the dp's at the same time?

[Juicehead]

Originally Posted by Frampton

did you do both the berk street and the dp's at the same time?

no, had the berk first (about a month)

[Frampton]

how loud is it with just the mid pipes and sport muffler?

[Juicehead]

Originally Posted by Frampton

how loud is it with just the mid pipes and sport muffler?

not loud at all really.

On a scale of 1-10, stock = 1, straightpipes=10. I would say 4.

At cruise RPM 2500-3000, I could barely hear a thing from the exhaust (still can't). The only thing that annoyed me was the very very light drone while accelerating through 2000rpm which is now gone with the DPs. Just to be clear, I am very picky when it comes to perceived drone etc... for a normal person, it more than likely would not be an issue.

[Frampton]

im picky too, im trying out the berk muffler delete and rr mid pipes to see what loud really means and i would say its probably a 9 and i need to be in the 3-4 range.

maybe ill just order the berk sport tonight and see how it goes, thanks

[RnmEvo9]

Whats the size of the iCarbon downpipes?

I'm going to be putting in my downpipes next week. I've heard that once you put in downpipes, the smooth drivability goes out the window. Say you are putting in about 30% throttle, it would still ramp up to full boost. Are you experiencing this?

Thanks.

[Juicehead]

Originally Posted by RnmEvo9

Whats the size of the iCarbon downpipes?

I'm going to be putting in my downpipes next week. I've heard that once you put in downpipes, the smooth drivability goes out the window. Say you are putting in about 30% throttle, it would still ramp up to full boost. Are you experiencing this?

Thanks.

hmmm, didn't notice any drivability issues, although I have not tried it with stock tune. I am on v201 cobb tune and the boost does come on fairly strong but in my opinion, it is much more fun than v202. I may try going back to v202 pretty soon after this install to see what difference it makes.

[Kamal]

Originally Posted by Juicehead

not loud at all really.

On a scale of 1-10, stock = 1, straightpipes=10. I would say 4.

At cruise RPM 2500-3000, I could barely hear a thing from the exhaust (still can't). The only thing that annoyed me was the very very light drone while accelerating through 2000rpm which is now gone with the DPs. Just to be clear, I am very picky when it comes to perceived drone etc... for a normal person, it more than likely would not be an issue.

Sounds about right! I'm hoping that with the installation of the downpipes I have coming my way (AR design) that the drone is killed completely... it's not too bad now that I've had my exhaust on for ~2 months and it's settled in.

Question tho, I also have the Cobb AP, are you throwing codes/CEL with the downpipe? Or are you running an O2 sim, DP fix, etc. I'd like to install my DPs as soon as I get them, but I don't want to be throwing codes!

[Juicehead]

Originally Posted by Kamal

Sounds about right! I'm hoping that with the installation of the downpipes I have coming my way (AR design) that the drone is killed completely... it's not too bad now that I've had my exhaust on for ~2 months and it's settled in.

Question tho, I also have the Cobb AP, are you throwing codes/CEL with the downpipe? Or are you running an O2 sim, DP fix, etc. I'd like to install my DPs as soon as I get them, but I don't want to be throwing codes!

I threw codes after about 20 miles, I just use the AP to reset. Cobb should have a fix for this when they release stage 2. It really doesn't bother me to have to reset every so often on a (hopefully) short term basis.

It seems that no one is able to get so much as a peep on stage 2 from Cobb.

[Kamal]

Originally Posted by Juicehead

I threw codes after about 20 miles, I just use the AP to reset. Cobb should have a fix for this when they release stage 2. It really doesn't bother me to have to reset every so often on a (hopefully) short term basis.

It seems that no one is able to get so much as a peep on stage 2 from Cobb.

LOL, I tried to just ask about what modifications will stage 2 be designed around and they replied back with a canned response about how they're working hard to ensure support, etc., etc. Completely ignoring the question.

Best guess is full exhaust, although I think it would be nice if it took into account upgraded FMICs.

[OneThreeFive]

I too have a pair of iCarbon downpipes I am about to install. Just waiting on my HPF FMIC. Looking forward to hearing your video. I am still not convinced I need anything above the downpipes + stock catback.

Originally Posted by Kamal

Best guess is full exhaust, although I think it would be nice if it took into account upgraded FMICs.

As far as Cobb's stage 2 is concerned, I have to imagine that a FMIC is a prerequisite. Or in my case, on stage 1, my IATs skyrocket so fast I would be a fool to not upgrade the stock unit. Especially with some of the timing drops I saw in the higher RPMs and summer approaching.

[Juicehead]

So, I did a little playing on the way into work this morning. One thing I did notice is that I get wheelspin at a lower throttle setting than before the DPs.

[Frampton]

Originally Posted by OneThreeFive

I too have a pair of iCarbon downpipes I am about to install. Just waiting on my HPF FMIC. Looking forward to hearing your video. I am still not convinced I need anything above the downpipes + stock catback.



As far as Cobb's stage 2 is concerned, I have to imagine that a FMIC is a prerequisite. Or in my case, on stage 1, my IATs skyrocket so fast I would be a fool to not upgrade the stock unit. Especially with some of the timing drops I saw in the higher RPMs and summer approaching.

The first thing COBB suggested to me after the tune was a radar detector, the second thing they recommended was a new front FMIC. From their testing that was the biggest limiting factor to performance once the car warms up and I am sure will be a pre req for Stage 2...

[Kamal]

Originally Posted by Frampton

The first thing COBB suggested to me after the tune was a radar detector, the second thing they recommended was a new front FMIC. From their testing that was the biggest limiting factor to performance once the car warms up and I am sure will be a pre req for Stage 2...

Good to know... I've got the radar detector just need to get an FMIC now.. leaning towards the HPF because of the stock connections and quality.

[Juicehead]

Originally Posted by Kamal

Good to know... I've got the radar detector just need to get an FMIC now.. leaning towards the HPF because of the stock connections and quality.

HPF is great, just make sure you have a pneumatic cut-off wheel.

[Kamal]

Originally Posted by Juicehead

HPF is great, just make sure you have a pneumatic cut-off wheel.

That's probably the only thing I dread... I've got a dremel which I think should be sufficient, but what good are stock connections if the only way to completely returning to stock involves buying a new plastic piece for a retail price of $250+

[Juicehead]

Originally Posted by Kamal

That's probably the only thing I dread... I've got a dremel which I think should be sufficient, but what good are stock connections if the only way to completely returning to stock involves buying a new plastic piece for a retail price of $250+

Use a cutoff wheel, seriously! You will be under your car for hours with a dremel. You actually need to cut about a 24"+ wide section of plastic out. I will see if I can find the pic I posted...

Edit: Found Pic

[Kamal]

Originally Posted by Juicehead

Use a cutoff wheel, seriously! You will be under your car for hours with a dremel. You actually need to cut about a 24"+ wide section of plastic out. I will see if I can find the pic I posted...

I've got an plug-in dremel and a bunch of cut-off wheels that I used to cut through some really thick fiberglass when I was making an enclosure for my past ride. I've also got some industrial strength shears, so I'm confident that I'll be able to trim whatever it is that needs to be trimmed. How do you like the HPF FMIC and what made you decide to go for it over all the other FMIC options?

[Juicehead]

Originally Posted by Kamal

I've got an plug-in dremel and a bunch of cut-off wheels that I used to cut through some really thick fiberglass when I was making an enclosure for my past ride. I've also got some industrial strength shears, so I'm confident that I'll be able to trim whatever it is that needs to be trimmed. How do you like the HPF FMIC and what made you decide to go for it over all the other FMIC options?

I really liked the idea of it fitting the stock connections.
The price wasn't too bad.
It seems to be the biggest of the bunch without requiring 'serious' modification.

I may have entertained going another direction now knowing that the "trimming" was more "cutting". But all in all, I think I made a good choice.