F86 Downpipes

[Craig NZ]

Hi guys, I have ordered a Akrapovic Titanium exhaust for my 2016 F86, my next step is replacing the Downpipes, can anyone suggest the best sounding DP to suit the Akrapovic. Any sound videos you have would be great.

[Craig NZ]

Hi, did you have an after market exhaust to go with the Downpipes? If so, what did it sound like with the VRSF dp? Are they cat less and in good condition? How much do you want for them? Flick me an email if you like.
ckbooth@xtra.co.nz

[VETTEPRO]

I've done more experimenting with this exhaust than most. I've had everything off for various modifications at least 10 times.
I think any catless downpipe is going to sound about the same as any other.
I ran catless with various modifications to the stock exhaust and liked everything but the smell. I recently welded in a set of 3" high flow metal matrix cats immediately downstream of the down pipe. It didn't quiet it down too much at all and the smell is just fine. The cats are downstream of the secondary O2 sensors so you'll still have to tune out the light.

[EuroCarFan]

Originally Posted by VETTEPRO

I've done more experimenting with this exhaust than most. I've had everything off for various modifications at least 10 times.
I think any catless downpipe is going to sound about the same as any other.
I ran catless with various modifications to the stock exhaust and liked everything but the smell. I recently welded in a set of 3" high flow metal matrix cats immediately downstream of the down pipe. It didn't quiet it down too much at all and the smell is just fine. The cats are downstream of the secondary O2 sensors so you'll still have to tune out the light.

How hard is it to R&R downpipes and is the smell noticeable in the cabin or just outside?

Been thinking about adding downpipes but my E60 M5 is full catless and the car is loud and smells so my kids complain about it. Since I would use the X5 for long trips with the boys, figured I should keep it mellow but of course, the power hungry mod bug makes me keep looking for more things to add. :P

[VETTEPRO]

They are not too hard to replace. We do them in under 3 hours.
I added two high flow cats just aft of the connection between the downpipe and the main exhaust. I don't notice the smell at all now. It did bother me a little bit before I did that.
It's also considerably louder than with the stock cats. I've dyno tested Corvettes with and without the cats and I usually see about 5 HP or less. Having the cats downstream doesn't effect the turbos nearly as much as having them right at the turbo. The other thing is that the stock cats are not parallel with the turbo outlet. The pipe is welded to the cat at an angle and the exhaust flow hits the substrate at an angle. That's really bad for flow. Keeping the velocity up through the downpipe is key.