Mod Update:
Installation of the Challenge hfc downpipe and Meisterschaft section 1, 2, and gtc muffler.
First off I want to give huge shout out and thanks to Tom @ EAS who was absolutely instrumental in getting these for me. Way back in August/September of last year Challenge opened up their pre-orders for their downpipe and exhaust. Knowing that EAS is a reseller and the fact I worked with Tom on my e46 I got in touch and ordered both the downpipe and full exhaust. December comes around and the downpipe gets released and promptly shipped but the tracking for the exhaust never changes. Tom follows up and still no eta. January now at the 5 month point I can't take the wait anymore or communication breakdown.
Now 5 months is a long time to wait for something besides wheels. Plus I entered a show if February, wekfest, and wanted to have an exhaust installed for it. So we come up with a solution and that solution is Meisterschaft. Ordered the full gtc system with wireless remote.
Understanding this frustration Tom went above and beyond and hooked up a fantastic price and picked up the tab on FedEx 2nd day air shipping to Hawaii. This I did not expect. As anyone who has shipped 65 pounds of dimensional weight to Hawaii will tell you, that ain't cheap, especially 2nd day air. So huge thank you to Tom for that. Continuing on now...
Packaging:
Both companies packaged their products like their life depended on it. By far the best packaging I have ever seen for exhaust components. I had Supersprint on the e46 and for the most part they shipped the pipes straight in a bag, no box or anything. The two Meisterschaft boxes filled up 7 white trash bags of snow...
Presentation:
Both companies had gorgeous welds and it is a shame the peices can't been seen. Truly gorgeous as far as piping is concerned imo.
Pic of Meisterschaft muffler and Challenge downpipe:
Off to the shop:
Installation:
Quick and easy. Everything took 4 hours in total. We only ran into one minor issue and that was with the Challenge hfc downpipe. As we found out the bolts on the stock downpipe are welded and he Challenge pipe did not come with any. No problem we thought as he just hammered them out. Then we notice they are round top bolts so we couldn't reuse them if we wanted to. Luckily though he had some bolts lying around that fit the nuts perfectly. So just a heads up procure yourself two bolts. I don't have the size so your best bet would be to pick up the two nuts from the stealer and head to a hardware store.
The only other concern worth noting is that the Meisterschaft section 1 becomes the lowest part of your car due to it's 3.5 inch piping diameter. I scrape on speed bumps now.
For the below pics I apologize that I did not get pics of each section getting installed. I was more concerned with getting you guys picks of the wiring for the valve as that could or could not be confusing to some. I know I was concerned about where to wire it from the exhaust to the trunk. Basically it is super easy. We tapped the cigarette lighter wiring in the trunk on the driver side and ran the valve wire through the vent down to the exhaust.
Sound:
Insane! Goes from just over stock to wake the dead loud at the push of a button. The burble from sport mode is more than amplified now if you use the muffler at anything but closed. Fully open is actually too loud for my taste but I'm sure some of you will like that. I'm finding out that I'm liking the volume right around quarter open or so. I know I know weak but I don't like wake the dead exhaust for normal commuting. I love being able to control the sound though, it'd definietly cool. I'm also going to get it programmed into the homelink buttons so I can be ultra cool guy lol...
Driving impressions:
Definitely noticeable. If you cant feel the increase you need help. Everything feels sharpened up now if that makes sense.
On to the pics:
Stock tiny exhaust:
The stock system is one long piece:
Stock removed:
Stock downpipe:
Removed:
Challenge HFC Downpipe installed:
Wiring of the Meisterschaft gtc valve system:
Trunk 12v power outlet wiring (cigarette lighter) we used. This is behind the driver side carpet panel:
Valve wire going through the vent into the bumper:
Wireless module mounted with velcro against back trunk and wires tapped. Also note the bundled excess valve wire on the left:
Pic with the 12v attached before sliding the carpet in place:
This is the wire coming down from the vent into the bumper. Need to remove the black plastic trim that's bolted underneath the car next to the muffler to gain access. The valve wire is the one with letters on it:
Wire path from the valve solenoid itself. We are going to loop it around the diffuser mount:
Looped around. The wire goes to the driver side bumper and up to the trunk vent from here:
Tips:
Muffler and section 2:
Here is where you can see how low the section 1 sits:
The end. Never posted videos before so I will try and figure that out. Most likely going to be iphone quality though.
Let me know if you guys have any questions and I will do my best to answer them.
