RPI In the Bay?

[mfanatic325]

Does anyone in the Bay Area have the RPI GT axleback? I'm thinking about picking one up, but would like to hear it in person especially inside/outside of car. Let me know, thanks!

[crfine88]

I will heading that way in early Sept.

[mfanatic325]

Where are u planning on going by the way? All the way from Phoenix? Wow.
Do u exclusively have the RPI? Have u ever had any other exhaust before? Just curious to hear different ones in person =]

[crfine88]

Originally Posted by mfanatic325

Where are u planning on going by the way? All the way from Phoenix? Wow.
Do u exclusively have the RPI? Have u ever had any other exhaust before? Just curious to hear different ones in person =]

Yeah, I am meeting up with friends and family for a track day @ Thunderhill and I may met up with my sister in SF on the way. I grew up in Northern CA, so I spend a lot of time there.

I am running the RPI with other mods. I have aslo run a couple other exhaust set-ups. RPI is by far the loudest and most raw motor sport sound I have heard. It sounds great, but can be too loud for some.

[mfanatic325]

Originally Posted by crfine88

Yeah, I am meeting up with friends and family for a track day @ Thunderhill and I may met up with my sister in SF on the way. I grew up in Northern CA, so I spend a lot of time there.

I am running the RPI with other mods. I have aslo run a couple other exhaust set-ups. RPI is by far the loudest and most raw motor sport sound I have heard. It sounds great, but can be too loud for some.

Wow awesome. Okay, yeah, I live in Cupertino (which is next to San Jose). So if you're on the way up to S.F. , PM me here and lemme know. I'd love to hear the RPI in person, and check out a fellow forum member's Z4MC so that I may compare my car

[crfine88]

Originally Posted by mfanatic325

Wow awesome. Okay, yeah, I live in Cupertino (which is next to San Jose). So if you're on the way up to S.F. , PM me here and lemme know. I'd love to hear the RPI in person, and check out a fellow forum member's Z4MC so that I may compare my car

Sounds good, I will send you a PM

[Hairballs58]

Any chance this exhaust would pass the db test? I think it sounds awesome but fear the po po!

[crfine88]

You have db tests in CA?

The RPI's are almost as loud as no exhaust at all. The tone is deeper and sounds nicer, but the volume is about the same.

[Hairballs58]

Yeah, cops can write you a ticket if they suspect your exhaust is too loud. Then you goto a test center and if you pass you get a piece of paper that tells other cops you passed. The limit is 95 db. I think another member said that these things go to 115 db!

[crfine88]

Damn, that is lame.

I have a feeling these would not pass.

[mfanatic325]

LoL yeah pretty much any aftermarket exhaust system worth buying will not pass CA regulations, whether it be smog or sound, etc.
I'm looking into a Supersprint Race muffler now, with Ebay headers and possibly some midpipes as well.
But I'd still like to meet up and hear the RPI in person. Also, I was hoping that we could perhaps drive each other's cars for whatever short distance just for comparison purposes. I guess we could turn this into a small Bay Area Z4M meet if people are free =P

[crfine88]

Yeah, a small meet would be cool. I will be passing your area in the morning Wednesday the 8th and in the afternoon Sunday the 12th.

Trading keys though...

We can take the cars out, I just have a hard time letting anyone take my girl out for a spin


My two cents after a long road of mods:
The Supersprint race mufflers look and sound great! Mid pipes don't yeild much improvement. You would be better off putting that money int to a an ESS tune for your ECU. eBay headers can be hit or miss. When they fit the car properly, they are a great value.

[mfanatic325]

Oh crap. I just saw ur modifications journal LOL. Okay yeah, I totally understand if u don't want to trade keys haha. But would u mind taking mine for a spin? My car is pretty much stock. Just want to make sure it's driving how it's supposed to lol

[crfine88]

Originally Posted by mfanatic325

Oh crap. I just saw ur modifications journal LOL. Okay yeah, I totally understand if u don't want to trade keys haha. But would u mind taking mine for a spin? My car is pretty much stock. Just want to make sure it's driving how it's supposed to lol

No problem, I can take your car for a spin. Let me know what day works best.

[mfanatic325]

When is ur track day @ T-Hill? Or what's the planned itinerary for ur visit thus far?

I've driven on T-Hill twice and Laguna Seca twice (all four visits were with my MR2 Turbo). Thinking about running Laguna exclusively from now on though since I feel most comfortable with it and it's much closer to my house compared to T-Hill. But since there's a sound limit @ Laguna, I'm not sure if I should go with a full exhaust system. Might just go with intake, ebay headers, and an ESS tune & call it a day lol.

[crfine88]

Track day is the 10th, and I can't wait

I have to agree with you on Laguna, I think it is a much better track. Man I wish I lived close to that track. I have tracked on it three times and it is my favorite so far. I also catch the American LeMans race @ Leguna every year; It is a tradition in the family.

I figure T-hill would be a good starting point for my coupe, since I have never tracked anything with more power than a stock S54 with an ECU tune. I will be driving through your area on the morning of the 8th and sometime on the 12th (prob in the afternoon),

Good call on the mods. You will get the best gains and performance improvements out of headers and an ESS tune. The mufflers are really just for looks and sound.

[mfanatic325]

Have you been to T-Hill before?
I felt more scared on T-Hill for some reason compared to Laguna. Longer off-camber sweeps perhaps? Anyhow, I just didn't have the same confidence @ T-Hill
It's weird though, because Laguna is supposed to be a more challenging track. I suppose I'm not fast enough yet to match up with Laguna's level of challenges

Let's try and meet up on Sunday the 12th then? Sunday should work best, in case I have classes to take on the morning of the 8th =P

I really want another Z4MC owner's review of my car though, before I start tracking it =]
Because these cars or so rare, I really don't see any other way of comparing.
And it definitely helps since you have track experience

[crfine88]

Yeah I find T-hill to be an easier track to navigate, but it is the track I started on. I guess I am a little intimidated by Laguna because I feel like there is less room for error there. T-hill is pretty forgiving if end up going off the track.

Sunday works well for me, it will be on the tail end of my trip.

I can give you a good review of your M. I have had my coupe for a little over a year and I owned a Z4 M roadster before the coupe. I also helped my dad buy a Z4 M roadster and have spent a lot of drive time in his car. Before the Z4 M cars I had an e46 M3 and a Z3 M roadster with the S54, so I have logged about 100k miles behind the wheel of s54 powered M cars. I can tell you without a doubt that the e86 M is my favorite by leaps and bounds.

[mfanatic325]

It's odd because my first track experience was at T-Hill as well.
I tracked in this order:
1) T-Hill
2) Laguna Seca
3) Laguna Seca
4) T-Hill
And let me tell you, I built up enough confidence from Laguna (for however odd reason), that when I went to T-Hill my 2nd time and tried to carry more speed, I spun out first session of the day mid-session between turns 7 and 8 LOL
What a confidence killer that was

My plans are to run at least one track day with stock everything power-wise, and then go from there

I just read up on your entire mod journal as opposed to just the quick skim through it the other day. Very inspirational

[crfine88]

Originally Posted by mfanatic325

It's odd because my first track experience was at T-Hill as well.
I tracked in this order:
1) T-Hill
2) Laguna Seca
3) Laguna Seca
4) T-Hill
And let me tell you, I built up enough confidence from Laguna (for however odd reason), that when I went to T-Hill my 2nd time and tried to carry more speed, I spun out first session of the day mid-session between turns 7 and 8 LOL
What a confidence killer that was

My plans are to run at least one track day with stock everything power-wise, and then go from there

I just read up on your entire mod journal as opposed to just the quick skim through it the other day. Very inspirational

Laguna is a more technical track; therefor, you can say that you are a more advanced driver and that the reason you made a mistake @ T-hill is because it was boring you

Your plan is a good one. It is always better to run the car stock and slowly upgrade based on your needs. I sort of did things backwards breaking my own rules by adding a lot of mods all at once. It's not ideal, but I had the opportunity to do the modding and not the time to to the tracking. So I guess I ended up doing things backwards. I am going to take it real easy and pretend like it is a brand new car I have never driven before when I am out on the track.

Glad you found the mod journal to be inspirational. The main goal for me with that thread is to help provide information on the different mods out there for our cars. There is shortage of good data on these things since they are pretty rare.

[mfanatic325]

Went with a SuperSprint Race anyhow. But before I install them, I'm testing out muffler-less setup lol. Likin' it so far
Worse comes to worst, I'll sell the SS Race

[krnnerdboy]

I've run the muffler deletes for over a year w/ 1/8th mile track times to prove that there are gains w/ muffler deletes. Enjoy them