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Zed. Admire your tenacity and determination. I'm looking at an APR Stage 2 with APR downpipe early next year. After watching you and Fox toil under the car, I'm convinced - I'm paying to get it done! You talked me into it! The luxury of being done with grad school! Thanks for the videos.
DIY changing my downpipe has to be the hardest work I have ever done in my life. Its especially difficult to do on jackstands because the ground clearance is just so little! When I watched videos on changing a downpipe, I thought it would be an easy DIY, boy was I wrong!🥴
I can't imagine how you did this without a hoist zed. It took me 7 hours to fit in my milltek full exhaust. I got in to the same problem with the 2 bolts that hold the down pipe even with a milltek. I drilled the holes bigger twice and they fit perfectly after that.
I can't say I'm trailblazing. A few people have done it on jack stands with no problem. A full exhaust could definitely take 7 hours.. the downpipe alone took me from 11am-4pm, although the rest of the exhaust system is pretty easy.
My friend did a job like this on his own at night in his garage, car fell off the jack stands and she found him dead in the morning. Always put something else under, spare wheels or blocks.
Good job man, good to see mens going through the sweat and knucke scuffs building their cars. Lot a guys in the car scene these days seems to be more concerned about cracking their nails
Right away when I saw this video I was hoping you are running stage 2. I had mk7 gti stage one and 2 and all the shops said never run stage 1 or stock file with a dp because of lean issues. Doesn't matter the tuner. I now have a 2016 golf R with a stage 1 apr tune and again was told do not flash stage 2 without a dp! It won't flip a code if ur running slightly lean.... also APR is apparently faster stage 1 then stage two so haha I'm staying where I am.
Zed, you did not have to modify the downpipe for it to fit. The engine bracket for the downpipe is adjustable. Had you have known that then maybe you wouldn't have publicly bashed a company. The fitment was an error on your part. Not the QC of Circuit Works.
Good work as usual. I bought the AWE downpipe. The quality is great but it's still very pricey there are others in the $700 range that I feel are a better buy. Hopefully, yours survives winters to come. The car sounds wicked so far, ... looking forward to hearing some runs at full bore.
Yeah I'm wondering about longevity too. Will find out I guess. AWE is amazing but too pricey haha some will ask why I bought a nice car and can't afford to mod it properly but those who follow my channel will understand.
zed4me its not too bad. Been running a Chinese dp on my mkv for 4 years now and zero problems. no holes or whatever people complain about. 240whp which is about what others get with name brand dp's. either way, I would like to go better quality just for peace of mind so it's good you didn't go cheap.
Do you have to find an off the record tester to pass a straight though pipe? In UK a decat is illegal on the road, people have to find a friendly MOT tester to pass it! ;)
I'm a big proponent of DIY driveway shenanigans, but I'm curious...what is the ball-park estimate to have someone install it? Getting closer to tuning my Mk7 R too, but I'm having that debate about whether or not to just go straight to stage 2. I'd be more inclined to go straight stage 2 if the DIY route is feasible and makes it more affordable. I just hear people talk about putting things back to stock before taking something in for warranty work and I just can't imagine doing that with your downpipe!
Check engine light can be removed by placing oxygen spacer on the lower oxygen, it's like $20 on eBay. I would get the 90 degree one. If you get tune for the cat, you won't have the check engine but you won't pass the emission because tuner can Not remove check engine and make it ready for emissions.
LOL. I had the same frustration when I was changing my rear sway bar. I thought it was really easy to change it until I was losing blood circulation from my arms. I was really tired under the car, haha. your stony brook hoody must be dirty af.
When you say the smell is strong being catless, do you ever smell it in the cabin at a stop light or anything? Or is it just when you are outside the car? I bought a catless downpipe but am not fond of smelling anything than a clean car!
You shouldn't be able to smell it in the cabin but sometimes I do when the car is at a stop for awhile. For that reason, I'm considering swapping to a catted downpipe soon.
so.... super nice golf r, but not a quality downpipe? makes me wonder about the medschool claim too... the car costs a decent amount monthly even if its not new, and then med school, but you can still plop parts on it?
i got a rev9 catless DP for 200. To me, the material is the same, the welds are great, sounds good, adds a big HP boost (around 30) and never threw a CEL. Got it from their warehouse in el monte, CA.
I'm confused why wouldn't u just upload the stage 2 eurodyne tune? I thought these motors ran lean with a dp n not a proper tune. You didn't seem to struggle with the actual removal of the dp like Radfox did. lol Your getting better with a wrench too👍
I'd like to see if the CEL will come on, so that when I go to get inspection in March, I don't have to deal with any monitors not being ready (stage 2 makes the monitor unavailable to keep CEL off, which will be an issue with inspection). With the DP, I struggled a lot, but his video showing peeling back the heat shield was vital.
zed4me monitor unavailable..really ..I had no idea. hmm.. I'm a smog inspector in ca n the loud exhaust would definitely get my attention to inspect that part more thoroughly.
Smog in CA is definitely more stringent. In New York, they just plug in your car and check to make sure there's no CEL and that all the monitors are ready. Of course by law the inspector is supposed to look through everything but they never do and just leave you with a receipt that says the took off all the wheels to inspect brakes etc which they don't lol
Neil Porter I'm torn. Should I switch to stock map for this week? I know people run a downpipe without a tune with no issue. Not sure if golf R is any different.. or if a stage 1 map with downpipe is worse than stock with downpipe. Really wanna see if the CEL comes on.
I've noticed you mention med school. Just curious, what are you actually going to school for? I'm about to work towards RN & then move forward towards PA.
Medical school generally entails studying towards becoming a doctor, whether that be MD or DO. I just graduated med school. Good luck with RN! My wife is one. Usually people don't do RN to PA but look more into it.
zed4me gotcha man! Well congrats! And I'm going for my ADN because I'm in the military And then will apply for the military's PA program otherwise I would probably go for NP.
hey zed, i have an S3 8V CJXC engine like the MK7 R20... what was the first feeling what you have felt when you drove the car with the catless downpipe, is it worth to to put one? i am planning to delete the resonator and put some straight piped mufflers on all the two sides but thinking of putting catless downpipe but i dont know if it will worth it because it costs 500 euros in the netherlands..
Gorkem li if you don't mind the smell I'd go catless. it's louder and has marginally more horsepower but is a little worse for the environment and harder to pass inspection if that's something that is stringent over there
and the dsg burps or the farts are they harder like exploding something and do you have pops and bangs like turbo anti lag systems? the inspections is not a problem for me hehe
Gorkem li I have the stock muffler otherwise I'm sure it would pop and bang much louder. cars already pretty loud with the downpipe and res delete. the downpipe made the bigger difference though
zed4me oke thank you very much my friend, i recoded and opened my stock muffler valves so it sound better now but i will delete the mid resonator and buy a catless downpipe and will see if it sounds loud and good if not i will make it full straight pipe with valves controlled. btw nice R you got there!!
I don't really have a preference. Catless has been fine except sometimes we smell the exhaust which can be annoying. No cat back only cause the car is really loud already with downpipe and resonator delete. Would be crazy with a cat back exhaust
Nice job! I saw that you can unplug a cable over the tailpipes that leave the stock valves always open. Did you try it? Because I heard that even in sport mode, the valve is closed until aprox 1 500-2500tr/min. Can't wait to hear more about it!
At 5:58 you really should put some small squares of plywood under the jack stands. It will save you driveway and if it's hot enough, the jack stand can get unstable. Block the car like others have suggested.
Yes every part will affect the sound. Most people say a downpipe alone is all the sound change they need. I like the downpipe and resonator delete combined so far.. the drone is actually not terrible in person. I'm even thinking about doing a muffler delete but we'll see.
zed4me : Thanks for the reply. I ask because I have a basic 1.4L MK5 Golf (in the UK) and would like a twin tip back box for the looks, and hopefully a better sound. Not too sure that a full system or changing the Downpipe would help much due to the fact it's not a sporty car and all that :) I don't know much about exhaust systems but I should imagine that a muffler delete would make a good difference...
It came on cause it was reading that the O2 sensor always read too lean. I took it off and have since not gotten a CEL because I switched to the stage 2 tune which eliminates it completely.
Your rear wheel chocks are on the wrong side of the tires!, if the parking brake fails car is likely to roll backwards with the front jacked up, not forwards.
Fair enough, but i would have switched them to the back once it was - can't be too safe when your under a car!. I also tend to stick a second pair of jack stands next to the first ones ready to catch the car if going right under like that, just as a backup in case something happens. Some might think its overkill, but i just like some form of backup - one of those stands fails and its game over!
Yeah! - i would love a lift....but first i need a garage :D, fed up of having to work on the driveway, everything depends on the weather and here in the UK it rains more often than not.
Can you make a video on how to properly lift he golf R and put it on Jack stands as you did in this video (and also the back) Basically where to lift it from the front thats safe so we can see it. Thanks
just wanna let you know, you can get a downpipe in so much better kvality somewhere else, im a welder and know how things should look like, and those welds maaaan, i think my son could make better stainless welds, for real thats gonna crack at some point just letting you know
elyasfy31 That makes no sense. I've heard that a few times but it never been shown true in testing. The resonator does one thing, it adjusts the sound of the exhaust. I deleted mine in my Golf R and have a downpipe. In a normal aspirated motor having an exhaust that's too large can cause torque loss. The turbo that sits right up against the motor has waaaay more of the mythical "back pressure" that some believe the car needs. The resonator sits so far away that it has zero influence on the cars performance.
zed4me I didn't dyno'ed it, but I definitely felt it, it's weird i know but once you Stage 2 it do some acceleration test with and without the resonator
Come on man buy an Audi RS3. With all the money and time you are wasting, buy the car you really wish to have. By the way, you are going to hurt yourself badly one of those days...basically.
![Mk7 Golf R Downpipe Install: Here's how it went for me! [Trackslag 4"]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/2ANL_Pp6MFE/mqdefault.jpg)
Respect for taking on a job like this on your driveway, thankfully the jack stands didn’t fail.
man those jack stands look sketchy
Zed. Admire your tenacity and determination. I'm looking at an APR Stage 2 with APR downpipe early next year. After watching you and Fox toil under the car, I'm convinced - I'm paying to get it done! You talked me into it! The luxury of being done with grad school! Thanks for the videos.
Could probably do it in 1-2hrs if I were to do it again, first time is always a mess. Thanks for the kind words though.
DIY changing my downpipe has to be the hardest work I have ever done in my life. Its especially difficult to do on jackstands because the ground clearance is just so little! When I watched videos on changing a downpipe, I thought it would be an easy DIY, boy was I wrong!🥴
I must say one good thing about living in Jersey we get 5 year new car inspection.
Holy smokes max out jack stand looks like knocking on death's door. 🤯
I can't imagine how you did this without a hoist zed. It took me 7 hours to fit in my milltek full exhaust. I got in to the same problem with the 2 bolts that hold the down pipe even with a milltek. I drilled the holes bigger twice and they fit perfectly after that.
I can't say I'm trailblazing. A few people have done it on jack stands with no problem. A full exhaust could definitely take 7 hours.. the downpipe alone took me from 11am-4pm, although the rest of the exhaust system is pretty easy.
Can't wait to see your stage 2 review as I just did mine 2 weeks ago :D
Christ that drone, gf is gonna love you.
My friend did a job like this on his own at night in his garage, car fell off the jack stands and she found him dead in the morning. Always put something else under, spare wheels or blocks.
Good job man, good to see mens going through the sweat and knucke scuffs building their cars. Lot a guys in the car scene these days seems to be more concerned about cracking their nails
Right away when I saw this video I was hoping you are running stage 2. I had mk7 gti stage one and 2 and all the shops said never run stage 1 or stock file with a dp because of lean issues. Doesn't matter the tuner. I now have a 2016 golf R with a stage 1 apr tune and again was told do not flash stage 2 without a dp! It won't flip a code if ur running slightly lean.... also APR is apparently faster stage 1 then stage two so haha I'm staying where I am.
if you get a check engine light because you removed the CAT you can go into the ECU and remove it. go to your local tuning shop or VW dealer
Zed, you did not have to modify the downpipe for it to fit. The engine bracket for the downpipe is adjustable. Had you have known that then maybe you wouldn't have publicly bashed a company. The fitment was an error on your part. Not the QC of Circuit Works.
Stone cold you should've kept watching the video, I showed it later.
Good work as usual. I bought the AWE downpipe. The quality is great but it's still very pricey there are others in the $700 range that I feel are a better buy. Hopefully, yours survives winters to come. The car sounds wicked so far, ... looking forward to hearing some runs at full bore.
Yeah I'm wondering about longevity too. Will find out I guess. AWE is amazing but too pricey haha some will ask why I bought a nice car and can't afford to mod it properly but those who follow my channel will understand.
zed4me its not too bad. Been running a Chinese dp on my mkv for 4 years now and zero problems. no holes or whatever people complain about. 240whp which is about what others get with name brand dp's. either way, I would like to go better quality just for peace of mind so it's good you didn't go cheap.
those are the most sketchy looking jack stands I have ever seen, at least have a hydraulic jack in place for backup.
nice install man! will be doing my S3 in the next week or so with a Revo decat downpipe!
definitely make a video on how you jacked the car up! nice work
Do you have to find an off the record tester to pass a straight though pipe? In UK a decat is illegal on the road, people have to find a friendly MOT tester to pass it! ;)
I enjoy your videos, and just heard on this one that you're in med school. Great job!!!!
I'm just curious how did you pass your inspection in New York State
I'm a big proponent of DIY driveway shenanigans, but I'm curious...what is the ball-park estimate to have someone install it? Getting closer to tuning my Mk7 R too, but I'm having that debate about whether or not to just go straight to stage 2. I'd be more inclined to go straight stage 2 if the DIY route is feasible and makes it more affordable. I just hear people talk about putting things back to stock before taking something in for warranty work and I just can't imagine doing that with your downpipe!
I got the heat shield off by going through she wheel well with a long extension and a 3/8 drive ratchet
Very n1ce Guide!!! Thx from Germany 🤙
Check engine light can be removed by placing oxygen spacer on the lower oxygen, it's like $20 on eBay. I would get the 90 degree one. If you get tune for the cat, you won't have the check engine but you won't pass the emission because tuner can Not remove check engine and make it ready for emissions.
You can pass emissions with one monitor not ready or unavailable I believe.
Nice video! I like the car
LOL. I had the same frustration when I was changing my rear sway bar. I thought it was really easy to change it until I was losing blood circulation from my arms. I was really tired under the car, haha.
your stony brook hoody must be dirty af.
It's ready for the trash LOL
When you say the smell is strong being catless, do you ever smell it in the cabin at a stop light or anything? Or is it just when you are outside the car? I bought a catless downpipe but am not fond of smelling anything than a clean car!
You shouldn't be able to smell it in the cabin but sometimes I do when the car is at a stop for awhile. For that reason, I'm considering swapping to a catted downpipe soon.
I'm a newbie to mods. I'm puzzled why simple mods like this and better air intakes aren't stock. Emissions issues?
so.... super nice golf r, but not a quality downpipe? makes me wonder about the medschool claim too... the car costs a decent amount monthly even if its not new, and then med school, but you can still plop parts on it?
Denchanter357 lol
Starting to wonder how cheap this Downpipe really was, I got a 42DD catted downpipe for my 7R for $480 on Black Friday.
i got a rev9 catless DP for 200. To me, the material is the same, the welds are great, sounds good, adds a big HP boost (around 30) and never threw a CEL. Got it from their warehouse in el monte, CA.
I'm confused why wouldn't u just upload the stage 2 eurodyne tune? I thought these motors ran lean with a dp n not a proper tune.
You didn't seem to struggle with the actual removal of the dp like Radfox did. lol Your getting better with a wrench too👍
I'd like to see if the CEL will come on, so that when I go to get inspection in March, I don't have to deal with any monitors not being ready (stage 2 makes the monitor unavailable to keep CEL off, which will be an issue with inspection). With the DP, I struggled a lot, but his video showing peeling back the heat shield was vital.
zed4me monitor unavailable..really ..I had no idea. hmm.. I'm a smog inspector in ca n the loud exhaust would definitely get my attention to inspect that part more thoroughly.
Smog in CA is definitely more stringent. In New York, they just plug in your car and check to make sure there's no CEL and that all the monitors are ready. Of course by law the inspector is supposed to look through everything but they never do and just leave you with a receipt that says the took off all the wheels to inspect brakes etc which they don't lol
madmattr6 yes, I wouldn't chance running stage 1 with the downpipe. Well, at least you're just driving easy so hopefully it's fine. #paranoid
Neil Porter I'm torn. Should I switch to stock map for this week? I know people run a downpipe without a tune with no issue. Not sure if golf R is any different.. or if a stage 1 map with downpipe is worse than stock with downpipe. Really wanna see if the CEL comes on.
+zed4me I recently purchased a 90tsi, do you reccomend on doing a catless downpipe just for DSG farts?
I've noticed you mention med school. Just curious, what are you actually going to school for? I'm about to work towards RN & then move forward towards PA.
Medical school generally entails studying towards becoming a doctor, whether that be MD or DO. I just graduated med school. Good luck with RN! My wife is one. Usually people don't do RN to PA but look more into it.
zed4me gotcha man! Well congrats! And I'm going for my ADN because I'm in the military And then will apply for the military's PA program otherwise I would probably go for NP.
What year is your R? Are the blue needles in your gauges stock?
I thought you can get rid of CEL with the eurodyne power tap tool?
On stage 2, yes. But I want to see if CEL comes on with stock tune to make sure I can pass inspection with no problem
hey zed, i have an S3 8V CJXC engine like the MK7 R20... what was the first feeling what you have felt when you drove the car with the catless downpipe, is it worth to to put one? i am planning to delete the resonator and put some straight piped mufflers on all the two sides but thinking of putting catless downpipe but i dont know if it will worth it because it costs 500 euros in the netherlands..
Gorkem li if you don't mind the smell I'd go catless. it's louder and has marginally more horsepower but is a little worse for the environment and harder to pass inspection if that's something that is stringent over there
and the dsg burps or the farts are they harder like exploding something and do you have pops and bangs like turbo anti lag systems? the inspections is not a problem for me hehe
Gorkem li I have the stock muffler otherwise I'm sure it would pop and bang much louder. cars already pretty loud with the downpipe and res delete. the downpipe made the bigger difference though
zed4me oke thank you very much my friend, i recoded and opened my stock muffler valves so it sound better now but i will delete the mid resonator and buy a catless downpipe and will see if it sounds loud and good if not i will make it full straight pipe with valves controlled. btw nice R you got there!!
What about apr downpipe and leave resenator i think your car is too loud
how do you like being catless? any plans on changing the catback?
I don't really have a preference. Catless has been fine except sometimes we smell the exhaust which can be annoying. No cat back only cause the car is really loud already with downpipe and resonator delete. Would be crazy with a cat back exhaust
Nice job! I saw that you can unplug a cable over the tailpipes that leave the stock valves always open. Did you try it? Because I heard that even in sport mode, the valve is closed until aprox 1 500-2500tr/min. Can't wait to hear more about it!
I keep valves open with obdeleven.. I'm experimenting to see if valve open or stock mode is better
zed4me ah yes of course I didn't think about it. I didn't try it on my s3 but I'm scared it'll be to noisy for the highway.
How long did it take to finish installing it?
At 5:58 you really should put some small squares of plywood under the jack stands. It will save you driveway and if it's hot enough, the jack stand can get unstable. Block the car like others have suggested.
Did your car ever throw a CEL with the spacer?
It did. Something about O2 sensor stuck lean.
Is there a follow up video for this aith sound rev ups acceleration ect???
Atish Sewjith yes it's on my channel titled stage 2 golf r
zed4me thanks budd
any cel after install with that spacer?
Would changing a Back Box only give any sound improvement?
Yes every part will affect the sound. Most people say a downpipe alone is all the sound change they need. I like the downpipe and resonator delete combined so far.. the drone is actually not terrible in person. I'm even thinking about doing a muffler delete but we'll see.
zed4me : Thanks for the reply. I ask because I have a basic 1.4L MK5 Golf (in the UK) and would like a twin tip back box for the looks, and hopefully a better sound. Not too sure that a full system or changing the Downpipe would help much due to the fact it's not a sporty car and all that :) I don't know much about exhaust systems but I should imagine that a muffler delete would make a good difference...
I wouldn’t get underneath that shit if you paid me... scary as fuck
Did the check engine light ever come on?
with the spacer the code was that the o2 sensor was running lean so yeah it came on. i've since taken out the o2 spacer and no more CEL
So did the check engine ever come on or did the o2 spacer fix the cel?
It came on cause it was reading that the O2 sensor always read too lean. I took it off and have since not gotten a CEL because I switched to the stage 2 tune which eliminates it completely.
Where in NY are you? If you could make a meet to garden state plaza in NJ we have meets every Thursday.
Maybe in summertime.. I'm out in long island so the drive would be pretty far.
zed4me Yea in the summer we have the best turn outs. Are you on the tri-state page on Facebook?
***** nope can you link me to it?
zed4me easily one of the best groups I've ever joined. Everyones helpful, friendly and more or less become a family.
facebook.com/groups/TriStateMk7/
How prominent was the exhaust smell with the catless downpipe?
Pretty strong, more than I thought would be the case
The stage two will get rid of the light 🤦🏽♀️ and you can run too lean if you have a downpipe without the tune.
Your rear wheel chocks are on the wrong side of the tires!, if the parking brake fails car is likely to roll backwards with the front jacked up, not forwards.
My worry was more car rolling forward while getting jacked up.
Fair enough, but i would have switched them to the back once it was - can't be too safe when your under a car!. I also tend to stick a second pair of jack stands next to the first ones ready to catch the car if going right under like that, just as a backup in case something happens. Some might think its overkill, but i just like some form of backup - one of those stands fails and its game over!
blower You're very right. I just need to get a lift haha
Yeah! - i would love a lift....but first i need a garage :D, fed up of having to work on the driveway, everything depends on the weather and here in the UK it rains more often than not.
blower Check out the things Chris Fix uses
Get the DM tune
Can you tell me what siE the triple square bit is please!!
I think 8mm
I would of just taken this to an exhaust shop, cut the mid pipe add a 3'' straight pipe call it a day, same result.
Can you make a video on how to properly lift he golf R and put it on Jack stands as you did in this video (and also the back) Basically where to lift it from the front thats safe so we can see it.
Thanks
Sure thing, video coming up soon where I can demonstrate that :)
Perfect thank you.
just wanna let you know, you can get a downpipe in so much better kvality somewhere else, im a welder and know how things should look like, and those welds maaaan, i think my son could make better stainless welds, for real thats gonna crack at some point just letting you know
fuck man, i was worried for you life watching the whole video.
Outside sound clips! :)
Soon! Got a nice microphone I'm going to try out
You scare me and take too many dangerous chances.
Is your soundaktor disabled in this video?
It wasn't and yes it did make a significant difference
Can you install this on ramps?
I haven't seen that done yet so not sure.
How long did it take you roughly?
Bout five to six hours
Is this the CTS turbo downpipe?
Sergeant Baggins circuit works
You have to put back the resonator, with no resonator you will lose so much torque I've experienced it myself!
Why would that happen? Is it just butt dyno or you have it tested to be true?
elyasfy31 That makes no sense. I've heard that a few times but it never been shown true in testing. The resonator does one thing, it adjusts the sound of the exhaust. I deleted mine in my Golf R and have a downpipe. In a normal aspirated motor having an exhaust that's too large can cause torque loss. The turbo that sits right up against the motor has waaaay more of the mythical "back pressure" that some believe the car needs. The resonator sits so far away that it has zero influence on the cars performance.
I dynoed my car before and after resonator delete. No loss.
zed4me I didn't dyno'ed it, but I definitely felt it, it's weird i know but once you Stage 2 it do some acceleration test with and without the resonator
elyasfy31 placebo effect my friend
GO SEAWOLVES!!
A dp is a dp to me. I'd go with the cheapest one like you did.
Stainless to non stainless bung weld. That will fail.
bro you drive like a grandma
I love when the OSHA people comment 🙄
Job stoped hacking to cars
Come on man buy an Audi RS3. With all the money and time you are wasting, buy the car you really wish to have. By the way, you are going to hurt yourself badly one of those days...basically.
get that resonator back on. nice vid though
absolutely not.
Damn that's s piss poor downpipe design for the golf/TT cars!👎 GOTTA LOVE RWD DOWNPIPE DESIGNS AND EASY INSTALL!💯👍🏻
Klingt wie eine cola dose
You should never be allowed to touch the wife's car. The sound in the cabin is terrible! Are you studying to be a brain surgeon?