now ive got the bug..

[rocket1]

to visit mrc. i,ve had my b7 nearly 2 years and its only a toy so not in it every week. Was planning on a front end paint job as i caught the garage wall on the wing last year and thought at the same time i could loose the chips from the front end. Just trawled thru ross,s posts and videos and now wanna have mine fettled with and have paintwork next year! Mines bog standard with 90k on it and afaik runs really nice, however could do with a little more noise (not excessive as have 2 young children), wanna keep the cats, a carbon clean if needed, remap and do they deflap the manifold??. I,d just like it to run at its best without spending mega. I,m also looking at 500 mile round trip to mrc. Its had full audi history and was only serviced in the last 6 months, and i fitted new cooler and pipework last winter but wouldn,t mind all transmission fluids changed too. Anyone throw in some ideas, possible rough costs to expect.

[NJMAudiRS4]

For a full carbon clean and manifold, with a remap you need to budget approx £2k. I've recently had mine done and with a few extra items and the vat it was £2.6k
If you have a standard exhaust have the pre cats removed, leaving the main cats will gain a few more horses and also give a little extra sound, not enough to scare the kids (my 2yr old loves mine)
afaik they lock the flaps, you can ask to have them removed.
Well worth it the drive home will be epic !!

[rocket1]

Thanks mate, Also been reading about centre section removal too, My valves are disconnected and open all the time. Wouldnt mind them working as they should. What benefits are there from a deflapped manifold?

[NJMAudiRS4]

Benefits are better throttle response, however due to the map it can be a bit lumpy/ clumsy when pulling off if in sport mode especially in stop start traffic. Sport button off its not bad you learn to drive around it or adapt.
You'll get more bass removing the centre sections but you may also get drone, usually around 2k revs, I get it in mine so I've adapted my driving style, leave it in a higher gear until you can get upwards of 50mph the drone disappears.
I like the option of having operational valves (my exhaust is quite loud with the valves open) so I keep them closed when I pull onto the drive so as not to annoy the neighbours too much !!

[RichieRS]

I have the valves disconnected and the centre section removed on my standard exhaust. at idle and at low revs its not to bad, but when you give it a blip or your at WOT it really howls. As said above, it can drone a little at or around 2k but tbh it really doesn't bother me at all.
It can be pretty loud though when you start it from cold and the secondary air system is doing its thing. For me this is quite often early in the morning so i'm sure the neighbours aren't so keen

[rocket1]

Thanks richie! Did you have an x pipe fitted instead or just 2 straight pipes welded in place. I read somewhere about having the 2 centre pipes linked in some way for better gas flow!? I might try this first as the miltek i would want is a resonated valved so the most expensive choice. thanks guys

[hughes457]

Benefits are better throttle response, however due to the map it can be a bit lumpy/ clumsy when pulling off if in sport mode especially in stop start traffic. Sport button off its not bad you learn to drive around it or adapt.
You'll get more bass removing the centre sections but you may also get drone, usually around 2k revs, I get it in mine so I've adapted my driving style, leave it in a higher gear until you can get upwards of 50mph the drone disappears.
I like the option of having operational valves (my exhaust is quite loud with the valves open) so I keep them closed when I pull onto the drive so as not to annoy the neighbours too much !!

mate your exhaust is QUITE loud with valves open is an understatement lol I still bang on about the passenger ride you gave me

[ChrisW]

I have the valves disconnected and the centre section removed on my standard exhaust. at idle and at low revs its not to bad, but when you give it a blip or your at WOT it really howls. As said above, it can drone a little at or around 2k but tbh it really doesn't bother me at all.
It can be pretty loud though when you start it from cold and the secondary air system is doing its thing. For me this is quite often early in the morning so i'm sure the neighbours aren't so keen

I have this exact set-up too, the sound it makes on start up wouldn't sound amiss in the company of supercars 10x its value.

Agree with the drone at 2k too!

[RichieRS]

Thanks richie! Did you have an x pipe fitted instead or just 2 straight pipes welded in place. I read somewhere about having the 2 centre pipes linked in some way for better gas flow!? I might try this first as the miltek i would want is a resonated valved so the most expensive choice. thanks guys

Just straight pipes mate. It was done by the chap that previously owned it but i'm hoping to get a better system sooner rather than later. I have heard the X-pipe is beneficial for power but my car is stock at moment so its not like I'm trying to eek out every last BHP lol.

The guy I bought the motor from did say a friend of his had the catback non res Milltek and the noise was pretty much the same!!!.

[toyneg]

if you get the MRC Stage 2 they can map in a quiet start programme if annoying the neighbours is an issue for you. When I got my non res Milltek it was pretty antisocial on a cold start to say the least, now it just starts normally.

[RichieRS]

I have the valves disconnected and the centre section removed on my standard exhaust. at idle and at low revs its not to bad, but when you give it a blip or your at WOT it really howls. As said above, it can drone a little at or around 2k but tbh it really doesn't bother me at all.
It can be pretty loud though when you start it from cold and the secondary air system is doing its thing. For me this is quite often early in the morning so i'm sure the neighbours aren't so keen

I have this exact set-up too, the sound it makes on start up wouldn't sound amiss in the company of supercars 10x its value.

Agree with the drone at 2k too!

I love the noise when its sat at just over 1k revs popping and banging for the 30seconds to a minute after starting. Im pretty sure the neighbours are not so keen at 5:30am in the morning though haha

[coldo]

Out of interest - would your local custom exhaust workshop be the place to go for a centre section removal? What sort of money should I be looking at paying?

Is it as simple as removing centre section with straight (or X) pipes? The car then runs as it did before but obviously with a bit more shouting? Excuse my igorance on exhaust stuff!

[NJMAudiRS4]

Benefits are better throttle response, however due to the map it can be a bit lumpy/ clumsy when pulling off if in sport mode especially in stop start traffic. Sport button off its not bad you learn to drive around it or adapt.
You'll get more bass removing the centre sections but you may also get drone, usually around 2k revs, I get it in mine so I've adapted my driving style, leave it in a higher gear until you can get upwards of 50mph the drone disappears.
I like the option of having operational valves (my exhaust is quite loud with the valves open) so I keep them closed when I pull onto the drive so as not to annoy the neighbours too much !!

mate your exhaust is QUITE loud with valves open is an understatement lol I still bang on about the passenger ride you gave me

Thanks, it still makes me smile especially in and out of traffic with sport button pressed

[NJMAudiRS4]

Out of interest - would your local custom exhaust workshop be the place to go for a centre section removal? What sort of money should I be looking at paying?

Is it as simple as removing centre section with straight (or X) pipes? The car then runs as it did before but obviously with a bit more shouting? Excuse my igorance on exhaust stuff!

I would find a reputable or highly recommended exhaust specialist near to you and pop in and tell them what you want. They could probably do it in a couple of hours, cost wise £200 max I wouldn pay any more.

I take it you have a standard system on the car, if so then to gain those extra horses and a few more decibels,the ideal option without buying a new system would be to take out the pre-cats and the centre section pipes, the x-pipe will aid in better flow for the exhaust gases.

If you take out the pre-cats then you need to space out the lambda sensors so that it won't throw any error codes

If your anywhere near Wellingborough go and see the lads at J C Weldfab, they can help you out

[MikeFish]

If you take out the pre-cats then you need to space out the lambda sensors so that it won't throw any error codes

Or take it to MRC for a remap!!