Terrible experience with RPI
09-23-2009, 03:59 PM
#1
Well clearly I will be in the minority here so no need to tell me that I am "wrong" or tell me this is the case as I myself just bought an RPI for my 530 because of all the positive things I read on this board.
I literally had bought an eisenmann race exhaust and 2 days later, after reading on this board about the positive RPI posts, I canceled that order and proceeded to order an RPI exhaust-so there is a first for everything.
Now I understand the Inline 6 crowd is not a money maker for RPI so I clearly know this will have little to do with most people because most of you dealing with RPI product have V8's or are M5's. I personally could not afford more than my 07 530 at age 27 and did not want a 3 series-and take major pride in my car-so not your typical I6 owner in that regard-(save all the people here as we are all enthusiasts clearly)
So this started with some early email's with questions I had-I had owned a couple different exhausts before and had some questions on their reasoning for the design of this exhaust basically is what it came down to-ie-location of the cut, length of pipe, diameter of piping etc-some details to understand better the technical reason behind the design of this exhaust.
My fear was that it was simply thrown together based on research done on V8 models. I got some normal replies that only really would say that if i modified anything, they could not guarentee promised gains-but did skirt around the question.
Well after recieving the exhaust BRAND NEW from Joe at trinity (that is who I purchased it from, I had further questions as I posted in a below thread. I was told by a couple members how great the customer service was and to just call them and they will talk me through the install. Well I had already emailed them yesterday with questions and was going to go ahead and call tomorrow when I was at the shop to get it installed.
So with that said-I came home drooling over my exhaust sittin gin my living room, excited and saw a reply from RPI-that went on to convey the following-paraphrased from memory "the reason your exhaust is wierd is because whoever you bought it from modiied it-you just use the adapter given and otherwise it bolts on like stock."
I bought this BRAND new from Joe as stated-yet was automatically accused of otherwise, and if anyone can take the time to check out the RPIpower.com site and read the 530 exhaust instructions you will see what I am speaking of-but these were the questions I had asked him in the prior email and did not get an answer to any of them-all I got was that rude 1 line email back. My questions were the following.
1.In picture number 3 it shows a hand with a bolt dealing with the second hanger apparatus-It is unclear if this piece needs adjusting or what the picture is telling me (keep in mind there are no instructions-just a bunch of pictures)
2.It was unclear to an amateur like myself how the connection to the OEM pipe was made-it is not clear from the pictures and I asked if he could clarify the following--if the adapter piece went inside the OEM pipe and then the clamp banded over the OEM pipe with the adapter inside or was it a butt joint where the band clamp was supposed to clamp the adapter as a butt joint.--or any explanation of exactly what to do here.
3. Why the RPI piping is SMALLEr in diameter than stock-2.75 OEM piping-which I had never seen before and think is a valid question to ask as this makes little sense to me. I have never in my life read of an aftermarket exhaust using a smaller diameter-I completely understand not using a larger than stock diameter but a smaller diameter seemed odd to me-yet absolutely no response to this.
So that is where I am at, I would never buy or use a single RPI product again-I am not racing or anything-simply trying to enjoy a hard earned car of my dreams-looking for a nice sounding muffler without any loss of power but to be honest a few hp either way is not going to effect me-but I bought this because of all the "good press" RPI had-so considering it was my major factor in not buying a more reputable exhaust such as eisenmann that has decades of reputation-I thought I would warn anyone else interested in a 530i exhaust. So if you are a 530i/528 owner ask yourself this
1.Why is RPI unwilling to comment on their design, specifically the use of smaller diameter pipes in the RPI system which is completely non-sensical as far as creating power is concerned (maybe its not but the fact they had no answer to this was the concern)
2.Disrespectful replies and customer service
3.Again no answers when inquiring anything into their design
You can decide for yourself but the above three factors are not something I consider good business-I know lots have had good experiences so that is great-but I hated the way I was treated and maybe I can stop one other person from purchasing RPI-and I will feel better. I wish I would have stuck with eisenmann-my true thought is the 530 exhaust was thrown together without even knowing the piping size of the car and no thought or testing went into this product-just a quick product to make some extra dough-
I literally had bought an eisenmann race exhaust and 2 days later, after reading on this board about the positive RPI posts, I canceled that order and proceeded to order an RPI exhaust-so there is a first for everything.
Now I understand the Inline 6 crowd is not a money maker for RPI so I clearly know this will have little to do with most people because most of you dealing with RPI product have V8's or are M5's. I personally could not afford more than my 07 530 at age 27 and did not want a 3 series-and take major pride in my car-so not your typical I6 owner in that regard-(save all the people here as we are all enthusiasts clearly)
So this started with some early email's with questions I had-I had owned a couple different exhausts before and had some questions on their reasoning for the design of this exhaust basically is what it came down to-ie-location of the cut, length of pipe, diameter of piping etc-some details to understand better the technical reason behind the design of this exhaust.
My fear was that it was simply thrown together based on research done on V8 models. I got some normal replies that only really would say that if i modified anything, they could not guarentee promised gains-but did skirt around the question.
Well after recieving the exhaust BRAND NEW from Joe at trinity (that is who I purchased it from, I had further questions as I posted in a below thread. I was told by a couple members how great the customer service was and to just call them and they will talk me through the install. Well I had already emailed them yesterday with questions and was going to go ahead and call tomorrow when I was at the shop to get it installed.
So with that said-I came home drooling over my exhaust sittin gin my living room, excited and saw a reply from RPI-that went on to convey the following-paraphrased from memory "the reason your exhaust is wierd is because whoever you bought it from modiied it-you just use the adapter given and otherwise it bolts on like stock."
I bought this BRAND new from Joe as stated-yet was automatically accused of otherwise, and if anyone can take the time to check out the RPIpower.com site and read the 530 exhaust instructions you will see what I am speaking of-but these were the questions I had asked him in the prior email and did not get an answer to any of them-all I got was that rude 1 line email back. My questions were the following.
1.In picture number 3 it shows a hand with a bolt dealing with the second hanger apparatus-It is unclear if this piece needs adjusting or what the picture is telling me (keep in mind there are no instructions-just a bunch of pictures)
2.It was unclear to an amateur like myself how the connection to the OEM pipe was made-it is not clear from the pictures and I asked if he could clarify the following--if the adapter piece went inside the OEM pipe and then the clamp banded over the OEM pipe with the adapter inside or was it a butt joint where the band clamp was supposed to clamp the adapter as a butt joint.--or any explanation of exactly what to do here.
3. Why the RPI piping is SMALLEr in diameter than stock-2.75 OEM piping-which I had never seen before and think is a valid question to ask as this makes little sense to me. I have never in my life read of an aftermarket exhaust using a smaller diameter-I completely understand not using a larger than stock diameter but a smaller diameter seemed odd to me-yet absolutely no response to this.
So that is where I am at, I would never buy or use a single RPI product again-I am not racing or anything-simply trying to enjoy a hard earned car of my dreams-looking for a nice sounding muffler without any loss of power but to be honest a few hp either way is not going to effect me-but I bought this because of all the "good press" RPI had-so considering it was my major factor in not buying a more reputable exhaust such as eisenmann that has decades of reputation-I thought I would warn anyone else interested in a 530i exhaust. So if you are a 530i/528 owner ask yourself this
1.Why is RPI unwilling to comment on their design, specifically the use of smaller diameter pipes in the RPI system which is completely non-sensical as far as creating power is concerned (maybe its not but the fact they had no answer to this was the concern)
2.Disrespectful replies and customer service
3.Again no answers when inquiring anything into their design
You can decide for yourself but the above three factors are not something I consider good business-I know lots have had good experiences so that is great-but I hated the way I was treated and maybe I can stop one other person from purchasing RPI-and I will feel better. I wish I would have stuck with eisenmann-my true thought is the 530 exhaust was thrown together without even knowing the piping size of the car and no thought or testing went into this product-just a quick product to make some extra dough-
09-23-2009, 04:11 PM
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The exhaust has hours of r&d in it....They did my car and it took several weeks of testing and tuning before they released it...The 530 exhaust was done before the v8's exhaust were made...So to say they just slapped some stuff together is totally incorrect....I know why they use smaller pipe, but I will let Eloy answer this for you....Lets put it this way, Whatever RPi uses, it will GAIN power or they will NOT sell it.....Who did you send emails too?
09-23-2009, 04:13 PM
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You are right that you rarely read negative thingd about RPI or their products here. The OP has raised some very specific complaints so I am very interested in why PRI has to say in response or, hopefully, to satisfy the OO's concerns.
oh snap....sorry to hear about your troubles with rpi. i think this is the first bad review ive ever read on them.
09-23-2009, 04:19 PM
#6
Hey as I said I have the scoops and now the exhaust-for the very reason they offered great sound, no loss in power from what I gathered and a great reputation-
I am not and was not critisizing their design-simply believing this is a reasonable question without going into the details that you probably all already know regarding diamter of exhaust piping and its effects on power in general-with the bottom line being that the diameter is important-So all I did and expect was some insight as to what went into their design-I dont think that is unreasonable considering I think we all would agree after the AFE intake incident-anyone selling a product should have to explain their design and why it is worth X amount of money etc.
I was never rude or pushy-just simply inquired so I could better understand-Not accusing them of anything or critisizing anything.
The third thing I forgot to mention was when I asked RPI about the fact the third Hanger in the 530 system was eliminated with the RPI system-and agian I simply asked why is the cut made specifically here-and not slightly before the hanger in order to leave it in tact as well as making putting the stock system back on much easier-again no answer to htis which I think is very reasonable considering many of us lease the car and will want to return to stock.
Again not telling them how they should make things-just wondering why to understand better-again do not think this is unreasonable.
I dont want to start a bashing of myself-good to see loyality, I am just stating what happened-not my opinion or anything-then people can decide for themselves and make an informed decision, just as I did with thei nfo available (which was 100 percent good) at the time. If I had seen a post like this I certainly would have not shelled out the cash without atleast getting some input on the topics as atleast in my eyes find them more than valid questions when spending 900 dollars (which to me is a LOT Of money)
I am not and was not critisizing their design-simply believing this is a reasonable question without going into the details that you probably all already know regarding diamter of exhaust piping and its effects on power in general-with the bottom line being that the diameter is important-So all I did and expect was some insight as to what went into their design-I dont think that is unreasonable considering I think we all would agree after the AFE intake incident-anyone selling a product should have to explain their design and why it is worth X amount of money etc.
I was never rude or pushy-just simply inquired so I could better understand-Not accusing them of anything or critisizing anything.
The third thing I forgot to mention was when I asked RPI about the fact the third Hanger in the 530 system was eliminated with the RPI system-and agian I simply asked why is the cut made specifically here-and not slightly before the hanger in order to leave it in tact as well as making putting the stock system back on much easier-again no answer to htis which I think is very reasonable considering many of us lease the car and will want to return to stock.
Again not telling them how they should make things-just wondering why to understand better-again do not think this is unreasonable.
I dont want to start a bashing of myself-good to see loyality, I am just stating what happened-not my opinion or anything-then people can decide for themselves and make an informed decision, just as I did with thei nfo available (which was 100 percent good) at the time. If I had seen a post like this I certainly would have not shelled out the cash without atleast getting some input on the topics as atleast in my eyes find them more than valid questions when spending 900 dollars (which to me is a LOT Of money)
09-23-2009, 04:20 PM
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Originally Posted by skeeter' post='1015201' date='Sep 23 2009, 08:11 PM
The exhaust has hours of r&d in it....They did my car and it took several weeks of testing and tuning before they released it...The 530 exhaust was done before the v8's exhaust were made...So to say they just slapped some stuff together is totally incorrect....I know why they use smaller pipe, but I will let Eloy answer this for you....Lets put it this way, Whatever RPi uses, it will GAIN power or they will NOT sell it.....Who did you send emails too?
09-23-2009, 04:27 PM
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Based on the time I spent with Eloy and RPI staff this past weekend, this sounds completely out of character for any person related to RPI that I met. Eloy actually went into detail about how they research and test different pipes, mufflers, etc. He went into detail about the manufacturing process, their commitment to quality and excellence and to provide only the best in customer service. I have to say that Eloy and the people that I met that are tied to RPI are a class act!
09-23-2009, 04:32 PM
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I just contacted Eloy and shared this thread with him. I'm sure he'll reply shortly. Certainly, there must be a mix-up.
09-23-2009, 04:34 PM
#10
There is no mix up-here is the last couple emails I sent and the replies
...............................................
Starting with Eloy's reply to me today:
All that you need to do is cut, use the adaptor, and everything else bolts on like stock. The reason your exhaust is weird is because who ever owned it before you modified the exhaust.
Regards,
Eloy Way
Race Precision, Inc.
7029 Marcelle Street
Paramount, CA 90723
Tel: 562-630-5966
Fax: 562-630-5968
-----Original Message-----
From: sleepyca31@aol.com [mailto:sleepyca31@aol.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 6:32 PM
To: sales@raceprecision.com
Subject: Instructions for 530
Hey Eloy, I apologize to keep bothering you but I just looked at the 530 exhaust instructions and seriusly have no clue what a couple of the steps are and I recieved my exhaust and was going to get it installed tomorrow but now I am completely confused so if you could help me out that would be great, or putting some text boxes with the pictures would go a llong way.
1.On the third picture-what exactly is going on with that second hanger-is he adding or removing a screw and then what do you do with it-basically what is picture 3 saying and what all needs to be done with that second hanger?
2.The entire connecting the pipes. What is the red tube stuff? How exactly is the band clamp attached to that smaller piece-does the smaller piece fit INTO the oem pipe or is the small piece you provide banded together to the OEM piece of the pipe. It is unclear. To me it looks like you put the red stuff onto the small piece, that piece than inserts INTO the OEM piece. Then you put a band clamp over top the OEM piece only that has the little piece inside?
3. You dont use that third hanger at all with the RPI exhaust correct?
If you could clarify these things I would appreciate it-I dont want to have problems down the line with leaks. Thanks so much-mike
-----Original Message-----
From: Race Precision <sales@raceprecision.com>
To: sleepyca31@aol.com
Sent: Tue, Sep 15, 2009 7:40 pm
Subject: RE: question about 530i exhaust
Im not really sure what you are asking me because some of the sentences dont make sense. lol. Anyhow, we always start design of the exhaust systems by measuring egt and surface temps, then dyno testing. We can talk more about it in person at the meet this weekend if you are coming.
Regards,
Eloy Way
Race Precision, Inc.
7029 Marcelle Street
Paramount, CA 90723
Tel: 562-630-5966
Fax: 562-630-5968
-----Original Message-----
From: sleepyca31@aol.com [mailto:sleepyca31@aol.com]
Sent: Saturday, September 12, 2009 2:48 PM
To: sales@raceprecision.com
Subject: Re: question about 530i exhaust
Hey Man, I bought an exhaust from you and never heard back to a question that I just was more wanting an expert opinion like yourself to shed some light. I am a very very small amateur with tuning cars etc. I just simply wondered with the Highter life on the intake side an exhaust side with the VVT in the N52-does this effect the exhaust pulses enough to where this would make a difference in the tuning of the exhaust-atleast horsepower wise? I could care less-I have a 530, Obviously I did not get it for the gobs of power, but just more wanted to know technically for my own knowledge-what you could shed on how you tune the exhaust based on factors like valvle lift etc. Speed of exhaust gasses. thanks man!
...............................................
Starting with Eloy's reply to me today:
All that you need to do is cut, use the adaptor, and everything else bolts on like stock. The reason your exhaust is weird is because who ever owned it before you modified the exhaust.
Regards,
Eloy Way
Race Precision, Inc.
7029 Marcelle Street
Paramount, CA 90723
Tel: 562-630-5966
Fax: 562-630-5968
-----Original Message-----
From: sleepyca31@aol.com [mailto:sleepyca31@aol.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 6:32 PM
To: sales@raceprecision.com
Subject: Instructions for 530
Hey Eloy, I apologize to keep bothering you but I just looked at the 530 exhaust instructions and seriusly have no clue what a couple of the steps are and I recieved my exhaust and was going to get it installed tomorrow but now I am completely confused so if you could help me out that would be great, or putting some text boxes with the pictures would go a llong way.
1.On the third picture-what exactly is going on with that second hanger-is he adding or removing a screw and then what do you do with it-basically what is picture 3 saying and what all needs to be done with that second hanger?
2.The entire connecting the pipes. What is the red tube stuff? How exactly is the band clamp attached to that smaller piece-does the smaller piece fit INTO the oem pipe or is the small piece you provide banded together to the OEM piece of the pipe. It is unclear. To me it looks like you put the red stuff onto the small piece, that piece than inserts INTO the OEM piece. Then you put a band clamp over top the OEM piece only that has the little piece inside?
3. You dont use that third hanger at all with the RPI exhaust correct?
If you could clarify these things I would appreciate it-I dont want to have problems down the line with leaks. Thanks so much-mike
-----Original Message-----
From: Race Precision <sales@raceprecision.com>
To: sleepyca31@aol.com
Sent: Tue, Sep 15, 2009 7:40 pm
Subject: RE: question about 530i exhaust
Im not really sure what you are asking me because some of the sentences dont make sense. lol. Anyhow, we always start design of the exhaust systems by measuring egt and surface temps, then dyno testing. We can talk more about it in person at the meet this weekend if you are coming.
Regards,
Eloy Way
Race Precision, Inc.
7029 Marcelle Street
Paramount, CA 90723
Tel: 562-630-5966
Fax: 562-630-5968
-----Original Message-----
From: sleepyca31@aol.com [mailto:sleepyca31@aol.com]
Sent: Saturday, September 12, 2009 2:48 PM
To: sales@raceprecision.com
Subject: Re: question about 530i exhaust
Hey Man, I bought an exhaust from you and never heard back to a question that I just was more wanting an expert opinion like yourself to shed some light. I am a very very small amateur with tuning cars etc. I just simply wondered with the Highter life on the intake side an exhaust side with the VVT in the N52-does this effect the exhaust pulses enough to where this would make a difference in the tuning of the exhaust-atleast horsepower wise? I could care less-I have a 530, Obviously I did not get it for the gobs of power, but just more wanted to know technically for my own knowledge-what you could shed on how you tune the exhaust based on factors like valvle lift etc. Speed of exhaust gasses. thanks man!