MV Sport turbo back exhaust system: 2.0TFSi

[warren_cox]

As some of you know, I've been running a variation on stage 2+ for a while, and due to the inconveniences that keep you from dipping your hand in your pocket for an exhaust, I'd been without a decent one for nearly a year longer than I should have been.

After much consideration, research and investigation, the time had come to adopt the full on stage 2+ specification, and get an exhaust system on the S3.

I've been a Milltek customer in the past, and whilst I have enjoyed their products, I have seen evidence that maybe the mass production aproach they are choosing to adopt to keep pace with demand may be causing the odd teething problem.

So in the spirit that a change is as good as a rest, I have gone for something less commercially prominent, but from the initial stages of investigations, something equally well built.

MV Sports exhausts and software have a bigger presence in the BMW market than in the VAG scene right now, but with some key industry figures involved in their development process, they look to have an interesting future ahead of them.

Last time I'd been under the car I'd had a look at the exhaust in profile and thought, 'thats not all bad'.

However it seems that the DP and cat actually present a far bigger issue than I'd originally given credit for.

Here is a close up of the OEM DP showing it's most constricted profile:

When you compare this to an aftermarket DP it really demonstrates the constriction:

The gold coloured metal on the OEM DP is actually heat shield, then there is an air gap before you get to the exhaust itself.

Up until recently I'd been getting some strange characteristics when I started to kick down in the mid range, almost like a hesitation that the increase in airflow had nowhere to go. Now I understand why.

When you sit the 2 systems side by side you can see the MV offers a much straighter and unrestricted flow channel for the air:

Some more close ups:

1) DP

2) Cats

3) Cat back

Underside of the car with the MV Sport on:

Tailpipes

Initial impressions:

I haven't really had the chance to use this in any anger, and as yet I want to give thinks time to settle, bed in, and for the baffles to carbon up.

At regular speeds the car remains decently civilised, and on a motorway cruise you could be forgiven for thinking the pipework is pretty much OEM. However, drop a cog and put your foot down and an almighty roar kicks off as the car accelerates true and hard. All of the laziness of the poverty spec stage 2+ I was running is now gone. There is far more urgency, consistency of pull, and in the mid range the car no longer lags until it overcomes the restriction. I need to spend some time in the car to get over the 'newness' and provide some absolutely objective feedback, as so far I've only driven it with the OEM exhaust in the boot, the seats down, and the parcel shelf out, so it's not really a good gauge of a real world picture.

On a standard car the full system is reputed to offer 27bhp, and on a stage 2+ guesstimates were well up in the 30's. I have to say that this doesn't seem unreasonable.

Also the aftermarket MV is quite a bit lighter and less complex than the OEM unit, so there are weight benefits too.

The rumours that this is a Scorpion based product are not true. It's not a Blueflame, and it's not Magnex, but it is UK made :thumbsup: unlike some competitors. I have my suspicions as to who may be behind the design. The fitting agents were particularly complimentary about the finish and design of the exhaust, and they have no vested interest in it.

A massive shout out to RGS Motorsport for fitting the unit, they were a really great bunch and had a very interesting history (the head honcho used to be a test driver for Simtek F1).

And finally a big thank you to Mike and Mike at Motec / MV Sport for taking the time to explain the system to me, talk me through the development ethos, and spending the time to talk me through how MV Sport will be evolving as a company in the future. Expect to see them at stand 1 at GTi International in 2010. I'm always up for trying something new IF the sum of the parts add up, and given the price of this offering against its competitors, the build and the service, this is a very interesting contender that should not be overlooked if you're considering a full system in the future.

 

[wild willy]

A lovely piece of kit Warren, well made and a huge improvement over stock. Well done for trying something new and bringing a new product to our attention. Looking forward to a performance review.

 

[warren_cox]

A lovely piece of kit Warren, well made and a huge improvement over stock. Well done for trying something new and bringing a new product to our attention. Looking forward to a performance review.

That's what it's all about sir, not necessarily clinging to what you know.

There may be a VERY good deal to be had for a 2.0TFSi Leon owner, but they would have to be able to donor their car for a bit. I didn't get that privilege as the S3 kits been about for some time

 

[alx_chung]

Nice looking bit of kit mate. Sometimes Custom or going for a smaller name is the way to go.
I have had my custom setup on my TDI since October 2008 and cannot complain at all.
Alex

 

[warren_cox]

Nice looking bit of kit mate. Sometimes Custom or going for a smaller name is the way to go.
I have had my custom setup on my TDI since October 2008 and cannot complain at all.
Alex

It helped knowing that Motech the supplier has been around for ages, and isn't going to vanish out of existence any time soon, but the ethos and intent behind the product, and the fact that whoever they have outsourced the build to have done a great job cemented it for me.

 

[warren_cox]

Final review update:

The first time I posted an update review on this product, the car had been full of OEM exhaust, with the rear seats down / parcel shelf off, so any initial impressions were going to be at best subjective.

I've had the chance to go out on some quiet roads and test this properly, and I will try and give a better appraisal of how things are settling in.

Firstly, as some of you will know from reading other posts, I've been suffering an inconsistent idle, and slightly blunted performance of late, and I was hoping this exhaust would provide the remedial cushioning to fix this issue (I remember another forum member with the same issue which was resolved by the fitting of a DP/cat). I was disappointed to find that whilst significantly improved, it did not resolve the issue. So the investigations kicked off, and after some searching there were 2 potential candidates.

1) The BSH catch can header plate

Where the 90 degree angle bends for the outlet/inlet hoses for the catch can screw in, you have to trim down these threads (see pic above) to ensure they don't foul the engine block when you mount it, and force the header plate away from the PCV mount. If they do, there is a possibility that air may get in between the orange gasket and the BSH plate. I had these threads trimmed back further, then remounted. Tip for you guys, buy a Forge unit if you can afford it, it will be better!

2) This hose which sits under the Hitachi Fuel Pump body

After hunting round the bay for leaks, it was identified there was a slight split in this highlighted hose (above). It's been on and off a couple of times over the years (fitting and unfitting DV's), and it appears it had become victim to an overzealous jubilee clip which I had inadvertently overtightened. This has now been replaced.

I'm pleased to say the idle is now sweet, and performance feels much sharper. I'm getting quite a bit of carbon blowing through onto my shiny new tailpipes, possibly a side effect of the air leaks that may have been present for some time.

Anyway, back to the main review.

1) How has the performance improved?
One word, and one I've not been used to using in exhaust appraisals for many years, 'radically'. There is a double edge sword here, so I'm going to try and be as objective as possible. Firstly I've been running stage 2+ without an exhaust for half a year. On reflection, and in hindsight, this was a foolish mistake I made. Previous encounters will an previous product on my last car had got my mindset in the space of '£1k for a glorified drain pipe', I'll do that last. For the record, and to Revo's credit, whilst this bought me time, I don't think it has been kind to the car, and probably quite counter-productive to the overall stage 2 package which has now been liberated. In comparison it almost feels like I've unleashed the beast!

So why do I feel this difference has been so significant? Given the DP & cat restrictions on the OEM exhaust, when you step up to stg 2+, you are chucking a lot more air into the system as well as a lot more fuel. When burned that all has to go somewhere, and it's my opinion that those gases were struggling to find their way past the restriction in the DP/cat. I wouldn't be surprised if due to the way the engine was having to work around this that power may have been back at around the 300-310bhp, as it had to compensate. Over 5,200rpm there was no urgency, and if you tipped the accelerator pedal from 3/4 depressed to kick down there was NO discernible increase in power to give. The plugs we removed at Xmas tell a story of their own (see pic below).

The car is obviously adapting to it's new operating parameters, and what strikes me straight away is that there is a significant increase in power right across the rev band. Ignore the headline figure, I'm talking a total shift of the power curve upwards right the way across the curve, right up to 6,800rpm (and possibly beyond, but I'm nursing the DMF so don't know). When you look at the OEM and MV Sport side by side, you can see that there is going to be significantly less restriction (see below), and given I'd pushed this car to stage 2+, in conjunction with the knowledge it will go no further (don't want the associated issues poor old 'Big' Andy Oram suffered), it made sense to go for a performance focussed unit without a resonated centre section to give the best sustainable and MoT legal gains.

Gone is any of the weakness, the pregnant pauses, the hesitations, the laziness. Adding the icing to the cake has helped to harmonise Revo's stage 2+ into something quite unbelievable. I know stage 2+ customers always wax lyrical about this spec stage, but it is truly testament to the time those guys spend making things right. Some within the industry don't buy into the Revo approach to mapping, but Nick at Revo has produced some of the best VAG code I've driven in the last 5 years; period. What this exhaust system helps to do is regulate the power of the map right across the accelerator pedal sweep in a quite linear and progressive way. You find yourself dabbing the pedal occasionally just to hear the exhaust burble into life, as all hell breaks loose underneath you

2) So what does it sound like?
Rude! But that is only half the story. When choosing mods for my car I have to ensure that those who put food on my table (e.g. the clients), don't feel they're blowing their annual budget on the Burberry Crusader who comes ploughing into their office car park once a week in a cloud of blue smoke, resonating gangster bass, and a McFlurry of txt spk! Even at the most basic levels, perceptions matter, and on the days I turn up at a corporate blue chip, or parking up outside Trader Vic's on Park Lane I want the S3 to be nothing short of understated quality. I'd been reassured that this system had very much a good split personality, and one which around town will not make you look and sound like an extra from the Blazin' Squad. Inside the cabin, whilst there is that inevitable resonance from stainless steel that you just don't get from OEM pipework, it is a meaty and purposeful sound that actually goes someway to giving the S3 a bit of the character I've always thought it lacked. I will do my best to get some sound clips up here (when I can recruit someone to local to ensure my camera / car don't expectedly fall under new ownership of opportunist pikeys).

Ramp up the rev count and the symphony really does pic up. What surprised me if that the system can be quite so civilised, yet come so alive with a short stab of the pedal. It really does sound lovely, and as you build the revs it gets slightly louder with each extra application of pedal (unlike some of the cheap imitations which just drone the minute you open the taps). The saving grace (to me), is that I can't find a point where there is any painful resonance. An old system I had used to drone horribly at 76mph. So I hear you say, do 80mph or 70 mph. 76mph is one of those zones (in a car without cruise control) that you seem to unconsciously drift in and out of. It used to annoy the f**k out of the missus, and after a time you found it a bit torturous. Fortunately I can report that with this system, whilst there is a slight change in note once the engine labours up a hill (on cruise), it is in no way painful or unpleasant, and once you return to the flat it is just business as usual. I can appreciate those who may have the OEM bug in terms of keeping it how you like it, but putting some polish on may be averse to the non resonated centre section. Don't be. Unless you are the sort of person who finds the Daily Mail a good read, writes in to Points of View (you don't care it's no longer on TV, you need someone to complain at!), your Mum still adjusts your collar and flattens your hair, and you like a hot milk before you go off to bed at 9pm, then don't be afraid to buy this. It has spades of character at exactly the right time, and to me the key selling point is that it handles it all so transitionally you will never look misplaced. Testament to a great design.

The man behind the can
As MV Sport aren't an instantly recognisable brand in the world of VAG, let me give you a little trip inside he world of MV Sport. Mike (Snr) at Motech in Wellingborough is one of those rare people you'd find it incredibly hard to dislike. Even via telephone (a poor medium for judging outright character) he strikes you as the sort of bloke who would bend over backwards to help if he can. In the flesh he's every bit as likeable, and one of those people who are in the industry, come rain or shine, not purely for the money but because they are passionate about cars. Whilst he's a BMW man (unlike his nephew Mike Jnr who is a VAG man!), his enthusiasm extends back to a day when modifications were far more mechanical engineering based (his professional qualification), than the bolt ons of today. And unlike some suppliers who live from a catalogue with little knowledge or passion, Mike has a real perception and understanding from years of race modifying various genres of M3 to quite extreme levels. Trust is the key element here, above any hype, and the way Mike enthuses about his product, and the passion for pursuit of creating something really special is something I wish I could bottle and sell to big corporate mass-producers. When I asked him why there was no option for a resonated mid section the look of horror on his face said to me that he's not a man for pandering to the masses, but he genuinely believes that what he's created should not be compromised, and it's that kind of unwavering personal belief that gave us the likes of brands 'Abarth', 'Quattro' and 'Project Golf Sport' - the eventual Mk1 GTi. He's spent years in the industry, and a great deal of those supplying exhausts, so he understands this area very well, and from my personal experience this in reflected in the quality of his product.

I know there is something of a leap of faith to be bold enough to try something new, especially when blowing up to a grand, but what pains me is that people will happily jump on a bandwagon like lemmings off a cliff to get the statutory 'badge of honour', without realising that there are specialists out there who can provide an equally accomplished product, sometimes even better, but the need for badge kudos extends beyond sensibility and reason. If you have eyes in your head, a basic concept of quality management, and an inquisitive nature to your questioning, you can usually spot a lemon from a gem without too much trouble. I appreciate we often buy from pictures off the net (as shows aren't always local / few and far between), but don't be afraid to ask suppliers for detailed web shots, and an overview of their design principles.