Chinese down pipes, charge pipes

N

Nick9one1

Member
 Newark, Nottinghamshire
I'm considering removing the front cats and came across this listing.

MerTop N54 Intake Turbo charge pipe Cooling kit WITH 50mm BOV Port+3'' Catless Downpipe

At £213 delivered its a lot cheaper than what I can find in the UK. - A set of downpipes alone cost more than this whole set.

Has anyone got any fist hand experience with the quality?
They look good from the pics - stainless, nice TIG welds, CNC machined flanges etc.

Also, are the down pipes LHD/RHD specific? I'm sure I saw a set for sale elsewhere and it said LHD only. Possibly to do with the O2 sensors?

The manufacturer 'Mertop', seems to do a few variations of the charge pipe..

The first link I posted appears to have a 50mm BOV port plus ports for the original DV. Presumably so you can choose between two.

This one only has pots for the factory DV

and this one only has a BOV port, no factory DV ports. The BOV port also looks like a different style


Thanks!
 
I'm sure VRSF are great quality but thats not what I asked, I wanted to know if anyone had tried these MerTop pipes.

At the end of the day they're only a set of pipes. The TIG welds look great from the pictures and the reviews of MerTop on AliExpress seem good.

HTB1pE9YNXXXXXXyapXXq6xXFXXX1.jpg
 
Smartbear said:
I think the l/h r/h thing is to do with the steering column getting in the way :?
Rob
Click to expand...

Yes I think you're right.. I've just read on another forum a member had trouble fitting the VRSF pipes because the placement of the O2/Lambda probe fouls the RHD steering rack.

Not really a big deal, as long as the pipes physically fit the exhaust. - I can cap the original O2 hole and weld a new one in. They're only a couple of quid.
 
Gaffa22 said:
What do you gain by fitting these ?
And are you remapping as well ?
Click to expand...

Boost comes in quicker with catless downpipes (less impediment to exhaust flow) and gives higher bhp as well 8)
Rob
 
Gaffa22 said:
I guessed it would improve exhaust flow, but enough to make it worthwhile ?
I'll bet they are fun to fit
Click to expand...

On the 20i I’ve been told 10/15bhp, on the n54 I should think it’s more than that? They also give the exhaust some more snap,crackle & pop :)
Rob
 
Smartbear said:
Gaffa22 said:
I guessed it would improve exhaust flow, but enough to make it worthwhile ?
I'll bet they are fun to fit
Click to expand...

On the 20i I’ve been told 10/15bhp, on the n54 I should think it’s more than that? They also give the exhaust some more snap,crackle & pop :)
Rob
Click to expand...

I'd go for it for sure, they are an easy to fit item. I've actually done this to a 4 pot turbo'd car in the past, with other mods for that marque, helped unleash over 60hp combined with the other mods and remap.

Slightly off topic, sorry...
Do you have any links to the 4 pot versions?
 
Nick9one1 said:
I'm sure VRSF are great quality but thats not what I asked, I wanted to know if anyone had tried these MerTop pipes.

At the end of the day they're only a set of pipes. The TIG welds look great from the pictures and the reviews of MerTop on AliExpress seem good.

HTB1pE9YNXXXXXXyapXXq6xXFXXX1.jpg
Click to expand...

rofl, yep, they are indeed only a set of pipes.... knock yourself out :p

I forgot the marque had started to reach such pond dredging levels
 
flybobbie said:
Could take the existing off and just smash out the mesh?
Click to expand...


I think that's what twinturbo on here did to get a catless downpipe, not sure how he got it tested at MOT time? :oops:

Rob
 
JimsZ said:
Smartbear said:
Gaffa22 said:
I guessed it would improve exhaust flow, but enough to make it worthwhile ?
I'll bet they are fun to fit
Click to expand...

On the 20i I’ve been told 10/15bhp, on the n54 I should think it’s more than that? They also give the exhaust some more snap,crackle & pop :)
Rob
Click to expand...

I'd go for it for sure, they are an easy to fit item. I've actually done this to a 4 pot turbo'd car in the past, with other mods for that marque, helped unleash over 60hp combined with the other mods and remap.

Slightly off topic, sorry...
Do you have any links to the 4 pot versions?
Click to expand...

No links im afraid, but ive seen them on ebay for £200ish :?
Rob
 
Ok, thanks.

Re: MOT time with the removal of the
The CAT after the turbo was not an MOT failure, well it didn't used to be. My car always passed emissions but this was back in 2003 onwards, might have tightened the requirements up by now :oops:
 
i say go for it.
they look well made in the pics, and as you have said the welds look good, it all depends upon the steel quality and the fitment :thumbsup:
 
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