BHR Midpipe
#1879
SARX Legend
iTrader: (46)
Mazdaspeed is nice but I must say that our local MS owner had the mufflers crack at the welds with no rust or anything so I personally doubt it's build quality. It may have just been one bad system though I guess.
#1883
Turbos blow!!
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: my engine bay
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Midpipe will be at my front door on 9/8. Can't wait. Driving a turbo rotary with a stock cat blows. I'm ready to get my power back and then some. Will post honest impression and I promise to do so without drinking the popular BHR kool-aid during my report.
#1884
SARX Legend
iTrader: (46)
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#1886
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Midpipe installed!
I can't say trouble free though. I need to talk with Ray to figure out what I did wrong with the rear mounting hardware, or if something was missing that was supposed to be included.
Fitment is perfect however. Just nuts and bolts issue.
Front fitment:
[IMG]
[/IMG]
Not posting my pic of the rear considering it's not done right yet![Smilie](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/smile.gif)
The piece of broken resonator from one of the borrowed prototypes (Zelse's) from last winter isn't anywhere in sight in my cat-back, so it still rattles around somewhere. Probably need to pull the whole cat back to get it out, so it will probably be there until I upgrade to a lighter cat-back.
I definitely have more power from 5k to 8k. Low end I am still dealing with the pre-existing lack of power that I believe to be my O2 sensor. I just found a O2 sensor tool at Advance that should work perfect for getting the old off and the new on.
The sound is what I remember. Completely stock sounding (rest of the system is stock) below ~70% load. WOT adds some of the rotary music to the air without being raspy.
I can't say trouble free though. I need to talk with Ray to figure out what I did wrong with the rear mounting hardware, or if something was missing that was supposed to be included.
Fitment is perfect however. Just nuts and bolts issue.
Front fitment:
[IMG]
![](http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww257/Yenadar/IMAG0044.jpg)
Not posting my pic of the rear considering it's not done right yet
![Smilie](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/smile.gif)
The piece of broken resonator from one of the borrowed prototypes (Zelse's) from last winter isn't anywhere in sight in my cat-back, so it still rattles around somewhere. Probably need to pull the whole cat back to get it out, so it will probably be there until I upgrade to a lighter cat-back.
I definitely have more power from 5k to 8k. Low end I am still dealing with the pre-existing lack of power that I believe to be my O2 sensor. I just found a O2 sensor tool at Advance that should work perfect for getting the old off and the new on.
The sound is what I remember. Completely stock sounding (rest of the system is stock) below ~70% load. WOT adds some of the rotary music to the air without being raspy.
#1887
Administrator
iTrader: (7)
you n00b RIWWP, what happened with the rear?
![Wink](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/wink.gif)
#1888
Administrator
iTrader: (7)
Ray, that drop down should soon be replaced with, "add BHR catback"
![Wink](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/wink.gif)
#1889
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Yeah, bolts just not threaded far enough, should need extra washers, shorter bolts, combination of above, etc... Just doesn't actually start gripping the 2 sides to hold them together even at max threading. Threaded the nuts onto the non-threaded area trying, so they might be garbage now
Might be savable though. I'll pass them off to Ray in 12 days to see if we can avoid wasting them.
I mcguyver'ed it up to get to the hardware store for some alternate hardware.
Got home, talked to Ray, put the car on jack stands, pulled off my jury-rig hardware, then found out I got the wrong thread pitch somehow.... so back to the store![Smilie](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/smile.gif)
Trying to figure out how to replace my O2 sensor without getting burned is like trying to drive under the speed limit everywhere in my 8.
It just aint gonna happen. Why did they have to put that connector there!?!?!
Just gonna do that part tomorrow I guess, let it cool overnight.
![Smilie](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/smile.gif)
I mcguyver'ed it up to get to the hardware store for some alternate hardware.
Got home, talked to Ray, put the car on jack stands, pulled off my jury-rig hardware, then found out I got the wrong thread pitch somehow.... so back to the store
![Smilie](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/smile.gif)
Trying to figure out how to replace my O2 sensor without getting burned is like trying to drive under the speed limit everywhere in my 8.
It just aint gonna happen. Why did they have to put that connector there!?!?!
Just gonna do that part tomorrow I guess, let it cool overnight.
Last edited by RIWWP; 09-04-2010 at 03:57 PM.
#1890
Administrator
iTrader: (7)
Why would I place a web order? I prefer to call the bat phone. ![Smilie](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/smile.gif)
Same category as Phil? Ill take that as a compliment. I think.
![Smilie](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/smile.gif)
Same category as Phil? Ill take that as a compliment. I think.
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#1891
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![](http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww257/Yenadar/IMAG0045.jpg)
Once you release a cat-back that I can buy, I will still need to get these disassembled somehow to be usable
![Smilie](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/smile.gif)
#1894
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![Smilie](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/smile.gif)
All I have are hand tools.
I'm not saying they are unrecoverable, just that I don't believe I can separate them given the simple hand tools I have. Hence, when I get to BHR HQ on my drive to Sevenstock in 12 days, I will hand the hardware over to Ray, he can work his magic, and since I can't use them, he re-use them as he sees fit with a future project, someone else's pipe, or whatnot.
Rather than tossing out what I hear is a rather expensive chunk of hardware. (expensive for what it does)
#1895
It seems the OEM and MazdaSpeed cat-backs are going to need alternate rear hardware (which I already have available) because they each use the same thin stamped steel flanges. Other aftermarket cat-backs tend to use thicker, Water-Jetted, flanges and that is what our pipe was designed to accomodate. Looks like a new pull-down on our webpage for ordering the BHR Midpipe will be needed, asking the question "OEM/MazdaSpeed cat-back currently in use?".
#1897
Got mine installed yesterday, sounds nice. I have the stock catback, very little noise increse until you step on it. Not saying it gets really loud when you do this, just saying you can hear when you do.
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#1898
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Alright, I got some video. Neither is very good, since they are both from my phone, which doesn't do all that great on the audio pickup. The first one it starts overwhelming the mic, but it's in place, no load revving, with the phone back by the tips.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liBfAdedA8Q
The second video clip is a bit over 4 minutes long, but has a variety of speeds, loads, revs, etc which attempt to show a bigger range of the sound it makes when paired with the rest of the stock stuff.
Lots of road and wind noise, sorry.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6ZTcDnCq9w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liBfAdedA8Q
The second video clip is a bit over 4 minutes long, but has a variety of speeds, loads, revs, etc which attempt to show a bigger range of the sound it makes when paired with the rest of the stock stuff.
Lots of road and wind noise, sorry.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6ZTcDnCq9w