Budget bpipe= teh ghey
 

:thumbsdow Finally removed it. Fitment sucked from the get go, banged against the area where it curved up to meet the OEM muffler piping/flange- the non removable cross beam area . It also kept eating gaskets as it was mated to the OEM muffler causing annoying leaks every few months. At one point I had it bent, another point cut in half with a sleve welded back on to attempt to create some clearance in the problem area- to no success.

Now I know why all the crush bends in the OEM pipe are there-there's no freggin' room under these cars....

Went back to stock and I'm in love with my car all over again- smooth and quiet. The now subtle Intake and ypipe growl are enough for me:)

Anyways stay away from that POS.

wow..so their B-pipe sucks as bad as their Y-pipe

lesson learned for everyone

Sorry to hear that... I recommend Frankencar... and I've heard Cattman is pretty good too... :)

No fitament issues AT ALL with the Frankencar b-pipe....just FYI.

I have the budget B and all I had to do was bend the heat sheild out a little and the clanging went away. :gotme:

They must be hit or miss, mine was in great shape when I got it(used). No leaks, for the last year at least. The OEM spaces do leave much to be desired in terms of space. To prevent any issues I had an extra hanger added to keep any banging from driving me nuts. Cost me about 15 bucks and 15 min of time. Mine has a huge *** magnaflow resonator welded in maybe it changes the geometry? Either way, mine has no problems. Especially for the price(used). I did develop rattles later on, but it was my stock muffler. A stop-gap measure of zip-ties is holding it in place for now.

I have had a Budget B-Pipe on my 2k2 for 18 months and it fits great. It is a much tighter fit because of the size but can easily be adjusted not to hit anywhere with a little patience. Adjusting is a must with any pipe larger than stock, especially the 2k2 in some areas I have measured as small as 1 3/4" in the stock b-pipe.

Put it on a hoist and keep adjusting until you cannot hit the sides anywhere while moving the pipe from side to side and well as from front to rear. Just takes a little time and patience.

Throw away any gaskets you have an use Hi-Temp RTV sealant.

PS Just because someone has a fitment problem does not necessarily mean that the pipe is a fault.

Interestingly the heatshield rattle went away after adding my Cattman y pipe- but the knocking in the rear section connection was always there-partucularly dominant at start up, cold start, and when it rained- as those conditions cause more travel in the piping.

Perhaps the combination of the Catt Y and Budget B and oEM muffler sucks

I ran out of patience and just welded the extra hanger, teh lazy I am.


:sprint:

Those using BudgetB pipes that supposedly have not fitment probs....do you have the resonated version with the round magnaflo res? Or is it the non resonated one? Just curious...

Do you mind posting a pic of the whereabouts this hanger was added- numorous places couldn't find a good spot to do so. Perhaps that could help others....

Mine is resonated.

i thought their y pipe was good...

I have both the resonated and non-resonanted sections, currently I am using the resonator.

I also have an extra hangar on the rear section right next to the flange going to the muffler. It wasn't for the B-Pipe though, I also had a 2 1/2" section made for the section from the end of the B-Pipe to the muffler and the clearance through the axle is so tight it has to be made more rigid to keep it from banging. Even then it bangs sometimes when doing a burnout.

The 4th Gen's don't have that problem because they have much more room through the axle.

I just bought a Budget SS B-pipe and it has a nice size magnaflow resonator. Should I bolt it to my SS Warp Y-pipe or should I have my shop weld everything? I'm thinking that if I bolt it all together that the welds will not be a weak spot for rust to form. I live in NY. Thanks

I don't know if I should take this as a not-so-subtle shot at me, but I'll tell you this, I had a fitment problem, and the pipe WAS at fault. I'm sorry that I am still bitter about the situation, but I went out of my way to try to help Jeff with the issue, yet he would not even acknowledge my recommendations about trying a slight change in the design to help get the pipe to fit correctly. Just my .02

I was very pleased that they sent me a new pipe but was disappointed to see that even when I was trying to suggest something that might help business I got shunned.

I have their y-pipe for almost 2 years now and not a single problem at all. Don't know of anybody with y pipe issues. B pipe, that's another story.

well i know that i wasn't impressed with budget. i was there with s00nr1 when we installed his y pipe. i looked at his on the car then i looked at mine on the car, i have a wsp. HUGE difference in the way that they lined up. budgets does have good welds, but i don't really like where they have the pipe run.

the FC group buy was like 175 shipped or something, hell of a deal for a superior product

Wrong. My y-pipe fits perfect and haven't had any problems whatsoever and everybody there was courteous and the pipe shipped extremely fast. Two of my friends (not on .org) have their b pipes (01 and 02) and neither have a problem with their resonated b pipes at all...everybody has bad experiences with every company. I know people who got screwed by companies mentioned in this thread before...no company...especially companies dealing with car parts...is always good

I think that the problems become apparent when backyard mechanics decide to do their own exhausts. You need to have a jack and know what you're doing. I always bring my exhaust work to a certified shop and have never had a problem.

LOL - the funny thing is that even the best exhaust shop in the OKC metro said there was no way the pipe would fit correctly. Surely I hope you aren't insinuating that many of us here don't know what we are doing. Putting on a ypipe is not rocket science.

if you can't put on a b pipe with jackstands and a floorjack then there is a problem

I had both Y and B (resonated) done by Budget guys themselves (I live in the area) and had no problems ever... I randomly picked parts I wanted installed from the rack and they all looked the same... Have them on for about 6 months (~ 20K)...

Didn't mean to insult anyone but I've read dozens of posts from members describing fitment issues and those who have said they had no problem with different brands of y-pipe, B-pipe, etc. The Y-pipe, from budget is a constant so the installation must be what is causing some of the problems that members are having. I agree you don't need a special jack to install an exhaust but I wonder if some of the members are doing the install properly. It's the only variable in the equation when you have multiple members buying the same part and installing them on the same cars.

One question:

How do you know that the Budget y-pipes are all exactly the same in terms of fitment?

I was in their shop and saw the rack full of them, some 20-30 Y-pipes and I can tell you they all looked exactly the same... I hand picked one for my car and I can tell you it is no different than other 20-30 that were left over...

However, (puffin the dragon here) theoretically and statistically speaking, there may be some tolerance +/- and the same goes for the headers they attach to, they also have some +/- so if y is on one side of the distribution and header on the other side, there could be some misalignment...

That doesn't really mean anything unless you tried a sample of several on your car and can say that they all fit the same. Unrealistic? Maybe, but that's a way to tell that they are the same. No offense to you, but touch and feel is not the best quality control method.

Agreed... it just seems that Budget parts tend to have more cases of "misalignment" recently. I really have nothing against em, its just what I've seen here on the .Org.

As for the point about installers' fault, the y-pipe or b-pipe is a simple bolt on, how hard is that install? Its not that someone has to custom bend anything to fit... I honestly doubt that the "skill" or whatever of the installer has much to do with it. My Cattman y-pipe and Frankencar cat-back installs were literally idiot-proof bolt ons; you remove the old parts, slap on the new, I just don't see how anyone could screw those up.

See, here's the problem with your argument. YOU personally did not do the install, so you probably have no idea of the issues we experienced during the install, with the main one being the area near the flex section that literally sits up against the undercarriage creating a banging problem.

When Budget says it fits, that is their own judgment, but they may not care that the pipe sits up against it like I do (and everyone else should as well). And as I stated previously, I had both of the y-pipes Budget sent me taken into an award-winning performance exhaust shop in Norman and each time they said that there was no way to solve the fitment issues since the problem area was near the flex section. Thus, I pretty much just have to deal with there being a small leak since the upper rear manifold won't sit flush. Furthermore, I just got done the other day wrapping the damn flex section with DEI exhaust wrap to get rid of the unbelievably annoying bees in the can sound.

Damnit why did someone have to get me started on Budget again?
:tardsmash

Well, not quite, I was there while they were doing it and was helping out so I could see how well it was fitting, etc... And really it only 6-7 bolts and a few hangers so it is easy to see if it fits right or not...

SOONR1 - I know you don't like Budget and you had a similar thread in April (http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=380910) and that is fine. I had many positive experiences with them and hence my optimism :-)

When it comes down to it, any process that is manual, bending pipes, welding, drilling, etc. that is not done by a reliable machine 100% of the process, is prone to errors and possible misalignments. I am sure that guys that had other manufacturers pipes installed had similar fitment issues discussed here...

Igzy -- if you will read the rest of my responses in this thread, you will see that it's not that "I don't like Budget" as you said, but more of a general disappointment in their product and responses to my requests/suggestions.

I've had their B pipe for over a year now and no problems except for the occasional heat shield rattling on start up. I guess I'll have to get under there and bend it back some.

I have had the SS Budget Y-Pipe on for awhile. I am satisfied with fitment since Speedy put it in for 75.00 CAN. I'll never do exhaust work. A little buzzing under heavy acceleration but I hear wrapping the whole Y-Pipe with exhaust wrap helps. I'm going to try this next.

MCE

i have put on 4 y-pipes...guess that makes me a "certified exhaust installer"?

soonerfan. Yeah....U the man!

Can you come over and put mine on?
:idea: