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CTS Turbo

snobrdrdan

former GTI owner
I've heard some good things about techtonics. They make a dual cat and single cat downpipe for the GTI that I think a couple people ran on the forum years back.

The APR downpipe is nice but like the 42 draft is super expensive. Are you trying to stick to a race cat?


Honestly if I were you i'd buy a 90$ magnaflow 200 cell and an ebay downpipe for like 140$ and have a shop weld them together.

Pulled the trigger on a Techtonics Tuning downpipe earlier, actually.

I've had their exhaust & their downpipe before, top notch stuff.
Thicker walled than the CTS pipe too.

They didn't have it in stock and had to fabricate one, so I had them make it catless to save a few ($100) bucks....$450 SHIPPED.
The best part, IMO, is that it's all one piece (for the Tiguan). Just put it on the turbo and connect it to the cat-back with the OEM clamp, can't screw that up or have any leaks.

Ebay downpipe won't fit the Tig out of the box. It would have to be modified at the hanger & have some length taken out. Not worth the hassle at that point (IMO).

The APR one looked nice, but that $750 price tag wasn't agreeing with the wallet though
 

[Old User]

Go Kart Champion
Cool! Mount that shit up & let us know how it goes. Tiguan mods are a rarity on ye olde forum.


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snobrdrdan

former GTI owner
Cool! Mount that shit up & let us know how it goes. Tiguan mods are a rarity on ye olde forum.

And after all that, the Techtonics Tuning pipe didn't fit right at all

The lower hanger (on the pipe) was crooked and stretching the red rubber isolators and not sitting in them properly. I also had to force in the bolts for that hanger because of it being crooked....not good

The trans shifter cable was laying on the pipe itself...no bueno

And the downpipe flex section was right against the tunnel heatshield....no bueno

Didn't even bother trying to start it or run it. Took it off instead.

I called Techtonics and he said they'd "buy it back" no questions asked. I sent him pics too and then he emailed me a PREPAID UPS label to send it back.
(it's a 72" long box, mind you, since it's a one piece downpipe)

That's standup service right there!


Gonna go with the APR downpipe now
 

Kyle805

Ready to race!
Oh man, with all your issues I'm getting worried about putting in my 42dd one on my tig. Have emissions next month so that's really all I'm waiting for. Hopefully their quality is a bit better than the ones you've tried. In for how the apr one fits!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

lilonespaz

Drag Race Newbie
And after all that, the Techtonics Tuning pipe didn't fit right at all

The lower hanger (on the pipe) was crooked and stretching the red rubber isolators and not sitting in them properly. I also had to force in the bolts for that hanger because of it being crooked....not good

The trans shifter cable was laying on the pipe itself...no bueno

And the downpipe flex section was right against the tunnel heatshield....no bueno

Didn't even bother trying to start it or run it. Took it off instead.

I called Techtonics and he said they'd "buy it back" no questions asked. I sent him pics too and then he emailed me a PREPAID UPS label to send it back.
(it's a 72" long box, mind you, since it's a one piece downpipe)

That's standup service right there!


Gonna go with the APR downpipe now
Did you heat and bend the hanger?
Some GTI downpipes come with hangers bent from shipping and all it takes is a torch on it and then some muscle to bend it back into where it is supposed to go.
 

snobrdrdan

former GTI owner
Oh man, with all your issues I'm getting worried about putting in my 42dd one on my tig. Have emissions next month so that's really all I'm waiting for. Hopefully their quality is a bit better than the ones you've tried. In for how the apr one fits!

It'll probably be fine

Did you heat and bend the hanger?
Some GTI downpipes come with hangers bent from shipping and all it takes is a torch on it and then some muscle to bend it back into where it is supposed to go.

I tried bending it, with no luck. It wouldn't budge. Didn't have a torch though

Either way, even if I did fix that I still had two other issues. It was literally resting against the heatshield (vibrations/noise) and also the shifter cable was laying on the downpipe (probably melt/destroy it).

Pics for clicks:
Untitled by Dan W, on Flickr

Untitled by Dan W, on Flickr

Untitled by Dan W, on Flickr

Untitled by Dan W, on Flickr

Untitled by Dan W, on Flickr
 

mfractal

Ready to race!
I've installed maybe 30 cts downpipes for mk6 and I have never ever had a fitment issue. You sure your installer knows what he's doing?

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snobrdrdan

former GTI owner
I've installed maybe 30 cts downpipes for mk6 and I have never ever had a fitment issue. You sure your installer knows what he's doing?

LOL, the CTS fit fine actually.

The Techtonics Tuning one was the one that didn't fit right (pics above), and it was a one piece/solid downpipe from the turbo to the cat-back connection on my Tiguan. So no room for adjustment at all

The installer is me, and I've done this just a "few" times myself too ;)
 

kern417

Go Kart Champion
I had a good experience with them. Sorry for your experience :[

same. nik and clay have been great to me over the years. i hope they get their act together. i've been seeing a lot of threads like this lately and it's disappointing. but personally i wouldn't be scared of ordering from them again.
 

[Old User]

Go Kart Champion
So I found out today that one of my endless exhaust leaks is where the flex piping hit the heat shield for awhile because the downpipe part (only the flex pipe section) is clocked on the turbo flange at just slightly the wrong angle. It barely clears at this point having been adjusted about 1000 times. So there's a leak I'll never fix. Otherwise since welding into one piece the leaks have improved. Downpipe- catback connection also does a little but i think that's because the reducer has been torqued and retorqued so many times that it is not round anymore. It looked a little funny the last time I saw it.

Honestly I don't even really care at this point, I'm just glad that I haven't dealt with any real issues that some guys running heavier mods have.


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lilonespaz

Drag Race Newbie
LOL, the CTS fit fine actually.

The Techtonics Tuning one was the one that didn't fit right (pics above), and it was a one piece/solid downpipe from the turbo to the cat-back connection on my Tiguan. So no room for adjustment at all

The installer is me, and I've done this just a "few" times myself too ;)


BTW OP i like your picture taking skills in such a tight area. I try to take pics under my car and it turns out like a POS.

also judging by the pic i wonder why they had it so far out that the flex portion was up against the heat shield. It looks like there was plenty of room to make that bend more eventful for proper clearance.
 

snobrdrdan

former GTI owner
So I found out today that one of my endless exhaust leaks is where the flex piping hit the heat shield for awhile because the downpipe part (only the flex pipe section) is clocked on the turbo flange at just slightly the wrong angle. It barely clears at this point having been adjusted about 1000 times. So there's a leak I'll never fix. Otherwise since welding into one piece the leaks have improved. Downpipe- catback connection also does a little but i think that's because the reducer has been torqued and retorqued so many times that it is not round anymore. It looked a little funny the last time I saw it.

Honestly I don't even really care at this point, I'm just glad that I haven't dealt with any real issues that some guys running heavier mods have.

Do you have your CTS dp paired with a aftermarket cat-back or OEM?

Mine is very tinny & raspy sounding btw, even with the OEM cat-back & it being catted.


Ordered up a APR downpipe earlier this morning and calling it a day
 

snobrdrdan

former GTI owner
BTW OP i like your picture taking skills in such a tight area. I try to take pics under my car and it turns out like a POS.

also judging by the pic i wonder why they had it so far out that the flex portion was up against the heat shield. It looks like there was plenty of room to make that bend more eventful for proper clearance.

The TT downpipe is supposed to fit 4motion & FWD, so that explains the "dramatic" bend....to clear the driveshaft, if it had it.
The bend is still way further out than the CTS downpipe is though, and that's supposed to fit the 4motion too

So, no real explanation on that one :iono:
 
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