The Y Pipe on my Q40 Sedan had to be replaced @ 45k miles this past weekend. The flex joint/ material on both sides had begun to deteriorate which caused a small exhaust leak. This is easily visible if you peak under the car where the catalytic converters meet the y pipe. Even though I'd classify the leak as "small", it did cause some pretty significant problems, at least in my opinion... The car was much louder than usual & was very sluggish upon acceleration/ normal driving, especially with the a/c on.

I had a feeling it was the y pipe since the noise seemed like it was coming from directly underneath the front seats which is where the y pipe is located. I brought it to my mechanic & he confirmed my suspicion. An oem y pipe w/ installation would have cost me around $750.00 ($650.00 for the pipe & associated heat shielding, $100.00 for labor.) I shopped around for an aftermarket solution & came across the Megan Racing Y Pipe for the awd sedan. Based on my research, they were the only company that offered a replacement pipe that fit awd models. I took a chance & ordered it from Ebay for $190.00 shipped to my door. It arrived 3 days later & came with everything needed for installation (3 gaskets & 6 bolts.)

I brought the pipe to my mechanic & had it installed. The only issues he faced were with my stock exhaust system. The existing bolts & flanges had a lot of rust around them so he had to use extra care with their removal. Once the stock y pipe was off, the new one went on exactly as it should. With the Megan Racing Y Pipe now on, my car is running perfectly again. It cost me about $290.00 total to get it fixed ($190.00 for the y pipe, $100.00 for labor.) I hope this helps someone with a similar problem down the road. Moral of the story, oem will always be more expensive. You can save a lot of money by going with quality aftermarket parts.

 

I have the Megan one as well, I was surprised by the quality especially for the price

 

Heard bad things about Megan which is why I went with ISR Y-Pipe

 

I came across the ISR Y Pipe too. It looked really nice, I just didn't see one that fit the awd sedan.

 

Same here! I was pleasantly surprised. It's only been on my car a few days but so far I have no complaints.

 

Is there any difference in sound when running it through the stock exhaust?

 

Tough for me to say Rob since I've been driving around with an exhaust leak that has progressively gotten worse over the last few months. However, with the new pipe on, the tone is definitely smoother & overall the car just sounds so good. Not quite as good as a stock coupe but pretty close!

 

What is the bad news on the Megan Y?
I bought one recently and have not put it on yet. Mainly did it because at that price point, replacing carbon steel with stainless seemed like a no brainer.
I have no issue other than swapping it out in order to have stainless. I also have FI RHFC and Tanabe Mufflers.

 

They are known for cracking over time.
Also the ISR does fit the AWD even though their website says it does not. I have it on my 2010 G37X Sedan. No issues whatsoever when installing.

 

Thanks for the info guys, I'm experiencing the progressively loud exhaust leak too. I got under the car and is seems as if it is coming from the y-pipe as well. Looks like I have a project coming up!