AA Gen 3 failure

[stealth M3]

If you ever find your AA Gen 3 exhaust getting louder, inspect the welds on your muffler. After a year of installation, I recently found a 6 inch crack on the aft bottom flat of my muffler. Rather than remove my pipes and send them back to AA, I had a local muffler shop weld the crack for a $20 fee.

[actp16]

they do have quality control issue

all the DTM tip dont level to each other, right tip sits 5mm higher then the left tip. At least from the latest batch

Some GEN3 is actually louder then the other GEN3, some just alot quieter

[themadhatter]

from the photo I can see that you did NOT hit anything but it's really odd for an exhaust to just crack open like that.

I wouldn't blame AA directly for the problem, we all know that no tuners build their own exhaust systems (except actual exhaust companies).

who builds the AA exhaust? they probably have quality issues that AA needs to address.

I would imagine that if you did choose to contact AA, they would be pretty straight forward with you in the replacement.

-Ron

[DocWyte]

Don't let Paul E. see this! He about blew a gasket when much the same thing happened to his Dinan exhaust. He now has an AA...

Hey Paul, look at this! A failure can happen to ANYONE'S exhaust!

[///M3ryder NY]

damn doc, you're harsh... At least Paul's dinan "failure" was after 3 years plus. The question is, how will AA handle this....my guess is outright replacement, free of charge!!! Dinan wasn't quite so kind...

[actp16]

well, the second new exhaust i got is alot louder then the first one and both have uneven tips. i still have it on my car....go figure.............................do a search on "rey"

long story..

[themadhatter]

AA exhausts are covered by a limited life time warranty - I think Paul should be okay.

[E368]

This is not the first AA Gen3 failure I have seen. IMO, they are not a very high quality unit. They sound and look nice, but thats about it.

[Wedge]

AA does have a lifetime warranty, but you need to send it back for that.. in this case a $20 weld job is much cheaper and quicker than the $60 shipping to send it back, PLUS having your car down for a week.

Serg

[lovesm3s]

their warranty is only for one year i think and it's only to the original owner

[dngo]

Wow, for a second I thought you had somehow gotten a hold of a pic I took last May. I had the exact same failure on my Gen III. AA replaced it, no problems.

Dave

[themadhatter]

Originally posted by lovesm3s
their warranty is only for one year i think and it's only to the original owner

From AA's Site:

An AA original. We design, and manufacture this exhaust.
Embossed Logo on each tip
100% polished stainless steel
Dual 76mm straight tips
Larger 54mm twin inlet tubes with mandrel bends
Thicker exh flanges for a tighter seal
Free flow with a straight through design
Rear cat-back design
Limited lifetime warranty
Maintains factory warranty

Not sure what they mean by we manufacture since I believe they are made in Tiawan (like other bmw exhausts). But I could be wrong about the AA unit.

-Ron