Cheap AF MODE Catted DP - Should You Buy One?

[BMWAF]

I purchased this MODE 200cspi catted DP a little while back, mainly for its price but also the lifetime warranty and no CEL guarantee. MODE is relatively local for me in Australia, so including shipping it came in at just $739AUD or just over $450USD.

And just for context, my car is a MY23 manual running an AWE Touring Exhaust with a JB+ dialied in at 3PM.

THE GOOD

Immediately after installing the down pipe, the car felt more responsive and was definitely louder. While I haven't since put the car on a Dyno, I'd bet there was definitely a measurable power increase. The burbles were significantly increased too: When letting off the throttle during a second gear pull, the car made a lot of noise!

I couldn't discern any real increase in exhaust fumes.. maybe just a hint on cold start but nothing to write home about.

THE BAD

Firstly, this DP added a lot of rasp and significantly increased highway exhaust noise (drone?) despite being paired with my AWE (180 anti-drone) non-resonated touring setup. The start-up roar was also much louder. Thankfully, adding AWE's resonated mid-pipes fixed these problems, so this is really a bit of a push.

More critically however, this DP definitely produces a check engine light without err.. fail, every 80-150km (50-90 miles).

I have cleared the codes five or six times in the past month and they're always the same.. and return almost randomly.

I believe that MODE knows full well that this DP will produce a check engine light (and in fairness I was offered a full refund - not a replacement) but their business model seems to be that once shipped, users will unlikely claim the guarantee. They also seem to stop responding pretty quick once they realise you're calling them out.

And all of this doesn't bode well for their "lifetime guarantee" either.

SHOULD YOU BUY IT?

Probably not.. but it depends. As I will be sending my DME to Femto, I will just code out the check engine light so for the price, it's still pretty good value for my use case. Despite their misleading and grubby business practices, I'll likely be sticking with the DP as the increased performance (coupled with a tune) is really what I was chasing.. and as per their business model, returning the DP isn't really worth the time, effort and money. Having said this, if I weren't hell bent on going Femto, I would've definitely returned this DP!

Would I buy it again or anything else from MODE? No.

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[Brenden]

Thanks for the review! I'll still probably install mine after a few services. Sounds like it's easy enough to change back to stock if the drone annoys me since I'll mostly be highway driving. Keen on any exhaust videos since I'm also looking at the AWE because it sounds amazing

 

[BMWAF]

Thanks for the review! I'll still probably install mine after a few services. Sounds like it's easy enough to change back to stock if the drone annoys me since I'll mostly be highway driving. Keen on any exhaust videos since I'm also looking at the AWE because it sounds amazing

Cheers. I can't recommend the AWE enough. I don't have anything with the DP but here's some old reels with the AWE Touring (Non-Resonated) with JB+ and stock DP.

 

[Oodis]

I purchased this MODE 200cspi catted DP a little while back, mainly for its price but also the lifetime warranty and no CEL guarantee. MODE is relatively local for me in Australia, so including shipping it came in at just $739AUD or just over $450USD.

And just for context, my car is a MY23 manual running an AWE Touring Exhaust with a JB+ dialied in at 3PM.

THE GOOD

Immediately after installing the down pipe, the car felt more responsive and was definitely louder. While I haven't since put the car on a Dyno, I'd bet there was definitely a measurable power increase. The burbles were significantly increased too: When letting off the throttle during a second gear pull, the car made a lot of noise!

I couldn't discern any real increase in exhaust fumes.. maybe just a hint on cold start but nothing to write home about.

THE BAD

Firstly, this DP added a lot of rasp and significantly increased highway exhaust noise (drone?) despite being paired with my AWE (180 anti-drone) non-resonated touring setup. The start-up roar was also much louder. Thankfully, adding AWE's resonated mid-pipes fixed these problems, so this is really a bit of a push.

More critically however, this DP definitely produces a check engine light without err.. fail, every 80-150km (50-90 miles).

I have cleared the codes five or six times in the past month and they're always the same.. and return almost randomly.

I believe that MODE knows full well that this DP will produce a check engine light (and in fairness I was offered a full refund - not a replacement) but their business model seems to be that once shipped, users will unlikely claim the guarantee. They also seem to stop responding pretty quick once they realise you're calling them out.

And all of this doesn't bode well for their "lifetime guarantee" either.

SHOULD YOU BUY IT?

Probably not.. but it depends. As I will be sending my DME to Femto, I will just code out the check engine light so for the price, it's still pretty good value for my use case. Despite their misleading and grubby business practices, I'll likely be sticking with the DP as the increased performance (coupled with a tune) is really what I was chasing.. and as per their business model, returning the DP isn't really worth the time, effort and money. Having said this, if I weren't hell bent on going Femto, I would've definitely returned this DP!

Would I buy it again or anything else from MODE? No.

BLoke

I have bought a few things from Mode and they are extremely painful to deal with.

Try find a contact number for the business???

Only email which they do not respond to, maybe if you are lucky they might.

Save your self a headache and shop somewhere else.

My 2 cents

 

[GRMan]

Warned you before. The only thing 'Aussie' about this thing is the AUD you paid for. They may even be running this business from another country.

There is nearly zero engineering investment on drivetrain and exhaust components for the GR Supra in oz. This brand you have is just a rebrand of some replicas from some factories in a certain country.

 

[BMWAF]

Warned you before. The only thing 'Aussie' about this thing is the AUD you paid for. They may even be running this business from another country.

There is nearly zero engineering investment on drivetrain and exhaust components for the GR Supra in oz. This brand you have is just a rebrand of some replicas from some factories in a certain country.

Yes but I went in with my eyes open - I just like to roll the dice sometimes. When you realise the same products that are advertised in reputable stores, on Amazon and on AliExpress are identical except for their price tags, the way you spend your money changes somewhat.

The shop I went through has been using these DPs on all their tuned cars without any issue for years, so I'm not overly concerned with general quality/longevity.

For me, the sticking point is MODE's no CEL guarantee and it being complete horseshit.

 

[Rocksandblues]

so it was priced at "too good to be true" price and...

Can you review week old gas station sushi next please?

 

[Timmy_Jones]

Id be nervous of a clogged cat or some sort of failure later on, why cheap out? I would 100% get my money back while you still can as later on you may regret it. Just not worth buying cheap crap for a nice car

 

[Brenden]

I've never heard of a clogged cat? Do you have any more information?

 

[GRMan]

I've never heard of a clogged cat? Do you have any more information?

Not uncommon on cheap ass cat or cheap ass catted dp.

The chesp ass substrate in the cheap ass cat melted from the high exhaust temp or from the unburnt fuel overheating the cat (tune, baby tune). In addition, the more burbles you running on your tune the more unburnt fuel getting dumped into the exhaust and can also overheat a cheap ass cat (on top of the car already running rich from performance tuning) Shit ones can fail within a few months

 

[itzTang]

I've never heard of a clogged cat? Do you have any more information?

P0420

 

[BMWAF]

P0420

A search for this term just brings up results for the super expensive AA down pipe. Care to elaborate?

 

[itzTang]

A search for this term just brings up results for the super expensive AA down pipe. Care to elaborate?

search google

 

[Brenden]

So P0420 is the BMW code for a cat problem. That doesn't mean that it's clogged and physically restricting the exhaust, just that the 02 sensor isn't returning a reading in the expected parameters. Not having an O2 reading that the car expects to see after a cat because the cat doesn't convert as much exhaust gasses to other gasses is a completely different concern to a catalytic converter "clogging up" and apparently severely restricting the amount of gas that can flow through and potentially affecting your engines performance and efficiency.

I'm ok with a code, less ok with severe exhaust restrictions

 

[GRMan]

So P0420 is the BMW code for a cat problem. That doesn't mean that it's clogged and physically restricting the exhaust, just that the 02 sensor isn't returning a reading in the expected parameters. Not having an O2 reading that the car expects to see after a cat because the cat doesn't convert as much exhaust gasses to other gasses is a completely different concern to a catalytic converter "clogging up" and apparently severely restricting the amount of gas that can flow through and potentially affecting your engines performance and efficiency.

I'm ok with a code, less ok with severe exhaust restrictions

A code is just a code, it doesn’t dictate whether your cat will fail. Connecting a questionable quality catted DP to your engine is not smart at all. Might as well go catless.

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