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      04-03-2011, 01:15 PM   #35
///M1
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Quote:
Originally Posted by darkvaderr View Post
How is comparing to other companies relevant at all... the akra exhaust for M3 and 335i is 11% of the value of those respective cars, 13% for the 1M isn't so far from 11%; yet that's the price point they set. If buyers won't go for a 1M exhaust priced so high, why do M3 and 335i owners? What you're doing comparing Akra to Capristo is arguing that Akra is overpriced. The fact that other companies offer comparable products at a lower price point has no bearing on how much the Akra exhaust for the 1M will be since it had no bearing on how much Akra priced their exhausts for the M3 and 335i!
Also, why d'you think the demand curve for the average 1M will be very price sensitive/elastic? "Entry Level" is just a name, the 1M is MORE expensive than a 335i (who's exhaust is priced at $5000). If anything, 1M owners are also going to be more willing to blow money on their car than 335i owners since most of us have committed to a car thats had 0 reviews.

Whether it's $6000 or $5000, its still too expensive for me; but that's the price points they've set for the M3 and 335i. I don't see how the fact that buyers won't go for it, and that other companies offer exhausts for cheaper will make Akra price the 1M exhaust cheaper than how they price the M3 and 335i exhausts.
OK, I am speaking from the point of view of someone that has actually paid over $5K for an exhaust for my car, which I still have (Milltek Sport full exhaust: Downpipes, Cross Pipe, Deresonated, Power Valved, Titanium tipped header-back exhaust). http://www.stratmosphere.com/milltek_rs4_exhaust.htm So in principle, if I paid $5K for an exhaust on one car, I should easily be willing to pay for one again on a different car, right?

Well depends, because you have to put things in perspective. The Milltek (which BTW sadly cannot even touch Akra in terms of quality of materials and build) makes a huge difference in the case of the RS4 platform. It is able to extract over 25AWHP/30AWTQ as a bolt on (basing it on my own dyno results). Combine that with a tune, and you are at close to 40AWTQ gain (or 55 crank considering the massive drivetrain parasitic losses of quattro), which keep in mind, on a AWD naturally aspirated, 100hp-per-liter car is gynormous. And at the end of the day it is also a full exhaust, preserving the S-button feature (flaps open at a touch of a button at the steering wheel). So when you factor all that in: sound, performance, looks, weight reduction, etc. etc. all of a sudden $5K begins to make sense.

With Akra, we can only speculate at this stage because those guys have yet to release a formal product, but my guess is it would be the axle back portion. It will no doubt be a piece of art to look at (and make you wonder is it not better placed in your living room), and I am sure will sound wicked, but I doubt it will have any performance effect other than single digits at best. Now, if they release a full exhaust, DPs, mid pipe, quad cans, i.e. the full Monty, and gains are noticeable, then the price of $5-$6K is more than reasonable in my book. But if the price for just the rear cans is $6K, on a $50K car, with little to no performance gains, I just think a lot of people will have a hard time justifying it (although of course there will be some, as the saying goes: "for each train there are passengers"). Juxtipose that to a $5K exhaust on an $80K NA car gaining 35 HP/TQ.

So let's see, little point to speculate at this stage, as no Akra exhaust has been formally released, nor price, nor performance claims. Time will tell whether the 1///M customer base will absorb a $5-6K exhaust proposition.
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2011 BMW E82 1///M: AW, all options; Renntech, Akrapovic, Forge, P3, RevoZ CF bits, many mods
1988 BMW E30 M3: Hennarot, S14, stock
2018 Porsche 991.2 GT3: PtS, CXX, LWBS, PCCB
1998 Porsche 993 C4S: Zenith Blue, last aircooled widebody, Bilstein PSS10, Fister II + Fabspeed exhaust
2008 Audi B7 RS 4: Sprint Blue, Audi Exclusive Euro Bucket Interior, Premium+Titanium, many mods
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