Several members of the forums own 42DD (Draft Designs) products, including the downpipe you mention.
If you notice, on the page that you linked to, they have a street and racing series, as well as a resonated and non-resonated. Whilst the resonated and non-resonated is personal preference, the street/racing series is NOT an option in this country if you want to have a "legal" car. Basically you have to pay the extra $85 for the catalytic converter.
Also notice they have an option of "ceramic coating" option. You may be wondering why. If you look at "The Full Story", they mention that it is "CNC mandrel bent 14 gauge aluminized steel tubing". This is why there is the $140 option for a ceramic coating, as "aluminized steel" has a tendancy to rust.
Further more, if you read the FAQ that is available on "The Full Story" page, you will notice that they state that stainless steel is 3 times the cost of the "mild" steel they're using, and that even the cat would increase by 50% to 100% if its case was stainless steel. So they are honest about where they save their money compared to the other "comparable high quality" stainless steel exhausts which may cost 2 or 3 times as much.
They also mention in the FAQ that you could coat the exhaust yourself instead of purchasing their $140 ceramic coating.
You will also need to look for a "Stage II" ECU tune from one of the aftermarket ECU companies, otherwise you'll get CEL errors.
Finally, it does not appear that it's compatible with the Golf R due to the AWD system.
Please understand what I'm saying by the above post. From everything I've read of the feedback from people (at these forums and others) indicates that 42DD's quality of workmanship and the performance of their products is great, and comparable to the other well known off-the-shelf exhaust manufacturers for the Golf - just be sure to read and understand the information that 42DD are providing as to why their product is available for the cost it is, so you don't end up with any rude surprises!
Bookmarks