O2 extension for ESS HFC X-Pipe

[philmeister4]

I have purchased an ESS X-Pipe with high flow cats and would like to add some 02 extenders to help mitigate the CEL. Has anybody on here done the legwork already and care to share where to buy from and which adapters you went with?

The issue is that the driver side mount for the down pipe portion is about an inch aft of the O2 plug, making clearance for most extenders an issue. I have seen curved extenders, angled extenders etc. I'm just hoping somebody has charted this course without me buying 10 different options to try at the time of install.

Regards,
Phil

[ATH_M2]

I know Fabspeed sells extenders.

[chillp]

How long have you had your ESS X-pipe? I have the ESS tune now, but I had my ESS X-pipe with HFCs long before that (about 20k miles) and never got a CEL.

[SYT_Shadow]

I also run the ESS HFC Xpipe and got errors after a hundred miles. Cleared them and got them again.

Now I have a tune so I'm good

[philmeister4]

Originally Posted by chillp

How long have you had your ESS X-pipe? I have the ESS tune now, but I had my ESS X-pipe with HFCs long before that (about 20k miles) and never got a CEL.

I haven't installed them yet as I was planning to install with the extenders to further mitigate the CEL issue. ESSclaims CELs aren't typically an issue with their HFCs but I'm still under warranty and don't want to run a tune to fully eliminate the CEL issue and simultaneously void warranty.

[GOFAST M3]

Originally Posted by philmeister4

I haven't installed them yet as I was planning to install with the extenders to further mitigate the CEL issue. ESSclaims CELs aren't typically an issue with their HFCs but I'm still under warranty and don't want to run a tune to fully eliminate the CEL issue and simultaneously void warranty.

Hey philmeister4, did you ever find a solution? I am where you were in August and trying to decide if the x-pipe is worth the purchase as I am not ready to tune yet. Hoping you had some luck!

[philmeister4]

Originally Posted by GOFAST M3

Hey philmeister4, did you ever find a solution? I am where you were in August and trying to decide if the x-pipe is worth the purchase as I am not ready to tune yet. Hoping you had some luck!

Hey Go Fast, you've already purchased the X-pipe? If not, consider Fabspeed or another brand that has built in extenders.

Short answer is no.

So I've been living with flashing my CEL ALL the time. I purchased some extenders but have yet to install them. They are 2 pieces: a right angle to mount on the pipe and an extender to connect the the Sensor into the right angle. One of the extenders will mount easily. I'm hoping that I can use a belt grinder to sand down the other right angle adapter so I can get several threads into the X-pipe before fitting the extension piece into it. It will probably require sanding down both part of the X-pipe mount and extended to get a fitment I like.

[GOFAST M3]

Originally Posted by philmeister4

Hey Go Fast, you've already purchased the X-pipe? If not, consider Fabspeed or another brand that has built in extenders.

Short answer is no.

So I've been living with flashing my CEL ALL the time. I purchased some extenders but have yet to install them. They are 2 pieces: a right angle to mount on the pipe and an extender to connect the the Sensor into the right angle. One of the extenders will mount easily. I'm hoping that I can use a belt grinder to sand down the other right angle adapter so I can get several threads into the X-pipe before fitting the extension piece into it. It will probably require sanding down both part of the X-pipe mount and extended to get a fitment I like.

Hey, thanks for your reply. I have not yet bought an X-pipe. I really like the sound of the ESS Full Exhaust so thats why I was looking at that particular x-pipe. Thanks a lot for the advice and I will look in to Fabspeed for sure. I think I may skip the X for now and maybe go with a louder slip on exhaust like Borla Atak. Good luck with your project, I really hope that work pays off and you take care of the CEL. Please keep me posted though! Thanks again!

[SYT_Shadow]

BTW, finally I discovered my CEL was due to a faulty O2 sensor.

I will be buying a second ESS Xpipe for my E90 now

[GOFAST M3]

Originally Posted by SYT_Shadow

BTW, finally I discovered my CEL was due to a faulty O2 sensor.

I will be buying a second ESS Xpipe for my E90 now

Well, I guess I am back in the hunt again hahahaha. I guess worst case is I sell it and replace the stock setup.

[philmeister4]

You should definitely go for an X-pipe. It is a very noticeable increase in power, especially down low and the sound ooohhhhh the sound.

I plan on doing a tune after I'm out of warranty here in 8 months so I can live with clearing the CEL for a few months. I still plan on installing the O2 extenders once I get some down time.

[EnderG60]

Trust me on this, it wont work.

I installed J-tube extenders behind my secondary cats. Still got the CEL, but it took a damn year to happen, and right in time for by birthday. Hoooray.

[SYT_Shadow]

This is my exhaust evolution:

I started off all oem, then moved to a bypass (all closed pipes) oem exhaust mod. It was relatively loud, but had drone around 3000-3200 which is a frequent rpm for highway use.

Afterwards I got the Evolve valvetronic exhaust. On loud it was pretty much the same volume as the oem bypass, but it still had the drone at 3000-3200

As the ESS Xpipe is the only one I'm aware of that allows you to pass OBDII emissions with the ESS tune and I've worked with ESS in the past and have nothing but good things to say about them, I pulled the trigger.

The power difference is instantly noticeable. What I wasn't expecting is it is significantly louder but most importantly for me, it displaces the drone. The drone has moved from 3000-3200rpm to 1800-2000, which is below the range of use on the street or track.

Now, loud mode on the exhaust is much louder than the all closed pipes oem mod but it doesn't drone in the least. I can do highway trips on loud and no one complains.


I got a second E9X recently. I wanted to do test pipes and replace the cats when it's time to pass emissions, but unfortunately it seems like test pipes are not reversible. It seems like I will have to go for a second ESS HFC Xpipe!