Originally Posted by aadosx

^^ This.

Let me first say that I don't know about the exhaust tearing, and haven't looked the issue up, so there could be some ignorance on my part here.

No offense meant, but isn't Invidia a company that makes inexpensive substitutes? It sounds to me like an issue with the exhaust. The whole point of a flex pipe is so that it can flex. These motors don't torque around THAT much so I can see no possible way of it torquing the pipes enough to mess up a flex pipe section, unless it's poorly made.

If anything, putting the support bracket on the ART Pipes will be a bad idea (if even possible), because that will disallow the flex joints to do their job. If the ART Pipes are rigidly in place and the engine flexes some, you might break the welds on the ART Pipes where they meet up with the headers, or most likely the welds will break where you added mounting tabs for the OEM cat brace. The OEM cats can handle this wear and tear because they are very heavy and made of a much heavier and more durable metal. The rubber bushings on the OEM brace give them enough play to be ok. Lighter test pipes though.. well that could be a whole different story.

The brace is just there because the OEM cats are pretty heavy.. it helps support their weight.. it's as simple as that. The brace is not there to save your exhaust from the engine flexing around. The ART Pipes weigh like half as much, so the headers and exhaust system should be able to bear the weight themselves, without the help of the OEM mounting bracket.