which downpipe?
 

So a downpipe replaces the precat? How are emissions? I'm from belgium, a teeny weeny country in the heart of europe. Here they are very strict when it comes to emissions. And which downpipe would you recommend? I want good quality for a reasonable price, lot's of importstaxes, you know...

Well I live in cali! ;) You should still be fine with a dp emissions wise, and their all just about the same, some fit better than others but other than that there isnt a difference.

Nice weather over there? :-) I was thinking of going with a pettit racing dp together with their open air intake. Good choice?

Since you probably see salt on the ground in the area, I would reccomend you go with a stainless steel downpipe. Find some used ones on the for sale forum, and see how much they'll cost to ship. As he said above, some fit better (like the HKS), but overall, they are basically the same. You either go with mild steel or stainless steel.

Can you confirm you have a precat with the catalytic element? (I think most non-US cars do not have one) If you do, the pipe looks like a 2L bottle crammed into the tunnel.

How are your emissions tested? If it's using direct readings from the exhaust you'll still pass with a very warm car. The pre-cat is only good for the first 5-10 minutes after startup.

Dave

I just installed a gothamracing.com stainless steel downpipe. it was 169+ shipping I believe, brand new. The only problem that I ran into is that my 50' of header wrap caused me to have zero clearance to get the downpipe into position. So without the wrap it would have been cake, with the wrap me and another guy cursed for about 30 minutes to get it on.

Oh, this is with the stock cat in place.

Steve

I bought the RX7store DP/MP combo myself.

They are very nice and made of stainless steel. (The only way to go in my opinion) The only issue I ran into was at the point where the DP meets the turbo manifold the welds lead into the bolt area so it needs a little trimming with a grinder. Other than that, it is a great peice.

~Kris

He mentioned emissions as a concern. Midpipe is out.

Dave

Well, I'm sure Jason offers the DP alone, or he could turn around and sell the MP on ebay/FS-FTforum.

I mearly mentioned it since that is what I bought and was considerably less expensive compared to the alternatives. I'm sorry I should of been more specific when I posted my comment -- I'm at work and I hurried myself with the post.

Here is a pic of my DP before I installed it:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...s/exhaust1.jpg

Close-up (Manuf. plate + welds):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...s/exhaust2.jpg

~Kris

For visual inspection you're best bet would be the HKS but you should still have it heat coated. If you can't have it done there, then ask the shop you purchase it from to do it for you. If you pay in advance, they won't have any problem with it. THe drawback is it will add 10 days to your delivery time. For a flush fit without any leaks, replace gasket, studs and nuts.

Isn't that the megan racing downpipe you can buy on ebay?

Yeah its been nice, its been getting way too hot for me to want to drive my car during the day tho... :( If you have the money a SS Downpipe from a name brand would be the best option, but those can cost an ass load. I dont know anything pettits intakes tho.

I had the Petitt before I went single. It fits nice and you don't need to remove studs. Its also SS.