I own a bone stock 1994 FD with 20,000 original miles. I am considering a downpipe and I am getting a lot of conflicting advice. Some are saying that the ECU should be upgraded or a boost controller installed and others say no...this in the only mod I am planning on doing. Please advise.

Thanks.

 

You don't need an aftermarket ECU for just a downpipe. The downpipe will actually help you out more than the factory pre-cat. It's a starter, "reliability" mod.

 

down pipe is fine without a boost controller or upgraded ECU.

 

Agreed whoever told you to upgrade the ECU or get a boost controller did not know what they were talking about.

 

FDs in other countries came with cat-less downpipes from the factory. It's a perfectly safe mod without any other supporting mods, and in fact is considered to be a reliablilty mod. The stock twins combined with an already superheated rotary exhaust make short work of precats, which causes them to disintegrate and clog the maincat.

What you probably read was people talking about removing the maincat for a midpipe. Then you need to port your waste gate, get a boost controller, etc.

 

Because you have such a cherry FD, please do this right. Get a quality DP from an established vendor and have it ceramic coated to reduce engine-bay heat.

 

Or pick up a used M2 in the classifieds and have it coated (JetHot 2000 works well).

And stop listening to whoever it was that gave you the original advice.

 

bolt ons are the easiest to install and one of the first upgrades.. that you should get

 

I see you're in Canada, and have a low mileage car. Is your car a JDM?

If so, then don't worry about a new dp. The jdm one doesn't have a pre-cat.

 

Thanks everyone...I will get one on order today. I saw someone on the forum who had a used HKS that was ceramic coated. Would this be a good option? How does the HKS fit?

 

The concensus is that the HKS is one of the best for fit and ease of installation. However, it is not stainless (not a problem, they work fine), and has the clearance for the RHD steering column, making it slightly less efficient (a bit less HP).

I have one that is Jet Hot ceramic coated, and no problems.

 

Despite what everyone says, I think it is wise to at least keep an eye on your boost pressure after any kind of exhaust or intake upgrade.

I hit fuel cut with just a DP and smoothed/matched ports on my FD's previous engine.