Just thought I'd let everyone know that I bought one of those 'HKSA' midpipes from Ebay. I didn't have any trouble dealing with the guy, and got the pipe very quickly. The quality of the pipe looks very good, the bends are nice, and he even sent along bolts and gaskets. Its a SS pipe, by the way. With shipping, it came to $150.

I put it on yesterday... it didn't fit perfectly, to me it seemed like it was about 1/4" too short, but since there is a lot of play in the exhaust system, bolting it up was not a problem. The only thing I really don't like is that it comes very close to hitting the floor of the car right where it comes off of the downpipe. When I was backing out of my driveway, I *think* I heard it actually hitting the floor. I'm not sure about this, though, and will find out once I drive it a little more.

Overall, I think for a total cost of $150 its a good deal.

 

yup, that IS a good deal. have you reset the ecu yet?

 

i bought one of those as well, got teh pipe very fast, installed it and had no problems with the fitment though i did have to take off one of the braces that are on the rear part of where the cat sits, otherwise teh midpipe would rest on it. it doesnt have any hangers so i guess thats why it hung a little too low, i will try to get a clamp around the pipe and hang it the way its supposed to because right now the only support for my exhasut system are my catback hangers

 

I just put one on too. Everything worked out fine. Why waste the extra cash? You could put the difference towards some other $100 mod. -BN

 

Louis: Haven't reset the ECU yet... probably do it later tonite or tomorrow.

Kahren: Are you talking about the aluminum brace that is held onto the body with 4 bolts? My pipe didn't even come close to hitting that. I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving that brace out.

 

Thanks for the review of this midpipe guys. I was really thinking of buying it but was concerned with how the bend was in the most odd place. It was only one bend copmared to two lil bends from other companies. I'm glad to hear that it comes with new gaskets/bolts as well. Does anyone have pics of it installed on the car??

Danny

 

yea i dont like that brace not being there, but its temporary i will put it on soon when i get the exhasut to hang up higher

 

why would you have to reset your ecu?

 

does it trip some kind of code

 

robby: I'm having another unrelated problem with my OMP... kinda mixed up the threads. Sorry.

 

What kind of performance gain do you feel? Pretty big, or just a little? How's the exhaust sound now without a cat? I'm thinking about getting this same pipe...


Thanks
Chuck

 

I bought the HKSA downpipe and the midpipe from ebay too.The welds and flanges look great.The only problem I had was that the o2 sensor bung was a little too close to the turbo manifold.I shaved the manifold down, and it fit fine.Yes i saw that the pipe was really close to the floor, but i don't think that'll be a factor.I had to weld the bracket from the cat onto the new midpipe to hang it.THe car runs great, and pulls hard.Funny thing is i'm not getting any boost spikes.I figured i would be hitting like 13-14psi.I'm getting 8.5-11-8.5. I love it, and the car has a nice 13B rotary tone.I defnitely would recommend getting the pipes and saving money.

 

Personally, I think the exhaust note sounds like crap. I still have the stock catback, though (I've had the damn Racing Beat dual tip on order for about 6 weeks now!). I've noticed a nice increase in throttle response, power, and a decrease in spool up time. I can also hear the turbos spooling a lot more. But, I never did a full wide-open throttle run because my boost was spiking up to 12-13 psi, and I don't want to blow my motor. I also REALLY hate the exhaust smell, its very bad. And it sticks to your clothes if you stand around it for any length of time. I think I'm gonna switch back to the stock cat for the time being, maybe buy a high flow cat from Summit Racing and how someone weld it in for me. I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna stay with a midpipe.

 

GtRx7: I think you bought a downpipe, not a midpipe. The downpipe bolts directly to the turbos and replaces the stock pre-cat. The O2 sensor goes into the downpipe. The midpipe replaces your cat with a straight pipe. You won't have a boost creep problem with just putting in a dp, but you will if you get an mp too.

 

If you didn't notice, he said downpipe AND midpipe from the guy on ebay.....

Later
Chuck

 

Yeah, i bought both the midpipe and the downpipe.I was concerned that the midpipe had no silencer or anything in it.I was worried that i would overboost.BUt boost is great 8.5-11-8.5. The car has a nicer tone to it, but like the previous post, the exhaust smell does get to your clothes and hair.Not the best smell if your meeting a lady.BUt who cares, with the looks of the rx-7 you can pick up many chicas.

 

Ooops, my bad. I missed the midpipe part.

Wait a sec... you say your getting 8.5-11-8.5 boost pattern? Thats not right. I was getting a 10-8-10 before the midpipe install. I'm not sure what I'm getting now because I got scared and let up on the gas when I hit 13 psi. Your boost pattern should be more like 10+ - 8+ - 10+
Maybe you have a boost leak somewhere?

You're right about chicks liking the car, but I'd be pretty embarresed if they smelled like exhaust after I dropped them off

 

I was wondering about his boost pattern as well.... What cat backs are you guys running? If my only 2 mods are downpipe and midpipe will I be ok computer wise? I plan to do intake and a Racing Beat exhaust later on. Would an Apexi AFC be all that I need to keep the motor happy? How would a boost controller help? After I do all this I plan to upgrade to an M2 medium smic.

Thanks
Chuck