disa

After a little bit of thinking and browsing, I think my first upgrades for my rx-7 -99 will be downpipe, cat-back exhaust and intake. So far the car is fully stock. Any opinions if this is a good place to start?

Any recommendation what brand and/or model to use? I've been looking at rx7store.net, but still have some questionmarks. First, their most expensive downpipe from HKS is not made in stainless steel but rather mild steel. Is this too recommend? Since I live in Sweden, where salt and cold are big issued with rust, I assume a stainless would be recommended.
rx7store.net also has a Pettit stainless downpipe, any opinions about this one? I have no experience of Pettit products, any recommendations?

For the cat-back, I've been looking at the HKS carbon titanium exhaust, mainly cuz it looks awesome, and I have a great experience with HKS products. But it is a little pricey. Is this a pipe with the price, or are there otherones just as good out there?

I've been looking at the Pettit intake on rx7store.net, since it claims to be especially effective by taking cold air from outside. However, the one I've kinda decided for is the HKS racing intake. Is the Pettit one really more effective? Since it does seem to take up a lot of room. Does the HKS one do the trick?

How come HKS has a such expensive downpipe and not being stainless. Any benefits in having it in mild steel?

Any issues or other recommendations with this setup? Any info is appreciated. Since I live in Sweden, and have on of the very few imported Rx-7's in the land, very few parts are available locally, and I will need to order most stuff from overseas, I really need to get the right stuff, as well as all required, non-standard, parts needed for installation. For these products, is everything needed for installation included in the package, or do I need something else?

BoostCrzy

using the stock ECU with no additional fuel will limit your modding....so maybe look into a good ECU upgrade as part of the plan.....as for first mods?....i would go with the downpipe/cat-back first and then wait for the ECU before going much further

Boost creep will be an issue with much more....

DDagman

iTrader: (3)

A downpipe is a downpipe. You can buy the HKS one and think that you have the top of the line, but in my opinion It doesnt matter. I would spend $139 and get the RX7store downpipe instead. I have one and it is awsome. Installation was great too.

About the Cat-back, viertually all of the following 4 brands are equal in performance and are all made well: Apex'i, HKS, Greddy, Racing Beat. If you want a very mild quite tone but want it loud at WOT, I would stick with the Racing Beat, but otherwise any of the other ones are great for a much deeper, louder note at idle.

Intake wise, i think it doesn't matter that much as well. I have an Apex'i intake and it does the job perfectly. I dont know about others but i like mine.

I agree about the ECU. If you plan on going more then just cat-back and downpipe, get a stand alone ECU, either the Apex'i Power FC (most popular on these forums), the HKS PFC F-CON, or the AEM. All of these items are price but they allow you to run higher boost without ruining the engine.

I hope this helps

tphan

I like my HKS downpipe...fit like a glove. Bought it used on Ebay for $125.00, have it sandblasted, 3 coats of hi temp alum paint...still look like new.

I don't think all downpipes are created equal. This is America...you get what u paid for.

rynberg

1. A downpipe is NOT a downpipe. I would never put a mild steel exhaust part on my car. The Pettit and Bonez pipes fit great and are stainless steel. Not to mention the HKS one has a crimp in it to clear the steering column on RHD cars.

2. I do not like open-air intakes. Unfortunately, the only box intake left on the market is sold by www.srmotorsports.com. It's a nice piece. You can also just mod the stock air box, which works just as good until you need to upgrade the intercooler. Search for "modified intake" and "adamc".

3. You can easily and safely run all these mods on the stock ecu, but you need to keep boost to the stock level of 10 psi. This will likely require a boost controller, either manual or electronic. There is no reason to get something super fancy, a Greddy Profec Type-S works just fine.

4. You should not need extra parts unless one of your gaskets is bad at the downpipe.

Jason

iTrader: (5)

A stainless downpipe is a stainless downpipe as long as it fits well. You can spend $300 if you like but you are wasting money. If your car is RHD then you will have to go with the HKS.

Jason