What do you think is the best aftermarket uppipe? and why?

~v6

Well how about a Vishnu 321 uppipe with an extra bung for an 02 sensor? You also can't complain about it's quality and fitment.

As for myself, I have a uppipe made by Alamo Motorsports that is made of SS steel and jethot coated. It's good and serves it purpose. But I'm thinking that one of the flanges may need to be grinded down as it's not perfectly flat. Too bad it was a one off product as it had potential.

I also like the Turbo XS one since it's cast and will retain heat better.

Oh then there is the Perrin one as it just looks plain good with the logo stamped on it.


All the other pipe look the same to me. Thus the reason I pointed out the aboce as they all have something that makes em stand out.

Ive heard great things about the perrin Gen III (w/o EGT bung) uppipe. Thats the one I'm most likely getting for myself. Or maybe the perrin Gen I ( with EGT bung).

What do you guys think of the uppipes with the flex pipe in them?

~v6

I think it's good in theory, but just leaves more to break in the long run. I've heard of flex joints leaking and breaking over time.

For a long time I was trying to decide weather to get an Uppipe with or without a flex joint. I spoke with a few different people and simply... they said the only way a solid one would crack is if you heat it up dump cold water on it a few times. Same as an engine.

Thats my take on it.

I would probably still lean more toward the flex joint, I mean, the car was manufactured w/ flex, so to me that means it's expected to flex over time. unless the other kinds have some kind of miracle gasket of some kind, I'd stick w/ flex. and doesn't MRT make a flex joint one? I would go w/ that over anything, from all my searching those damn australians seem to know what the hell they're doing with reliability in mind. that's just me though, and depending on what happens w/ the presant state of my car, I may never have the money to buy one.

i also like the turbo xs, although i have heard good things about perrin as well from a couple different people running them. not to hijack, but is the egt bung necessary?

have you seen APS' new uppipe with the flex joint... WOW!!!

the thing is friggen amazing! but i just wont pay that much for one :-)

Bob

Originally posted by westy66
have you seen APS' new uppipe with the flex joint... WOW!!!

the thing is friggen amazing! but i just wont pay that much for one :-)

Bob

i knew they were working on one, but i didn't know it was out yet. how much are they wanting for it? that is one thing i noticed, aps has good stuff, but they sure are proud!

Originally posted by Dick Fitzwell
but is the egt bung necessary?

not necessarily, if you have an egt gauge- it makes it easier, though there are other places for it to be tapped and sealed in (at least that's what I think they do to it :))

speed safely

Brian

Stock.

-NORSE

that wouldn't be very accurate for a gauge would it? i was under the understanding that one of the passenger side header tubes was the best place to tap for egt...:confused:

vishn
pde
turbo xs
perrin
godspeed

graham goode racing www.grahamgoode.com i've had the up-pipe in since August '01 no worries :)

Andy.

Grahm Goode
Scooby Sport

I had the Graham Goode up pipe and it was perfectly fine. I would def. recommend it.

Pete

What about Japanese brands like HKS? Just curious about their uppipes, since I'm sort of a JDM nazi :D

How about HKS up-pipe? i saw it sale on www.hksusa.com website! never know they have it !

currently using MRT uppipe w/ flex joint. its been on the car for almost 10k miles. no leaks. power gain is tremendous.

I think when buying an uppipe the most important thing to consider is the diameter of the pipe. There is a reason why Subaru made theirs that size. With that said, Vishnu and the catless Subaru JDM pipes are the best. Shiv makes his the same diameter as the stock pipes. And I would avoid uppipes with flex joints.

I would think the flex joint is very important.

I had expierience with another turbo car that would NOT run right after replacing the flex joint in the exaust. The reason was the motor was picking up knock thru the exaust and retarding the timing.

Let me tell you... Its not an easy thing to figure out.

I like the idea of the flex joint... but the price on a nice pipe with it is HUGE... and im poor :(

~v6

Yah what whack-job's would put an unreliable flex joint in the uppipe sheesh! (Stock!?@#?!#)

The absolute best bang for your buck is to gut your factory uppipe and re-install it. The Subaru engineers are no dummies.

Paying $300 for an aftermarket pipe is insane. At least when you have somewhat limited funds to pipe into the car.

I just paid $80 for a gutted stock pipe, and am about to pay 120 for the install. It will fit like stock, take the stock EGT sensor, look like stock, blah blah blah.

IBT-angry-responses-from-people-who-bought-'spensive-uppipes

:lol: :)

-=eric

I dont really think a gutted stock pipe is very good for performance. It is very restrictive for a few reasons.

It will probably be better than stock, but not close to the gain of an actual aftermarket piece.

But like you say you wont have fitment problems and thats always a plus.

~v6

If you plan to tune the car on a dyno, it's nice to have the extra O2 bung. Some place it just before the turbo and others go for just behind.

You'll "get what you pay for on up-pipes" The lower flange is a critical spot for leak free installation using the right directions.

Having installed Vishnu, PDE, Turbo XS, MRT, Godspeed, and Perrin pipes, my favorite is the Vishnu. Superior quality, perfect fit, and the extra bung for tuning.

Originally posted by V6turboTA
IIt is very restrictive for a few reasons.


Could you elaborate? From everything I've read...you don't want to make the uppipe diameter larger (slowing flow before turbo = bad thing).

I understand that if you want a bigger turbo or a wideband bung...then aftermarket is the way to go. But just the fact that I won't have warranty issues, or issues with that EGT bung falling out is basically what I was after. :)

Originally posted by En3D
I think when buying an uppipe the most important thing to consider is the diameter of the pipe. There is a reason why Subaru made theirs that size. With that said, Vishnu and the catless Subaru JDM pipes are the best. Shiv makes his the same diameter as the stock pipes. And I would avoid uppipes with flex joints.
Any sources for Subaru JDM catless up pipes? They sound quite good to me :D

"Could you elaborate? From everything I've read...you don't want to make the uppipe diameter larger (slowing flow before turbo = bad thing)."

exactly. velocity is your friend. It's not an exhaust. The only thing that I think is bad about a gutted stock uppipe is turbulance.

So your gutted uppipe, is the inside smooth or is there a larger diameter where the cat used to be?

Does anyone have a picture of the stock uppipe?

Basicly i want to know the same thing En3D asked. If there is a large gap in the pipe where the cat was...

~v6

The STi uppipe has a flex joint in it as does the oe piece, this is one of the reasons you hear few if any complaints of leaking. This was my main impetus for selecting the STi pipe (I had heard enough horror stories about leaks). One can argue the virtues of pipe diameter and flow, but 90+% of gains w/ a uppipe are the simple removal of the cat, this includes the faster spool.

Best I can do. (Actually the best that sr20det91 could do after he finished gutting it for me).

http://photos.imageevent.com/olivares/iclubstuff/websize/gutted%20002.jpg

http://photos.imageevent.com/olivares/iclubstuff/websize/gutted%20003.jpg

Might be a bit of turbulence. For $80, it don't bother me a bit! :)

I would say vishnu or PDE.

price/performance+reliabillity a gutted stock pipe is a good option...

http://home.attbi.com/~bobski111/pics/uppipe3.jpg
http://home.attbi.com/~bobski111/pics/uppipe4.jpg

Used CatLess EJ20 up-pipes, NO EGT Bung. DIRECT replacement for our MY02 stock up-pipe. $100 stock/$125 jet-hot coated

Contact Steve or John.
Outback Motorsports
(714) 994-5222

*this info is a few months old*

Yah those are nice...but you still have to use a resistor. Check out http://www.i-speedusa.com if you're in the SF Bay area. They have bunches.

-=eric

Originally posted by mexicanpizza
Yah those are nice...but you still have to use a resistor. Check out http://www.i-speedusa.com if you're in the SF Bay area. They have bunches.

-=eric

just a suggestion. somebody asked for pics i thought..if not my bad!:o

JDM up-pipe= Legacy 2.2 liter turbo uppipe for the record and available in the states 9not sure on cost though)..yes you either need to weld the bunmg or fit a resistor, as neither the new age STi nor old Legacy Turbos have the EGT sensor.

The Graham Goode is a really nice piece....we have sold it since day 1.

The BPM, etc with the flex is a bit beefier....all polished, very thick flanges, etc....quality piece for the price.

As for diameter it comes down to matching. the up-pipe is a bridge between the manifold and turbo, so ideally, it should be port matched to both. To big or too small and you get loads of turbulance at the flanges...small helps spool but kills top end..big does the reverse.

Stock diameter is fine...it matches both the turbo and manifold well

the manfiold is made of iron, so why does the upipe have to be made of stainless steel?

the txs upipe, expands, flows and retains heat exactly the same as the stock exhuast manfiold, which is crucial for maintaining exhuast gas velocity to the turbo. its also the same diameter too.

like..having a stock upipe, with a two bungs, and no cat :)

I'm buying the Perrin upipe because of it has 321 SS, and does not have any EGT bungs which I do not need, if I ever put in an EGT sensor I will tap the manifold most likely. Also it was an ok deal at $249, comes with new studs+gasket.

The STI and USDM OEM pipe does have areas in it that enable the pipe to expand and contract, I'm sure they put it there for a reason. Hopefully I will have good luck with my solid Perrin pipe though.

For those interested, you can purchase new STI catless upipes from Rallispec.com
http://rallispec.com/
Paul

ScobbySport or Grahm Ghoode because they've been working on WRX's since 1993.