I don't see why it would not pass the sniffer (the STI upipe has no cat) but the visual inspection, dunno. Try to find an old man with poor eyesight.

 

I dont think you will pass the visual with that pipe but the upipe cat is only used for cold start emissions so you should be ok with the sniffer as long as they dont do a cold start test. You would have the best chance of passing the visual with the STI upipe (I'm picking mine up tomorrow). The best price I've found for a new STI pipe is $275 at this site http://www.subaruwrxparts.com/wrx-drivetrain.html.

 

What about Vishnu? They claim that theirs' is the best. There is also quite a bit of hype behind Vushnu, is their pipe better or worse than Helix?

 

No. An uppipe is an uppipe is an uppipe. You might enjoy the Uppipe FAQ I made on another forum.

 

You clearly worked hard on that FAQ, but it contains a good deal of conjecture and not much supporting evidence. Gutting the stock uppipe can be a recipe for disaster in the wrong hands; any "dings," scrapes or thinning of the walls caused by dremelling out the catalytic material has the potential to become a hot spot, causing uneven heating and cooling (and premature failure of the pipe).

As for the coated vs. uncoated issue, this is missing several of the pro/con arguments; for instance, keeping that heat in the pipe keeps it out of the engine compartment (always a plus with a TMIC). However, excessive EGT can cook your turbo, so proper engine management (not just an MBC) is a necessity.

Finally, there is the contradictory idea that "an uppipe is an uppipe" yet that fittment itself is crucial. There is no way that all of the 3rd-party uppipe makers out there create products with the exact same design and fabrication tolerances and standards; the idea that any old cheap one is just as good as a Crucial Racing or Helix, as good as something that has been race-tested and proven, is pretty laughable (as is the idea that the installation itself is more important than the design of the pipe). It behooves anyone willing to make such a drastic change to their engine's design and performance to do a great deal of research and comparison, and not just treat an uppipe as "seen one, seen e'm all."

 

so i suppose you have some evidence to substantiate your claims? namely, that ANY gutted up pipe has failed after install?

sounds like you've never done it yourself. i've done three. the walls of the pipe are not made out of tissue paper.

if you are relying on the conduction of heat out of the exhaust manifold pre turbo to keep your egts down, you are well on your way to disaster. max turbo inlet temp on the td04 is 1650F. if you have that much heat at your turbine inlet you've got drastic problems. keeping heat from under the bonnet is ALWAYS a good idea, never mind just with TMICs. i fail to see how engine management is germane to a discussion of up pipes.

i guarantee that an STi or gutted wrx oem pipe has far more hours of research and devlopment than ANY other aftermarket up pipe, and that fit will be unparalelled.

 

I just found this thread.

I guarantee a Crucial uppipe has a far smoother interior and flows much better than the STi. Have you ever seen the welds on the niterior of the STi pipe? This subject was covered before here. https://www.i-club.com/forums/showth...hlight=crucial

Read what Dallas P&P has to say.

 

I looked as far as I could see into mine and it looked as smooth as a babys a$$ with the exception of this https://www.i-club.com/forums/engine-power-ej20t-pre-2006-wrx-jdm-60/sti-upipe-defective-70867/. Do you have any pics of a bad weld on a STI upipe and if you do would you post them.

How much HP do you think I would have gained over my STI upipe if I would have bought a Crucial upipe? Im not saying the Crucial pipe isnt great or anything because it does look like a great pipe (possibly the best) but I doubt there would be much if any difference in performance.

 

I'm not sure you'd gain HP but I know you'd spool up a lot faster.

 

russ, exactly how much is "a lot?"

 

Exactly? I can't answer that.

 

I'm not trying to be an a$$ but exactly how do you know? Have you run both and seen a difference or do you just think you know?

Dont take this the wrong way, I'm just curious.

 

We're going to do a dyno run this weekend. If we can map boost along with the run, I'll publish the results.

 

Here's my issue with upipes. The upipe curls around cery close to the engine, i don't remember the number of the cylinder it is closest to. If there is no heat shield then there is excess heat radiating into the engine and on one cylinder more than the other. In my opinion, and possibly in the opinion of others, that is a bad thing. Here's my question: does the coating on the crucial pipe keep the heat in the pipe and radiates less of it, or does it radiate more of it out, or does it just retain it untill the engine can cool down. If the pipe gets hotter and it radiates it out then a serious issue with the engine will develop.

 

The Crucial pipe does not absorb heat as a conventional uppipe would because it is coated on the inside and outside to reject heat.