Front/dump Pipes

[Taso84]

Interested in upgrading to 3" dump and front pipe but i got a few questions to ask b4 i purchase, if any1 has had experience with this.

1) Is there any diff b/w getting a 1 piece front/dump pipe or buying 2 separate pieces

2) Why is the diff between say a X-Force $200 and a $500 Catco one in terms of quality performace.

3) Does the split system (2 seperate pipes out of turbo) make any diff and is it worth getting it? I know its supposed to reduce turbulance or something, but is this fact or just a gimmick?

4) How long should a mild steel one last for? ie is it worth paying the extra $100 for stainless?

5) What else should i know

Thanx guys, advice much appreciated

Edited April 23, 2006 by Taso84

[thommo]

1 - search

2 - you get what you pay for

3 - search

4 - should last for as long as you own the car, stainless is ultimately for looks IMO

5 - I installed an all in one front & dump and hi flow cat (from BATMBL on this forum) as one of the very first mods i did to my 33, it is definately worth doing.

Went for mild steel as i'm not huge on the "bling" and although in retrospect i'd go for the split pipe, there were good gains to be made with the combined front & dump.

go for it mate

[Liz]

Interested in upgrading to 3" dump and front pipe but i got a few questions to ask b4 i purchase, if any1 has had experience with this.

1) Is there any diff b/w getting a 1 piece front/dump pipe or buying 2 separate pieces

2) Why is the diff between say a X-Force $200 and a $500 Catco one in terms of quality performace.

3) Does the split system (2 seperate pipes out of turbo) make any diff and is it worth getting it? I know its supposed to reduce turbulance or something, but is this fact or just a gimmick?

4) How long should a mild steel one last for? ie is it worth paying the extra $100 for stainless?

5) What else should i know

Thanx guys, advice much appreciated

3) Yeah it does, provided the split is for long enough. So if you are going a split system make sure you'd want to be getting a 1 piece front/dump pump to ensure the split is not just for 2 inches.

that's the only one i know the answer to sorry!

[mr_rbman]

i have a s/s dump pipe for sale, if your interested pm me. (its not split though!)

[Abo Bob]

1. 2 piece is easier to work on.

2. dunno, you didn't give us specs on either.

3. Not a gimmick. Worth getting. The longer the split the better.

4. Probably longer than you will have the car. Mild is fine.

5. If getting a split one better to get a one piece.

[Taso84]

If i later on decide to upgrade turbo, is it better to get two piece setup so that i just have to replace dump pipe and not front pipe, or should a say upgraded garett turbo be compatable with the dumppipe?

[MANWHORE]

The reason why the 2 piece dumps are not as good (reads quite substantially worse) is because the lengtht htat the split runs is very short. Furthermore, all the split ones i've seen are only 2.5" e.g. the HKS ones.

Split ones are better. there have been dyno posts on sau demonstrating this. the benefit is quite substantial. I personally went the batmbl route.

Stainless will last longer. Mild steel will last so long that it's just not funny. I have a mild steel catback that came with my car from japan. It is probably >5 years old and it only has a few tiny specs of surface rust on it. IMO, stainless is a waste of money. It's not even for looks coz you can't even see it under the heatshield.

IMO the catco dump is not noticeably of better quality than the xforce one. As I have said above, the design is better. It has a long split. The xforce is a 2 piece dump/front with the dump being 2.5".

Anything elese you should know? if you're planning on replacing it yourself, be prepared to drink many beers and scratch your head thinking a bit. Things are never straight bolt in. e.g. you might need to use an angle grinder on some of the flanges. The exhaust hanger will need modification to fit a 3" pipe.

Regarding changing the dump for a turbo later on, you'll find that many turbos are avaialble for the stock 6bolt dump flange. You'll find these more than adequate unless if you're chasing massive power (reads >270 odd rwkw). It's no biggy anyways. If you're putting on a turbo for more power than that, most likely you'll need to be changing manifold flange too and many other things and having the wrong flange on your dump will be the least of your worries. Dump flange can be changed.

Hope i've covered it all. I was feeling generous today instead of just telling you to search.