Up Pipe Question Modded threads: I combined three threads into one.... we did not need all three going for the same thing. mlgez Since I havn't seen anybody done a Up-pipe mod. I was just wondering how hard it is to put an Up-pipe into my 02 WRX. How complicate is it? What things I'll have to remove?
Well, it's harder than flipping a lightswitch but easier than building a spacestation. lol j/k Seriously it doesn't look hard but I've heard of poor installs causing problems, that's why I'm just gonna have bikerboy or wrxboy install mine. Job done right and all that ya know.
Not hard at all, just takes time. I've done a bunch. If you need step by step instructions just PM me.
Yeah, you pretty much have to remove a ton of crap. And you need an O2 sensor wrench (you cut your heatshield after you get it off so you don't need the wrench). And you need gaskets. I assume you have a DP?
I had mine done at MAPerformance. I watched them do it...they had to cut a heat shield, and put a custom bend in a wrench, using a torch, in order to get a bolt or two. Looked like a pain in the ass. I wouldn't do it unless I had a lift. All the work is done from under the car.
You don't need a lift, just two jackstands and some patience. Having one of those weird sockets for removing the O2 sensor is pretty much required. I could never figure out any way to get a wrench on there. The only reason you'd have problems is if you used old gaskets or forgot to tighten some bolts. The main difficulty is that the stock UP is so fat that it won't come out the bottom of the car. There's two ways to resolve this: 1. Take off the turbo so you can get it out the top. This makes a mess because a bunch of oil and coolant spills out. 2. Remove the exhaust header, unbolt the engine mounts, and jack up the motor until the UP fits out through the bottom. This sounds hard, but is not that bad and is usually what people do so they don't lose half their coolant onto the garage floor. I think next time I do it I'm going to remove the whole exhaust header as one piece, because getting only the passenger side part off is a pain.
Yea what WOT said, the easiest way is to raise the engine a few inches so it will slide out...it took so long to get the stock sensor out of the uppipe it was stuck in there really good.
Make sure you get that 02 sensor socket. I got the 02 wrench and it didn't fit. So now I am waiting on the socket in the mail.
Yeah, that weird little offset o2 socket is the secret to making the job much easier. I had one of those longer o2 sockets and it was too long -- it would hit the frame and wouldn't go over the sensor.
if you want to save a lot of headache and not spend too much on install I would have nathan do it, he did an awesome job for me
Well, just to let you know, that if you are going as far as pulling the manifold, you definitly don't need to jack up the motor. I have done 10+ uppipes and have never had to pull the mount and jack up the motor. usually if you pull the pass manifold you also don't need a O2 socket either. russ
Jacking up the engine is the easy part. Getting the f'er back IN is hard. And I'd be interested to see how Russ got the stock ones out without jacking or using the o2 wrench. Not that I doubt it- I just want to steal his secret! :biggrin:
+139203 for Nathan (wrxboy) doing the install at a great price and showing ya a few things in the process!!! The air-sockets and flex bits allowed him to get a lot of the bolts off that were in somewhat hard to get to places or corroded and torqued on... Plus you know it's done right!!!
for cheap get the ERZ on ebay, my dp fit really good. and i have a helix up and that fits great as well. theres a lot you can choose form. are you going stage 2?
If you can spend the money its the way to go. Im going to be going to a divorced from my bellmouth soon.
Getting an STi muffler doesn't really help you much. The SPT cat-back systems are nice, Borla's are nice, Prodrive mufflers are great. It all depends on how loud you want it. Invidia and Crucial Racing make nice up and down pipes.
or did you mean engine mods . . . I swore I would never be one of those 'tards with tons of horsepower mods but stock suspension and wheels, but here I am.
nah, i want to keep the noise down as possible thats why I want only STi exhaust. Was thinking SPT but nah. That'll be for my 16G upgrade later in the future. I dont want huge performance. Just needed a little HP gain to make me happy...lol
hehe...yeap thats soooooooooooo true...(I know if I do my 16G upgrade soon I would want a 18G....lol)
HKS DownPipe Question Why does everybody say HKS DOWNPIPEs are not good for WRX? Whats not good about it?
IIRC it is high quality but the non bellmouth part is what kills it. if you are going to spend money on an aftermarket piece you are better off going with something that will provide better flow and less wategate turbulance. since the HKS is a no bell mouth the wastegate gasses are being shot a a flat peice of steel, isnt the best thing.
Its not great for the cobb maps and such because they call for freer flow across the wastegate (bellmouth, divorced, etc). The HKS has a flat plate over the wastegate area like the stocker. I hear its great for external wastegate set ups tho.
When I was shopping for a DP all the forums were saying the HKS DP will crack under high heat. I think I've heard of fitment issues as well. Might as well buy a ERZ DP if you're lookin at an HKS. Money ~ Quality
lol JUST DO SOMETHING.... grab an ERZ or something with a bellmouth/divorce and a catback and an upipe for your 02
opps guys ..my car has a HKS DP and running cobb stage 2 map ... i bought the HKS DP when i wasnt a member of the club, so didnt know anything at all...so can i just stick with it , or better get a bellmouth one?? thanks!?
you can stick with it, and be fine. it wont hurt anything. it just is the most efficent way to deal with the exhuast gases.
^ haha ok ..guys , i will just stick with it...ok i think my car overheating issuse is fixed ...so excited to pick it up
Engine management would be key...I don't think I saw anyone mention a cobb accessport or anything. So yeah...accessport would be key
