mazdaspeed headers/exhaust

[dterranova]

hey guys i'm thinking of going with a straight pipe from my local mechanic and i'm wondering if anyone has any videos or personal experience with this kind of exhaust? i had it done on my NA mazda6 and it sounded pretty rad...also i wanna know if anyone has any input on headers for our car?

 

[super_pablo_]

um... its a turbo car man, its called exhaust manifold, or downpipe... depends on what ur looking for, definitely not headers though

 

[vrspeedemon]

yes....no headers
you want downpipe (catted or non catted) depending if you want a cel or not .
Then you need to decide if you want to run the second cat or not, if not replace that with a testpipe.
You can then run 3" piping straight back from that....or you could probably just run 3" straight off the end of the downpipe too.

Its going to be loud as fawk tho....but if thats what youre looking for, go for it

 

[dterranova]

hahahahahha my bad with the headers thing....this is my first turbo car lol. i'm just trying to get my friend with a subaru to stfu. as if eating his wrx 3 times wasn't enough. what test pipe would be good to go with?

 

[super_pablo_]

if u wanna get fast get an intake first, then look into a downpipe, that will give u more than a test pipe.
IMO, this is the order of mods u should consider
1 intake
2 accessport or standback
3 downpipe
4 intercooler
5 crush wrx in no time

 

[dterranova]

well i already crush his wrx...i'm trying to beat that low-subaru gargle that he seems to love...i had a ms6 cai but i got rid of it... i think im gonna have my local fujita guys make me a custom intake. as far as the intercooler goes, are you saying i should get a fmic? and the downpipe, what companies are reliable?

 

[Jay Davidson]

Just about everyone on the forums here will tell you that a downpipe should be one of the last mods you perform; indeed, many will tell you not to do it at all. Installing a DP seems to be the threshold between turning a great daily driver that will give you sub-6 second runs to 60 MPH and still return 25+ miles to the gallon into something completely different.

If you're simply looking for power mods: Intake (SRI/CAI and TIP) > Tune (Cobb/Standback) > Exhaust > FMIC should get you running with your neighborhood STi. DO NOT underestimate powertrain mods, though, such as a beefed-up rear motor mount and a short-throw shifter. I waited almost two years before upgrading my motor mount. That should have been my first mod.

Another thing to remember is that the MS6 was conceived as a completely different car as the WRX. It (fairly successfully) combines the speed and handling of a WRX and adds some luxury and refinement. The fact that it can still beat a WRX stock-for-stock is just an added bonus. (thumb)

-Jay

 

[dterranova]

yeah ive been looking into the rmm for an upcoming addition...i think the intake can wait...i want to do a rmm and exhaust before anything...coilovers are beyond me right now my stock rims are killing me...thank god the car came with proxes lol

 

[dterranova]

btw jay davidson: velocity red mica FTW!!! lol

 

[Jay Davidson]

Well, it is the fastest color...

-Jay

 

[vrspeedemon]

Well, it is the fastest color...

-Jay

+1

 

[dterranova]

indeed, indeed lol...so with the downpipe what has been your personal experience with catted v non catted ?

 

[batou079]

and to nit pick even MORE!! i4 = headER (singular), v6+ = headerS (plural).... LOL! i cant resist.
alas we have neither, we use exhaust manifold as was said. isnt learning FUN!!!??

and on that note, GL with all your upcoming changes! Nice to see you are excited about modding and making power.
I wont add anymore mod info/tips as its all been laid out for you, but always keep in mind to take your time, do all the necessary research and prep.
AKA, do it right the first time!!! Helps to greatly reduce the amount of repair work you do in the future. cheers!!!

 

[zzoomer11]

I have the CPE straightpipe with a resonator and stock downpipe and it sounds great. I would imagine that a test pipe would really open it up and add more noise but its not needed. The resonator keeps it from sounding raspy.
As for your question about catted or catless. I would never go catless just because a highflow cat is probably a safer bet and you wouldnt notice a power loss by having that cat on there.

But I would hold off on a downpipe for now.

 

[IHeartGroceries]

What's this nonsense about holding off on a DP?
It's the only truly worthwhile bolt on mod for the car.
I do agree it should be done in conjunction with a tuning solution, or at least a MAP clamp.
I don't know what you mean by "straight pipe," but anything altered post-catalyst won't yield very large gains in performance. Do yourself a favor and lose both the upper and lower cats and enjoy the monstrous power increase.
As for as turbo manifolds go, what do you want to know? There's not any truly great ones on the market currently, and it's likely not worth your time while retaining the factory turbo anyway.

 

[dterranova]

yeah i can't afford an upgraded turbo just yet, and i read the "what should i do to my speed6 first" thread but i want to go a different route.

the rmm is something i've already decided to buy, and the stage 2 short shifter is coming in conjunction with that. i guess im trying to see where to go after that. i want to get a downpipe that everyone can vouch for because, afterall, our cars are 3-4 years old at this point and i just got one this year.

 

[dterranova]

yeah i can't afford an upgraded turbo just yet, and i read the "what should i do to my speed6 first" thread but i want to go a different route.

the rmm is something i've already decided to buy, and the stage 2 short shifter is coming in conjunction with that. i guess im trying to see where to go after that. i want to get a downpipe that everyone can vouch for because, afterall, our cars are 3-4 years old at this point and i just got one this year.

 

[Navy_Mech2]

ive got the CPE catless downpipe mated to a 3" into 2.5" custom cat back with generic flowmaster style mufflers. Its not overly loud, and i think my CEL has popped once for not having cats. i guess im lucky because 80% of everyone else with a catless downpipe has CELs out the ass. as far as power gains, exhaust made a huge difference. before that i only had a Injen CAI and when i did the DP and cat back together, i really noticed a difference. Ive got an AP waiting at home for me too so once i tune i can only imagine how much better its gonna get. I will warn you, the DP swap is a little bit in depth. One thing that did help me as far as making more room was to support the engine/tranny with a jack, un bolt the passenger motor mount and then SLOWLY ease the jack down. this caused the engine to tilt forward slightly so i was able to remove the stock DP and #1 cat together through the top. that way you can just unbolt the #2 cat from the bottom. also, some of the heat shields can be a PITA since the bolts that hold them on are most likely rusted to the heat shield and will either resist or just snap off. Either way, i left the heat shields off once the new DP was on. oh and if you dont have them, swivel attachments for sockets, wd40/zep/pb blaster and an impact gun make this WORLDS easier.

If i had to vouch for one it would be the CPE obviously. The ATP is a v-band style so it wont work with the stock turbo unless you get the V-band adapter from ATP (it may be included but i dont remember). corksport makes a nice piece and i was actually debating between that one or CPEs. It just so happened that the corksport was out of stock at the moment so i got the CPE.

 

[Aralliius]

i have nothing but pipe on mine stock piping, test pipe, and muffler deletes. wasnt done for performance was done for noise lolz yes it loud but damn its lovely!