Couple exhaust q's...
 

Building up my set up and putting it all on at once...little background - 2010 RA lowered no other mods installed yet except K&N

Purchased so far :
*K&N drop-in
*Evo X bpv
*Evo X intercooler
*Evo X LICP
*Aftermarket UICP which bolts up to intercooler fine
*Boost pill
*Tactrix cable

Would a generic map to load be good enough with all this stuff, considering im still learning how to tune and have quite a bit more learning to do before being comfortable really playing around with that stuff...its a DD and i really would rather not drop $$$ on tuning even though i do understand the value of doing it, it's currently not fitting in the budget.

I've been reading up but haven't found an exact answer...some people state that unless upgrading the turbo, running stock CBE may be sufficient...other than CBE i'm wondering what other exhaust pieces would be worth it, considering i will not be upgrading turbo anytime soon.

If i get a resonated test pipe, would that affect any emission testing i may need to go through? I live in IL.

You should pass the emissions test with a hi-flow cat which since your not upgrading the turbo would be sufficient upgrade from your stock restrictive cat. Plus if a cop ever does take a peak under your car he can see there is a bulge down there but very unlikely.

Cool thanks, think hi-flow better than resonated test pipe? Test pipe may fail emissions since no cat is what i'm thinking?

Not "may fail", more like "will most definitely fail" emissions inspection with only a test pipe.

Fair enough lol hi-flow cat it is :D

Now you just gotta decide if you want a ceramic or metal...
Go with metal.

Yeaa thats what i'm thinkin....is downpipe necessary to upgrade or nah? As far as diameter and stuff goes...i was thinkin maybe keep stock muffler set up but change all the rest of the piping...not sure what stock exhaust diameter is but 2.5" is what ive read is sufficient for turbo...opinions?

Hi. With your parts your car isn't much different from mine. I would do the following if I were you

1) immediately flash the stock pill GST tune - you WILL be impressed
2) install the BOV (10 min) and intercooler stuff (2 - 4 hrs depending on your setup and previous experience, it is not hard at all and no tuning required)
3) when ready change the pill and reflash with the GST boost pill map - you will be MORE impressed than before
4) log log log, esp boost, WGDC, WGDC correction, IAT WG adjust and knock - ALWAYS log Knock
5) buy and install a 200 cel cat. Unless you have major aspirations to up the turbo etc it is sufficient and will ensure you are covered for emissions.
6) Log log log - you will see the impact of a freer flowing cat has on psi ramp up - good place to learn to adjust maps and reflash - just remember to adjust in very small steps and log log log

I have same set up, with oem exhaust other than 200 cel depo racing cat and currently making 165kw, with a reasonably rich fuel map. The cat got me to peak boost 200rpm quicker than oem cat once I'd played around with the boost target and WGDC maps - read 'merlins guide to tuning' and these forums for more info.

Fyi - a dump pipe is probably not worth the money. A 3 port is however, once you've got your head around the basics of tuning. Happy to pm my 3 port maps in the future if you ever go down that route (I'm a 2011 AUDM RA but is all pretty similar)

have fun

Awesome thanks a lot for the feedback! :D I am actually in the process of reading merlin's guide....the thing is hefty and taking a little time to juggle this with school and lotsa work but i will get to it...probably gonna skip on the dump pipe and just get a high-flow cat and then just wanna put it all on in one day since schedule doesnt allow me luxury to go use my dad's garage too often lol...any recommendation on a 3 port? might hold off on that a while since they can be a bit pricey and im still not super versed on the whole tuning thing but we'll seeee....