Hello Evom, I am currently in the market for a down pipe and test pipe for my Evo. When I bought it, the previous owner had already had a cobb tuning catback installed. I want a little more flow and noise out of my exhaust but im not sure about compatibility between brands. I recently moved to another state with no inspection, so I don't have to run cats anymore but cobb's only test pipe option is catted and I kind of like the wide mouth rexpeed downpipe. Im just unsure about fitment between differing pieces. Would it be worth ditching the cobb catback I have now to get better sound, or can I mix and match and hope it sounds good? Thanks in advance for good advice.

 

You should be fine. If the flanges don't match up exactly, they will be close and thats an easy fix. I have a custom cat-back connected to a MAP Test Pipe and a MAP Prototype Downpipe... fitment is not an issue.

 

My setup:

MAP downpipe --> T1R resonated testpipe --> Cobb catback

Everything fits perfectly; as long as the parts are quality you shouldn't have an issue.

 

Thank you. Thats comforting to hear. How does your cobb cb sound with the other pieces? I've never had experience with "resonated" test pipes so I wouldn't know the difference unless I heard it. And speaking of quality, what should I be looking for in a downpipe and testpipe? I'm wondering where this huge price gap comes from for just being pieces of pipe

I know materials make a difference, but I havent had my hands on any of them so I honestly don't know.

 

I am really happy with my exhaust setup, I think it's the perfect volume and tone for a daily-driven street car. It's fairly quiet while cruising down the highway, but has an nice deep aggressive tone when you're on it.

The resonated testpipe just brings down the volume and raspiness slightly, similar to how a HFC would.

In terms of what to look for, it's more or less going for a brand with a proven record of quality parts holding together and backed by a warranty. For the testpipe you're going to want something with a bend in it rather than just a straight pipe with angled flanges; this helps to prevent rattles. With the downpipe you have three choices:
1. stock replacement shorty downpipe
2. divided o2 elim downpipe
3. bell-mouth o2 elim downpipe

Which to pick really depends on your goals. If you plan on sticking with the stock turbo then #1 would be my recommendation since it's cheaper and easy to install, but still shows nice gains. #2 & 3 will really start to shine when you're pushing more air through an upgraded turbocharger. For #1, the only one I have personal experience with is Cobb's and it's real nice, good fitment, quality construction, 2nd o2 bung for a wideband, etc. There are cheaper ones on the market, but some seem to have fitment and rubbing issues. If you decide to go with an o2 eliminator downpipe first you must decide if you want a bell-mouth or divorced wastegate design; I personally prefer the divided design since I believe it yields reduced turbulence and smoothly merges the two exhaust paths together downstream of the turbo (turbulence right at the outlet of a turbo is a bad thing). If you decide you want bellmouth, then there is really only one choice worth considering IMO which is AMS. You have a few more choices if you go divided, but the only two that I'm willing to put my recommendation on are MAP and ETS. Whichever design you go with, I suggest getting it ceramic coated to help control engine bay heat.