while changing my oil the other day i was inspecting everything underneath the car while i was there and i noticed that part of my downpipe is caved in from what looked like impacting the crossmember. it seemed that there were once metal tabs on either side of the pipe that were bolted to the undercarriage.

my worry here is that there is a serious bottleneck being created here... as if the downpipe (still stock btw) wasn't ALREADY the weak link in my exhaust setup. i've got a RRM header and a 2.5" custom cat-back. i did some searching and i was unable to find an aftermarket downpipe for our car. i know there's OBX, RPW, and kamikaze, but i recall seeing one thread where at least the kamikaze header used a different bolt pattern than the RRM header.

so my questions would be: any of you guys have this issue? do you think that it's enough to really affect things? is there an aftermarket downpipe that is compatible with the RRM header that i could purchase? and should i just take it to a shop to have a new, custom downpipe fabricated?

i can't imagine the shop near me would charge anything more than $80 for parts and labor. i've had them do work on the car's exhaust twice, and they also did the exhaust on my scooby when i had it. but really, would it be worth the $80 or should i just leave the damn thing alone? i'm sure that over time the new pipe would get just as crushed as my stock pipe. possibly more since i'd have it made with larger diameter piping.

 

I see you have the stock downpipe. This is not from hitting the crossmember. IT IS MADE THAT WAY. At the smallest point, the internal diameter is about a half inch. It's really sad.

Every Lancer has this "issue" because it's how designed it.

Buschur had a downpipe, but they stopped making it. Your best bet is to have a custom one made (very easy, pretty cheap). I had a local shop make me one and it worked perfectly.

Rob from RRM will tell you that it doesn't help make power at all. When I had the aftermarket downpipe, I personally felt like my car was faster. I'd encourage you to have one made.

 

custom one for about 100-250$. i am getting one to recirculate my wastegate

 

DAMN! I paid $75, if memory serves. Buschur's cost $250 back in the day.

 

damn, it's MADE that way?

i never would have guessed THAT! that's lame! it definitely looks like it's damage... wow.

 

no big deal, NA we need backpressure anyways.

 

Look at it this way - also tuned it that way. So the car is MADE to run with that crappy downpipe. Weird, but true.

 

true... kind of makes me feel bad about the header though now that i know a huge bottleneck was BUILT into the exhaust system!