Sat - downpipes day!

[kevinod]

The Mongoose downpipes I ordered from Ricerocket arrived on thursday, so the weekend wasn't passing without me getting them fitted!

Luckily we have a pit at home, which made the job so much easier...


First step of course is to remove the original one...


I had a look at the 2 side by side, even looking at them side by side you can see the mongoose one is going to have much better airflow


So put the mongoose one on...


job done, ready to go for a spin!



You can notice the difference straight away, revs build easier, car just has that little bit extra 'power' in it. Gets my thumbs up!

[Muad_dib77]

Nice job.

Pretty lucky to have a garage you can use for stuf like that - I'd not stand a change of fitting something like that in my driveway.

Does it sound any different?

[CJ]

You can notice the difference straight away, revs build easier, car just has that little bit extra 'power' in it. Gets my thumbs up!

Nice one Kev. Where's the additional power most noticable, low\mid end?
Have you had an opportunity to bring her out for a 'proper' spin since fitting?

CJ

[kevinod]

Nice job.

Pretty lucky to have a garage you can use for stuf like that - I'd not stand a change of fitting something like that in my driveway.

Does it sound any different?

Yup, it comes in really handy for just this type of work!

It sounds a little different alright, a bit deeper and a little fuller, like you'd espect with stainless steel I think.

[kevinod]

Where's the additional power most noticable, low\mid end?
Have you had an opportunity to bring her out for a 'proper' spin since fitting?

Where I've noticed it most so far is lower I guess, climbing a steepish hill in third for example, and dead starts.

There's a couple of routes around I use for test spinning, a few miles each, but mostly twisty roads so didn't get to open her up. Of course going on a test spin like this just after watching a WRC report is never a good plan ...

[Danny Kierans]

Nice 1..Just noticed in the pic,it look's like u have the cat still in.Wood u by-pass..Or am i wrong.
I found it a very good buy.

[kevinod]

Nice 1..Just noticed in the pic,it look's like u have the cat still in.Wood u by-pass..Or am i wrong.
I found it a very good buy.

Yup, cat still in alright. I'd be tempted to bypass but from what the lads were saying it might damage the baffles in my back box, so I'll hold off until I get around to an aftermarket exhaust.

[Danny Kierans]

I understand..I was just lucky mine came in with after market from cat back so all i had to do was by-pass.The down pipe is still std..So if u noticed a diff it might help me to.

[AL]

lovely job Kev, pipeflow looks very smooth.

was it hard to get bolts loosened?

[kevinod]

was it hard to get bolts loosened?

Not too bad at all, I was half expecting to have a few nightmares with bolts but gave them all a dose of WD40, left them a while, and then they came ok.

The middle ones were a bit awkward to get at, needed a long extension bar (they're just above the driveshaft) but the rest were fairly accessible.

[Myfeckin FTO]

Nice job Kev - I got to get me one of those.

[CJ]

Nice job Kev - I got to get me one of those.

Before you go anywhere MfFTO, theres been reports of a strange noise appearing on GPX's that have the downpipes fitted, I'd hang on until they they get to the bottom of it:

http://www.ftooc.org/phpbb/viewtopic.ph ... 1&start=15

CJ

[Myfeckin FTO]

Nice job Kev - I got to get me one of those.

Before you go anywhere MfFTO, theres been reports of a strange noise appearing on GPX's that have the downpipes fitted, I'd hang on until they they get to the bottom of it:

http://www.ftooc.org/phpbb/viewtopic.ph ... 1&start=15

CJ

Ta CJ - Thats a funny problem - can't believe its just gaskets.
I'll want to add a manifold and fuel pressure regulator to my set-up as well - fairly determined to be in the 14's for next years 1/4 mile run.

[CJ]

Kev, just wondering how you're getting on with the downpipes after a few months? Do you still have the noise reported by other owners? I know I shouldn't be thinking about spending money but I wouldn't mind getting a set if there are justifiable gains to be had....

CJ

[kevinod]

Kev, just wondering how you're getting on with the downpipes after a few months? Do you still have the noise reported by other owners? I know I shouldn't be thinking about spending money but I wouldn't mind getting a set if there are justifiable gains to be had....

CJ

Ricerocket sent me a little pipe I still need to get welded into place where it meets the back bank/manifold.

Apparently the cause was a flexible part just at the rear manifold, so when the pressure was building up (i.e. at higher revs) and coming out against the flexi pipe it created that ticking noise. This short pipe lets the air/exhaust come out of the manifold hitting a solid smooth surface, and ticking noise gone.

I'd recommend them tbh...best performance mod I've done (although having said that most of my mods are non performance related or inside the car).

You might be interested in the last entry on the ftooc/exhaust mongoose dp thread...