EconCoder Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Between now and the end of the year, I'm going to be saving to get an uppipe and maybe a downpipe for my 05 LGT. I've spent a bit of time reading old threads, but figured I would try to get all of my questions answered all at once. I know that I could gut my UP or try to find a STI UP, but if I am not able to do either of those here are some questions I would like answered: What is the benefit in getting a solid uppipe vs. a pipe with a flex joint?What am I buying if I spend more on the pipe? (ex. Invidia @ $147 vs. Perrin @ $195)I have a VF52 in my car currently (long story) and if I went with a solid uppipe, would it be worth getting the Perrin big pipe?Is it really worth getting ceramic coating and/or heat wrap? I'm sure some of these questions will raise some interesting discussion and I hope that others will find these questions interesting and helpful. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dujo Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Don't bother gutting your stock up. Yes it is a cheap alternative, but you can get a used sti up pretty cheaply if you're willing to wait and gutting is difficult to do right. Look on nasioc for used sti ups. If you'd rather get an aftermarket up, you can certainly go that route. You can get decent ups for around $100. More expensive sometimes gets you better materials or cleaner welds or better fit or better customer service or even just the name. In the end, this is pretty much just a bent tube with some correctly shaped flanges. There aren't really significant differences or improvements with various aftermarket uppipes. You can argue 5 horsepower here or there, but they all pretty much dyno within standard error of one another. As far as flex vs. solid, this is another one of those anecdotal arguments that all good Subaru owners argue a little pointlessly about. Some flex pipes can come apart at the flex joint because a flex joint just isn't as strong as solid steel. However, some solid uppipes come apart if there is too much engine vibration and not enough give in the uppipe. In general, with a decent brand name or even a cheap knockoff that's decently made, you should be proof against these problems unless you are unlucky. With a bigger turbo, you would see some additional hp gains from a larger uppipe because of more airflow, but keep in mind that turbos spool based on airflow speed rather than capacity so a significantly larger uppipe could make it take longer for boost to come on and ultimately make you slower. But again, the differences aren't necessarily that significant. It's all kind of touchy-feely. Get whichever uppipe tickles your fancy. Ceramic coating and/or heat wrap do have measurable benefits, though they aren't nearly as significant as an aftermarket downpipe or a new turbo or something of that nature. Keep in mind that heat wrap can trap oil and other flammable liquids that leak out of the engine so there is a minor additional fire hazard, but with a good silicone spray coating, you should be reasonably safe from that issue. If you want cheap and easy and right, get the used sti up (it has heatshields, no wrap required). If you want to compare features such as flex vs solid or egt delete vs egt bung included or bigger vs smaller, then go aftermarket. Fyi ... I got a Cobb solid uppipe and wrapped it with dei wrap and then sprayed it with dei silicone spray. I like that it was solid and had no egt bung since I just went ahead and did egt delete. I have a stock VF40 turbo now, but I plan to get a bigger turbo in the future and I think this up will work well with both those scenarios. Welcome to LGT.com. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Donated Too laff79 Posted October 9, 2012 I Donated Too Share Posted October 9, 2012 ^+1. Used STi ('08-'12) uppipes on Nasioc can be had for wicked cheap. OEM fitment with a built in heatshield. Just use good new gaskets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssbtech Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 ^+1. Used STi ('08-'12) uppipes on Nasioc can be had for wicked cheap. OEM fitment with a built in heatshield. Just use good new gaskets 08? 05 STi won't work? Any Subaru P/N? Maybe my dealer was quoting me the wrong part. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blongo804 Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 05 STI will work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EconCoder Posted October 11, 2012 Author Share Posted October 11, 2012 Many thanks to all for your comments. I'll make sure to go after a STI pipe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssbtech Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Good luck finding one, they seem to be in short supply at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZP Installs Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 05 STI will work. 05 LGT up is catted. Defeats he purpose of replacing. -Mike Paisan http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/91072632.jpg http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/145749898/original.jpg http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/133406601.jpg http://www.whiteline.com.au/images/logos/perf1.jpg 11+ Years Maintaining, Modifying and Educating TriState Subaru Enthusiasts. Call directly as We carry almost every manufacturer now, so before you buy parts call us. Like us on Facebook! | E-mail: sales@azpinstalls.com | 725 Fairfield Ave | Kenilworth, NJ 07033 | 908.248.AZP1 (2971) | T-1 Certified Amsoil Direct Jobber |AIM: AZP Installs "Race Tested, Enthusiast Approved!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZP Installs Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Our take is that he invidia is the best bang for your buck in this particular part. Good fitment, good reliability, good performance. A used STi or catless Wrx one is a good choice but harder to find and could be rusted from sitting off the car. But a great alternative for sure. -Mike Paisan http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/91072632.jpg http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/145749898/original.jpg http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/133406601.jpg http://www.whiteline.com.au/images/logos/perf1.jpg 11+ Years Maintaining, Modifying and Educating TriState Subaru Enthusiasts. Call directly as We carry almost every manufacturer now, so before you buy parts call us. Like us on Facebook! | E-mail: sales@azpinstalls.com | 725 Fairfield Ave | Kenilworth, NJ 07033 | 908.248.AZP1 (2971) | T-1 Certified Amsoil Direct Jobber |AIM: AZP Installs "Race Tested, Enthusiast Approved!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blongo804 Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 05 LGT up is catted. Defeats he purpose of replacing. -Mike Paisan http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/91072632.jpg http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/145749898/original.jpg http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/133406601.jpg http://www.whiteline.com.au/images/logos/perf1.jpg 11+ Years Maintaining, Modifying and Educating TriState Subaru Enthusiasts. Call directly as We carry almost every manufacturer now, so before you buy parts call us. Like us on Facebook! | E-mail: sales@azpinstalls.com | 725 Fairfield Ave | Kenilworth, NJ 07033 | 908.248.AZP1 (2971) | T-1 Certified Amsoil Direct Jobber |AIM: AZP Installs "Race Tested, Enthusiast Approved!" I said 05 STI uppipe lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZP Installs Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 I said 05 STI uppipe lol. Doh. My bad. Old eyes! How is the car by the way? -Mike Paisan http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/91072632.jpg http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/145749898/original.jpg http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/133406601.jpg http://www.whiteline.com.au/images/logos/perf1.jpg 11+ Years Maintaining, Modifying and Educating TriState Subaru Enthusiasts. Call directly as We carry almost every manufacturer now, so before you buy parts call us. Like us on Facebook! | E-mail: sales@azpinstalls.com | 725 Fairfield Ave | Kenilworth, NJ 07033 | 908.248.AZP1 (2971) | T-1 Certified Amsoil Direct Jobber |AIM: AZP Installs "Race Tested, Enthusiast Approved!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blongo804 Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Doh. My bad. Old eyes! How is the car by the way? -Mike Paisan http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/91072632.jpg http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/145749898/original.jpg http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/133406601.jpg http://www.whiteline.com.au/images/logos/perf1.jpg 11+ Years Maintaining, Modifying and Educating TriState Subaru Enthusiasts. Call directly as We carry almost every manufacturer now, so before you buy parts call us. Like us on Facebook! | E-mail: sales@azpinstalls.com | 725 Fairfield Ave | Kenilworth, NJ 07033 | 908.248.AZP1 (2971) | T-1 Certified Amsoil Direct Jobber |AIM: AZP Installs "Race Tested, Enthusiast Approved!" I gotchu. I'm lovin' it! You guys hooked me up too many times and she's still thankful for that. Just gotta mingle with the new turbo's adjustable wastegate because i'm not sure it's adjusted correctly since wastegate boost only hits about 13.9 from a 1 BAR actuator (14.7). Just gotta mess with that and she should be more beastly. My dad isn't 100% mechanic savvy when it comes to turbos - being that he started 35+ years ago as a mechanic and only worked on either supercharged or N/A cars since then. We'll get it though!! Hoping around 300whp out of my dear old auto and the 18g. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EconCoder Posted October 12, 2012 Author Share Posted October 12, 2012 I was able to buy a 2011 STI pipe that had just been taken off the car. Thanks for all the comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZP Installs Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 I was able to buy a 2011 STI pipe that had just been taken off the car. Thanks for all the comments. Nice! -Mike Paisan http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/91072632.jpg http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/145749898/original.jpg http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/133406601.jpg http://www.whiteline.com.au/images/logos/perf1.jpg 11+ Years Maintaining, Modifying and Educating TriState Subaru Enthusiasts. Call directly as We carry almost every manufacturer now, so before you buy parts call us. Like us on Facebook! | E-mail: sales@azpinstalls.com | 725 Fairfield Ave | Kenilworth, NJ 07033 | 908.248.AZP1 (2971) | T-1 Certified Amsoil Direct Jobber |AIM: AZP Installs "Race Tested, Enthusiast Approved!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssbtech Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 I was able to buy a 2011 STI pipe that had just been taken off the car. Thanks for all the comments. Good find! I must be the only idiot on the planet who spent $400 on an up-pipe at the dealer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 OUCH, I hope they gave you some lub first. Why didn't you try one of the vendors on here like Mike at AZP ? I guess you have learned to check here first before you buy anything for the car. People like Mike at AZP amd m sprank will alway try and get you the best price. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssbtech Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 m sprank was great at getting my TSK3 kit in the mail the day I ordered it. Customs wasn't so great about holding onto it for 4 days and Canada post decided they could skip delivering it for a few days as well. The mechanic wants to get the engine back into the car tomorrow. So I didn't want to go through all that with the pipe. Plus I don't want an aftermarket pipe with exhaust wrap I have to worry about maintaining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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