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FHI owned shares in a drinking straw factory....

I took to a spare Up-pipe with the grinder too see what was hiding under the heat shielding.

These photos will reveal more

Up-pipe is only 2/3rds the size of the crossover pipe


Obviously a restriction


Crush bend an already unsersized pipe


And my hands aren't all that big either

This is making the XtremeRX Up-pipe look very good, if only i could afford it.

I will try to modify it from the "T Interesction" up, that should improve things a little

I will admit, the pipe is well heat shielded, under the metal covers, is a 1/2 inch wad of heat resistant padding.

And to add to that the 'big' piece that runs across the front of the motor is heat shielded as well. And the internal pipe is not much bigger than the 'T' joins.....

And to add to the factory pipe bashing the 'T' section is a PRESSED mild steel component........

Hi guys , I have one from a 3 plug 2WD vortex but don't have time to dig it out for a look (domestic duties and working today) .

Someone once mentioned that Vortex headers were a little larger at the turbo flange so would that mean the up pipe is any larger .
Its interesting that the front pipe is larger in diametre than the up pipe section because that would create a pressure rise on the uppie side of that stupid T piece . Its obviously designed to be that way and I suspect high exhaust manifold pressure would increase the EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) effect for emision control .

I suspect Subaru didn't want a lot of torque low in the rev range of some part time (most often FWD) L series turbo models . Torquey responsive front wheel drive cars car be a real disaster in unsuspecting hands - particularly in the wet . When they come on boost torque increases rapidly and if its mid corner in the wet and going a bit hard many have lost traction a speared across the road into oncoming traffic or tree etc - to their death . Don't laugh because I'm not being dramatic , remember turbo FWD Lasers and Cordias ? The police flicked Turbo Cordias because too many were injured or wiped themselves out .

Anyhow back to that "pipe" . It would be very interesting to know the std pipe diametres and those of the aftermarket one . I'd like to see the up pipe at least as large if not a little larger than the front pipe depending on the size of the hole in the turbo flange . I'm sure someone mentioned something like 36 and 41mm for RX and Vortex ?

Me thinks the aftermarket header or similar with the early Lib/Imp turbo could be a cheapish upgrade and give away nothing to a std car (RX) .

Out of time , cheers A .

yes FWD cars suck. at least they then thought to put an AWD box in the RX's to counter that problem.
that pipe looks even worse when youve got your fingers around it. jeez something really needs to be done about it. we are missing out on vital offroading torque here people.

Ive already come up with a simple but effective mod.

i'll cut along the blue line and remove that section, then weld a new piece of pipe, red line, over the top and that will remove that restriction. Pipe size will probably be either 1 & 3/4 inch or 2inch.

my turbo up pipe on the lib was much better then that..but still not exactly impressive....endedup geting my hands on a stainless up pipe which made a noticabe diffrence...did the same on the rex too and didnt notice the difference as much but the rex had a better one to start with

I think for the work involved two seperate pipes joining reasonably close to the turbo flange would get some of the pulse effect closer to the turbine .
Space is not on our side here so possibly a double pipe flange joint giving a removable set of up pipes would make assembly easier .

Thoughts ?

I have a few...

As mentioned very small pipe, limited space, $ in this area to do anything significant, best option to date try this link
showthread.php?t=3644&highlight=power+pipe

Believe me id love one of those powerpipes of XremeRX's, but i dont have the money.

I plan on building this to get me by until i can afford one.

that heat shield wadding ain't asbestos is it ?

I have found there is a 36 and 41mm openings on these turbo flanges but did not realise it was Vortex v RX

Breaking traction !! I have found with the tree speed auto if my big boots are still touching the exuberator pedal when i manually upshift i get some break in traction, wet or dry !! thinking awd something before i even get this in the Brumby

steptoe wrote:that heat shield wadding ain't asbestos is it ?

I dont think so.

It looked like a compressed glass fibre.

It kinda feels like the thick grey wooly stuff under the carpet in our subarus, but it has shiny reflective bits in it.