Flex downpipe

[nutritious]

So what do you guys think? Seems like all the JDM downpipes aren't made with flex joints, but I've heard good things about having that flex joint. Only problem for me is that it seems like Megan is the only one that makes it with a flex joint, and I'm not particularly excited about buying from them. Think I should just stick with JDM and go with a solid downpipe?

I've got a 89 240sx with an sr20det swap. Completely stock setup right now, but I plan on targetting 350-400 hp in the future. Not bothering with the exhaust manifold or the elbow until I upgrade my turbo. Going to be installing a high flow cat along with HKS hi-power catback once I finally decide on the downpipe.

Thanks, appreciate any feedback.

[drifter808]

just get the megan. its really good quality for the price. it could also save your turbo manifold if you bottom out heavily

[DJPimpFlex]

Did someone call me...sorry wrong forum....this isnt the superhero thread...geeza

[Cashizslick]

So what do you guys think? Seems like all the JDM downpipes aren't made with flex joints, but I've heard good things about having that flex joint. Only problem for me is that it seems like Megan is the only one that makes it with a flex joint, and I'm not particularly excited about buying from them. Think I should just stick with JDM and go with a solid downpipe?

I've got a 89 240sx with an sr20det swap. Completely stock setup right now, but I plan on targetting 350-400 hp in the future. Not bothering with the exhaust manifold or the elbow until I upgrade my turbo. Going to be installing a high flow cat along with HKS hi-power catback once I finally decide on the downpipe.

Thanks, appreciate any feedback.

Flex sections are beneficial because they offer added protection to the DP, Turbo, and Exhaust manifold's if you accidentaly bottom out.

Unfortunately, Megan racing is the only company that makes one for a decent price.

How much are you going to lower the car? If you are not dropping down more than 2 inches then just get the Trust DP. It doesnt have a flex section but its very good quality.

MR sux. The only reason their products (except the coils) and the SS AutoCrap brands have taken the market by storm is because of the drift bandwagon that has everbody buying 240's :-/

[nutritious]

The car will be lowered as far as I can get it without causing problems. And if flex sections are only good for protection against bottoming out, then do you guys know if there's any other company besides Circuit Sport that creates the oval design for their downpipes? I love seeing how well the CS oval design tucked in and hugged the bottom of the car.

http://www.store.yahoo.com/phase2motorsports/cispo2eldocs.html

[fliprayzin240sx]

Flex sections are beneficial because they offer added protection to the DP, Turbo, and Exhaust manifold's if you accidentaly bottom out.

Unfortunately, Megan racing is the only company that makes one for a decent price.

How much are you going to lower the car? If you are not dropping down more than 2 inches then just get the Trust DP. It doesnt have a flex section but its very good quality.

MR sux. The only reason their products (except the coils) and the SS AutoCrap brands have taken the market by storm is because of the drift bandwagon that has everbody buying 240's :-/

And your knocking on MRs because you have had personnal experience on it??? They actually have SOME (lemme say it again...SOME) decent parts. Thru they are knock offs but some of their stuffs are just as good as the real ones. Ive run the Manifold and i can attest that its solidly built. How I know? My car is so low that ive literrally smashed my exhaust so much that my Blitz Nur spec resonator is busted and my greddy elbow cracked by the flange and at the same time broke 3 of the 5 studs/bolt for it to the turbo. The MR manifold had no issue wut so ever...alot of people in here have been tracking their car with this manifold and never had any issue.

As far as the flex pipe, you got 2 options get a JDM dp and have a exhaust shop modify it and add a flex pipe or go ahead and get the MR. If you decide on the JDM dp, id recommend Apex'i or RSR or blitz, their pipes are actually bigger than hks and greddy.

[drifter808]

yeah i got some friends making 400+hp on a megan manifold. im looking to buy one when i get some extra cash.

[fliprayzin240sx]

I mean come on...less than $180 for a manifold, who gives a crap if they take a crap in a couple of years. Almost all equal lenght manifold will take a crap, ive had friends in japan whos real HKS manifold cracked, now theyre both running MRs. Why? Cuz their dirt cheap....

[usdm180sx]

Tougefactory.com makes one for $110:
http://www.tougefactory.com/shop/images/195.jpg

[fliprayzin240sx]

Does TF actually make these or they "import" these?

[usdm180sx]

Sorry my bad. I meant they sell one. I don't know if they make it. I would just give them a call :D

[fliprayzin240sx]

reason im asking is cuz they look exactly like the MRs...

[Realchaos1]

I just put one on my custom exhaust, they are very good if you don't have an engine damper and you have old engine mounts.

[TheSquidd]

I'm running a near complete MR setup, turbo manifold, elbow, down pipe and trust pipe. (though I dont think my downpipe has that flex section wtf?).

Anyway, I bought the entire setup for what it would cost to get a single piece from the super JDM brands. Quality is fantastic. Welds are strong, nothing broken, I run super slammed (my downpipe smacks freeway reflectors) and it holds up to the abuse. Don't knock MR till you try it, brand whoring is gay.

[n2motorsports]

i picked up a megan dp w/ flex section about a month ago, the quality is definitely there but my only complaint is the flex section rubs against the underbody of the car.

[TheSquidd]

Those of you with the MR downpipe with the flex section... is it for KA? My SR pipe has no flex section.

http://www.meganracing.com/products/product_detail.asp?prodid=196

Shows no flex section.

[Cashizslick]

And your knocking on MRs because you have had personnal experience on it??? They actually have SOME (lemme say it again...SOME) decent parts. Thru they are knock offs but some of their stuffs are just as good as the real ones. Ive run the Manifold and i can attest that its solidly built. How I know? My car is so low that ive literrally smashed my exhaust so much that my Blitz Nur spec resonator is busted and my greddy elbow cracked by the flange and at the same time broke 3 of the 5 studs/bolt for it to the turbo. The MR manifold had no issue wut so ever...alot of people in here have been tracking their car with this manifold and never had any issue.

The fact that MR stuff is knock off stuff doesnt matter -> what matters is the quality of the parts.

The welds and construction of MR manifolds, exhausts, and other parts is just not on par with that of the more well established brands in the industry.

Sure knock-off parts might work well for the person who mod's their car to be cool, but serious enthusiasts will never put MR or SS/AC parts on their vehicles.

[TheSquidd]

The fact that MR stuff is knock off stuff doesnt matter -> what matters is the quality of the parts.

The welds and construction of MR manifolds, exhausts, and other parts is just not on par with that of the more well established brands in the industry.

Sure knock-off parts might work well for the person who mod's their car to be cool, but serious enthusiasts will never put MR or SS/AC parts on their vehicles.

Sorry, I'm a "serious" enthusiast. I run MR. It's 100% awesome. As an entusiast I'd rather spend my money on performance to get me around the track faster than spend it on big names and not have the money left over for added performance.

The welds are plenty strong, my system takes an immense amount of abuse, and the only part that has failed so far is the stock turbo elbow (being replaced with MR). The construction is great. Fitment is great. Price is amazing so replacement is easy in case of failure (which, guess what? Your super JDM stuff fails too) .

I think you're confusing enthusiast with brand whore. If it makes you feel better to tell your friend you got a sweet ass HKS downpipe, go for it. But for the same money I got the entire system from the manifold back and from the driver's seat you'd NEVER know the difference.

[dopeassjackson]

just buy any DP you like and take it to any muffler shop and they should beable to install a flex pipe for under $50

[Cashizslick]

If it makes you feel better to tell your friend you got a sweet ass HKS downpipe, go for it. But for the same money I got the entire system from the manifold back and from the driver's seat you'd NEVER know the difference.


This is the same rationale that keeps crap companies like APC in business.


The welds and construction of MR manifolds, exhausts, and other parts is just not on par with that of the more well established brands in the industry.

Like i said. MR products might be fine for the weekend racer, but their products wont last long on a car pushing serious performance figures & being driven hard.

To each his own. Happy driving.

[drifter808]

have you even had experience with MR? i know 3 people each making 400+ hp on there SR's and they drive them extremely hard. one of them is even sponsored by MR. they've had them for about 8 months now and not one sign of fatigue. so go and buy your JDM stuff and i'll just buy good old MR.

good bye

[kingsol]

Tougefactory.com makes one for $110:
http://www.tougefactory.com/shop/images/195.jpg

it's a megan dp.
don't know why they don't say it is...

[TheSquidd]

This is the same rationale that keeps crap companies like APC in business.



It's your rationale that keeps these Japanese companies in business in America ripping off impressionable tuners with their "super JDM" prices. I welcome all forms of competition in the market. It keeps the top companies on their toes, keeps prices down, and keep quality up.

Sorry, I like HKS, GReddy, ARC is sex, but I don't automatically assume that if they didn't make the part, the part is crap.

:bigok: :2f2f: :angel:

[fliprayzin240sx]

The fact that MR stuff is knock off stuff doesnt matter -> what matters is the quality of the parts.

The welds and construction of MR manifolds, exhausts, and other parts is just not on par with that of the more well established brands in the industry.

Sure knock-off parts might work well for the person who mod's their car to be cool, but serious enthusiasts will never put MR or SS/AC parts on their vehicles.

Did you even read wut i posted up? Im actually attesting to the fact that the quality of some of MR stuff are actually GOOD!!! Sure the welds may not be up to par with the JDM stuff like HKS, but thats the big difference between hand welded and machine welded. Back to the whole dont knock on it till you actually try it. All im trying to get at really is dont put MRs in the same level as SSAC. Just cuz it got a JDM name brand on it dont mean shiet...if you want an example...ill give you one...ANYBODY REMEMBER THE GREDDY MANIFOLD FOR THE KA?!?! Its Greddy, so it must be quality!!! :keke:

[usdm180sx]

Haha my friend had a greddy header on his s14. It looked beautiful when it was new. It cracked 3 times. It turns out that the walls on that manifold are so thin that the heat started to crack little holes in the walls. The additional stress of scraping the stock downpipe just made it crack much sooner. Why do you think it was discontinued?

[fliprayzin240sx]

That shiet was just poor design from the get-go. Your right it was so thin i can punch thru it. And back to this whole flex pipe issue, it didnt have one so everytime the engine torques to the side, it puts all the pressure on the manifold, dp and exhaust. Which ever was the weakest, itll crack. You put a flex pipe in your DP and it alleviates this issue. Also having a solid engine mounts or engine dampner helps. If your iffy bout MR manifolds, get a flex pipe in your downpipe, have some solid engine mounts and get a dampner, also try not to bottom out the exhaust. I gurantee that manifold will last!!!

[MasterOFDrift]

a pipe is a pipe, how much design can you put into a pipe such as a downpipe or a test pipe. damn just get the MR dp, its good it works, if it didn't they wouldn't be in business and also I wouldn't out MR in the same category as APC, that's just ignorant.

[kensreliableb18b]

Like i said. MR products might be fine for the weekend racer, but their products wont last long on a car pushing serious performance figures & being driven hard.

and these comments come from real life experience? doesnt sound like it. i know PLENTY of people who run their stuff, drive hard all the time, and they last pretty damn long. heck even i run their manifold. no probs here. i just hope u dont mis-inform the general crowd with ur comments when u personally dont have experience with the actual products; just read up on stuff online to gain knowledge and lead to ur own conclusions.

[redsuns3838]

back tot he subject maybe?

i believe apexi makes a flex joint downpipe. incase you really dont want to get megan. its like 230 if i can remember correctly?

i wanted the apexi one so bad but i got such a good deal on my trust DP that the 100 $ less pricetag was too good to pass up. oh wells. my car isnt low enough/i dont drive hard on streets that suck so that ive only scraped the DP several times and it was going like 1 a MPH over a speedbump.

[redpotatoes]

Don't know about the SR Megan racing downpipe but I decided to buy a Megan Racing downpipe for the KA with a test pipe. At first I was really satisfied then some problems came. Test pipe and downpipe make rattling noise and seems to be small metal pieces running around. Second thing, the bracket on the downpipe was on the wrong side. I replaced it with a hotshot header and a magnaflow hi-flow cat.

[alienz]

i like reading threads some people make me laugh!! keep it going!!o yeah just some facts for someone that knocks race cars using parts from companies like megan....at least one of the kazz drift vehicles is running a megan catback exhaust system...lol

[projectRDM]

www.atpturbo.com sells flex sections in all sizes. Buy one and weld it in. End of thread. Please lock before more crying occurs.

[DJ_Sunrise]

tougefactory does have that flex dp, and it is megan racing, i ordered mine from them for 110 and a turbo outlet for 110.. so 230 shipped for both pieces. my only beef, is that i was getting an exhaust leak from the gaskets, which i did fix.. but the leak did come back once in a while.. i recommend you do NOT use the megan racing gaskets, and stick to the OEM ones if u do buy the dp. it is a great downpipe, and i do heavily recommend it. about the "go jdm" trend.. forget it man.. like someone else said i welcome the competition.. over in japan power enterprises, arc, hks, are actually relatively cheap priced products, but shops stateside think they have a right to charge 3x 4x the price of the original product just because it is jdm... forget that. i have a blitz fmic, and tein coils.. so sometimes i will go name brand.. but at the same time, a pipe is just a pipe. stick to the MR downpipe. it is very high quality, as are the turbo outlet and exhaust manifold. great stuff, no one i know has had any problems with them.. just dont use the gaskets they come with :)
-bart

[projectRDM]

Or another unique option: http://phase2motorsports.stores.yahoo.net/cispo2eldocs.html

Very nice design, and a great idea. Install though looks to be painful.

[Rittmeister]

FWIW, I had a Megan flex downpipe for about ten minutes. I thought the welds were excellent.

It fit the car fine - close to the undertray and driver's frame rail but not touching. It didn't fit my driveway though - I have a "hump" at the top of the drive, and the flex section was enough fatter than the pipe and hung down enough to catch it. Went back to the old DP. I'll be getting a damper and keeping my fingers crossed.