replacing the castiron elbow

[suprajztwenty]

I'm betting that your downpipe is NOT 3" at the flange where it mounts to the elbow since 99% of the downpipes are knock-offs of the HKS one (that and it wouldn't seal with the stock gasket)

i get it now, thanks. now that you mention it, it does look like the bends arent quite right and it seems like a custom job but i dont know what brand it is except for a flowmaster high flow cat and the apex n1..its got the worst looking weld job for a hangar...destroyed a perfect finish on that pipe

so i want to run the 57 trim ct and hit 400 to the wheels...should i get the divorced or not? it wont be tuned to 400 all the time, maybe once in awhile but really its just to say i hit the mark. ill beat on it awhile then ill go 1j i think. the car needs a few more maint stuff taken care of so its a tight budget, whats my best bang/buck option here?

 

[easternguy2005]

I have that same elbow (first picture) bought off ebay and it looked great. Problem was that it wasn't flat on one of the sides so I had to take it off and get it machined flat. After that it workd fine and the wideband screws in fine.

Why did it matter that it wasn't flat ? Because at idle I could feel exhause gases coming out around the gasket no matter how tight I made it.

 

[WhtMa71]

The only really worthwhile upgrade to the turbo elbow is eliminating it, by installing a downpipe that runs from the back of the turbo to the cat and eliminates that 90* angle, as made by Titan Motorsports, BIC, etc. I don't see much point in upgrading to a stainless steel elbow; it may look nicer and weigh a little less but that's it...

edit: beat me to it

Negative..That elbow is huge on the inside compared to the stocker and doesn't have the big wall in front of the wastegate flapper. Take a look at the stock elbow and it will be pretty obvious..

My car came with a full 3" DP, no neck, and a stock elbow. Replacing the stock elbow with a LIPP unit really woke my car up.

The problem with the SS ebay elbows is the flanges not being flat, as already mentioned.

 

[SUPRASTEVE]

does anyone know how low the TMS DDP hangs compared to the BIC DDP. I want to know which one gets less scrapes. Also I've got an "HKS" DP is there any way to tell that its real, I have my doubts but it worked well when the car worked LOL.

P.S. Divorced Down Pipes from what I heard work alot better then just changeing the elbow and stocker DP.

 

[Poodles]

TMS doesn't have a DDP, it's a big mouth downpipe.

Most everything sits higher than the HKS.

 

[SUPRASTEVE]

TMS doesn't have a DDP, it's a big mouth downpipe.

Most everything sits higher than the HKS.

So whats better the BIg mouth or the BIC DDP

 

[Poodles]

DDP is better.

 

[SUPRASTEVE]

Hey POOSLES I was looking at the DDP options. Since I live in BUTTF**K cali I will need the DDP with recirculationback into the main DP. Now this is perference but I like the Flex section Idea. Do you think they will make a DDP recirculated with a FLEX. Only reason for the flex is cuz I heard it help reduce the wear on the flanges.

Your thoughts?

-Steve Z

 

[Poodles]

Raptor Racing's DDP is rerouted and comes with a flex section, and I believe BIC's can be ordered as such as well.

The chinese ones come that way as well, but their quality is hit or miss now (seem like they stopped adding the actually divider flange, which kills the point of the DDP)

 

[ben1984j]

Negative..That elbow is huge on the inside compared to the stocker and doesn't have the big wall in front of the wastegate flapper. Take a look at the stock elbow and it will be pretty obvious..

My car came with a full 3" DP, no neck, and a stock elbow. Replacing the stock elbow with a LIPP unit really woke my car up.

The problem with the SS ebay elbows is the flanges not being flat, as already mentioned.

Fair enough, thanks for pointing that out, I was actually unaware the difference was significant. Regardless, I still don't believe it's worth it to just upgrade the elbow; as mentioned earlier in this thread, the ones of known quality (such as the LIPP unit) are pretty expensive, and for just a little more you could get a "complete" downpipe which flows even better. To me that option makes the most sense, and it seems to be what more people are doing these days, if not running a DDP. I didn't mean to say that there is no difference in an upgraded elbow, I appreciate you clearing that up.