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Up pipe options for 04 wrx

12K views 18 replies 9 participants last post by  wrxdan 
#1 ·
Hey guys, new to the forum and just got an 04 wagon about 4 months ago. I've gone through the entire car, replaced all the fluids checked everything I can and took it in to a mechanic to make sure everything was good. Now that I've got all the maintnence out of the way, I'd like to start the mods. Car is 100% stock other than a Borla cat-back I put on last week. The guy I bought it from worked at a shop and he recommended that the next thing I do was the up pipe. I've done my research but I still have some questions.
1. I live in California and we have the smog nazis here so I'd like to stay legal. can anybody in CA show what they've done? Can I get a good, catted up pipe?
2. Would it be worth it with to get a tune? What about an accessport?
sorry if this is :beatentod
 
#8 ·
Well, in the case of up-pipes there is a reason. vibrations and heat put a lot of stress on the up-pipe. If you get one with a cheapo flex section it will tear sooner rather than later. If you get a cheap solid one with poor welds, the welds will bust and you'll have a pre-turbo exhaust leak. Since the up-pipe is so hard to install and cheap to begin with, you want to get a reputable one and only have to do it once.
 
#9 ·
"Anything worth doing, is worth doing well."

My Invidia turbo up-pipe for the same car was 135 CAD$ but it took the shop 2.5 hrs to install it. Installation was roughly twice what the up-pipe cost, and I'd hate to have to do it all again if a inexpensive turbo up-pipe were to fail prematurely.
 
#13 ·
If you're doing the work yourself, you're in the best situation to try something new. Since it's already installed and there are no issues, I wouldn't give it another thought - just put the hammer down and drive it like you stole it!
 
#11 ·
I don't know of any "Catted" aftermarket up pipes. But like many other people mentioned, I think most smog technicians don't care, as long as you have your other cats in place.

If you do decide to order an aftermarket one we carry a few really nice options, including Grimmspeed and Invidia: 2004 Subaru Impreza 4 Door Wagon WRX Test Pipe

We also have a crazy deal going on right now on all V2 AccessPORT tuners.

Just let me know if you need help.
 
#14 ·
Wait what?
Who the hell are these guys and where have I been?

The up is a bitch but you can do it yourself in 2-4 hours depending on how good you are with tools.
The biggest bitch of the whole install is the removal of the old one since the exhaust covers can really be a pain in the dick.
I also used a jack under my engine to give me a little wiggle room.
GL, and don't pay more than a 100-150 for an up or your getting ripped off.
 
#17 ·
took me about 1 hr to get the old up pipe out, mostly trying to figure out how to get it outa there. jacked the motor up a little bit and wiggled it out. then it went really fast after that


**figured id be the guinea pig on the cheap ebay up pipe, so far so good, going on 2 years with it installed**
 
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