qtwre

I've read that the turbo and manifold need to be removed to fit the downpipe in. Is there any way to get around that? I ask because I'll be having one installed tomorrow at a shop while doig the rest of the exhaust and I'd really rather not pay for the extra time it takes to displace the turbo.

If the car is up on a hoist can the DP be slipped in from underneath?

ahwest

sry but nope ... u will have to take the turbo out

brgracer

iTrader: (14)

Trust me you need to remove the turbo and manifold. I must have removed those two pieces about five times working on the fitment of my new DP/midpipe. I wouldn't have done it, if I didn't have to. Tried angling the DP every which way to no success. If you figure out a way to do it, take a pic and post.

CRX

Mount it yourself, then take it to the shop to get the rest of the exaust made. Best part is driving with the open pipe.

qtwre

Damn. That's too bad. I would consider driving with the open pipe but it will probably be way too loud.

One last question. Does the turbo have to be totally removed, disconnecting oil lines, or can it just be pushed out of the way? I may have to see if I can give some help as the car's being worked on.

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

Open pipe isn't tooooo loud. I did the same when I needed to have exhaust work done when I finished my turbo install.

bripab007

I disagree...open downpipe is loud. as. ****. period.

You probably will have just enough slack in the oil supply line to not have to disconnect it when you remove the turbo from the manifold to fit the downpipe.

CRX

And I disagree with your dissagreement. I drove the car open header to the exaust shop to have a connecting pipe made after my 1.8 99 motor install. Keep the rpms low, don't floor it, and it's not that bad. And remember, my car is na, so having the turbo on your car will quiet it substantially.

And hell, it's part of the fun.

qtwre

Well my car's been at this shop today while I was at work. I've been told they had to take off the steering column to make the downpipe fit. "wtf?" exclaimed I. Oh well. That o2 sensor bung is in a pretty crazy location. They have to cut a hole in my bowser heat shield. Nothing ever goes smoothly. sigh.

bripab007

Well, yeah, it's not that loud if you keep the RPMs low, but that's not a very fun way to drive the car

CRX

Get your alignment checked. That was quite unnecessary of the shop.

bripab007

Reason #1,427,509 why not to have any shop do any work on your car.

Reason #1,427,510 why not to have any shop do any work on your car.

CRX

Yeah, they could have welded the O2 sensor bung shut and put a new one in further down the downpipe.

nester

iTrader: (6)

drive it like that for 3k miles. I think I have permanent hearing loss from the open DP miata!

qtwre

Ok well the job's done and the car's home. I really don't mind the hole in the heatshield. Its at the back and cut quite nicely.

The car's wicked fast now. With my stock exhaust I had the manual boost controller turned so tightly I do't the the wastegate sees boost. I could only manage up to 7-8psi at redline. Now I'll have to recalibrate because the needle on the gauge will fly past 12psi pretty quickly.

My wastegate rattles like a ****. Can't quite figure out how/what to tighten. I know its been explained many times. Pics would be nice though.

Also, a question for other people with 1.5" all the way through. When do you start building boost and how fast does it rise after that? I think mine is at about 1psi at 3k rpm, and rises kind of slowly to 4k, where it then proceeds to rise very fast. Is this about right or is the slow initial boost a result of that wastegate problem?