The Crucial Racing Systems uppipe is the very finest available!

Here is the press release on this amazing piece.

Replacing the stock uppipe on the WRX is beneficial in almost every respect. The stock uppipe incorporates a catalytic converter and EGT (Exhaust Gas Temperature) sensor, both of which restrict the performance of the engine by disrupting the smooth flow of gas into the turbocharger.

By removing the stock up-pipe, exhaust gas travels unrestricted into the turbocharger decreasing the spool-up time and lowering the boost threshold. This gives you more horsepower and torque throughout the RPM band. The only reason for having the EGT sensor in the uppipe is to protect the turbocharger in the event the catalyst material should fail due to high exhaust gas temperatures. Once the catalytic converter is gone, there is no need for an EGT sensor which could just as easily fail and damage the turbocharger by sending metal into the turbocharger. When removing the stock uppipe, the heat shields which help maintain exhaust gas temperature help keep the engine bay cool are lost, as well.

The Crucial Racing Systems uppipe solves these problems by eliminating the catalytic converter and EGT sensor. A six-step thermal coating is applied to the pipe, helping maintain the velocity of the exhaust gas because hot gas travels at a much higher velocity than cold gas, increasing the volumetric efficiency of the engine and causing the turbocharger to spool up at lower speeds. The result is a startling improvement in performance. The coating also serves to keep the Engine bay cooler prolonging engine life, and providing superior corrosion protection.

Our up-pipe is manufactured to the highest quality standards. The tubing is Mandrel bent 321 Stainless Steel, which keeps flow and velocity at the maximum. The tubing we use is the proper diameter for the up-pipe at 1.75”, which is the same diameter as the turbo. Having the up-pipe and turbo size matched ensures that turbulence is kept to a minimum, which helps with performance. The piping is TIG welded on the outside for rigidity and life. The flanges on the up-pipe are CNC Laser cut and machined ½” thick Stainless Steel. Then they are threaded so the included studs can be easily fitted. The flanges are COMPLETLY flat, ensuring a proper seal to the gaskets (included with up-pipe.)

The Crucial Racing Systems up-pipe also comes with a LIFETIME WARRANTY.

2000°F+ Coating Process:
1. The up-pipe is heat treated to remove impurities from the welds.
2. The up-pipe is Glass Bead Blasted on the inside and outside. This seals the pores in the metal, and smoothes out irregularities in the metals’ surface.
3. The up-pipe is blasted with Virgin Aluminum Oxide on the inside and outside. This step etches the metal for proper adhesion and absorption of the coating.
4. The coating is applied to the inside and outside of the up-pipe.
5. The up-pipe is cured in an oven, which helps the coating stay adhered under demanding circumstances.
6. The up-pipe is polished. This not only helps the appearance, but also seals the pores in the coating.

If you have any question or want more info, email me at InfinitePerformance@comcast.net, or simply reply to this post.

http://www.wallpaperinstaller.com/scooby/bling.jpg

Nice friggen pipe! :eek:

Nice looking pipe! Wish I'd waited to get one of these. Bump for Crucial products :banana:

Here's a review written by Smorris at clubwrx.net.

Crucial Racing Systems (uppipe review)
Product Reviewed: Crucial Racing Systems uppipe http://www.crucialracing.com (no web site, just a splash page)
Purchased from: Infinite Performance http://www.infinite-performance.com
Price: $249.99 plus shipping
Installed in: 2002 WRX Wagon

Summary: Highly Recommended!

I installed the Crucial Racing Systems uppipe in my wagon a couple of weeks ago, and wanted to write a review on the product.

First off, the Crucial Racing's uppipe is a work of art! Perfect welds, surface ground mounting faces, bends are smooth without hint of a kink or stretching of the pipe. The ends of the tubes appear to be machined and chamfered before being welded into the flanges. The flanges are surfaced ground dead flat, and the tapped holes for the studs are properly chamfered. The TIG welds are as good as those on expensive titanium mountain bikes. Almost too perfect to hide under the car!

In one of Infinite's threads, I read that the uppipe goes through a six step coating process, which I think included stress relief, bead blasting inside and out, then aluminum oxide blasted, coated, baked, and them polished. It really is a masterpiece!

The kit included five new studs, three gaskets (uppipe-to-turbo, uppipe-to-manifold, and downpipe-to-turbo), a 2.2 ohm resistor, and instructions. The studs appear to be coated, and installed easily with high temp anti-seize. This is a huge bonus for anyone who has had to try getting the studs out of the OEM uppipe! I used the existing nuts from the OEM uppipe.

The Crucial Racing Systems uppipe does not include an EGT bung, so the OEM EGT sensor is cut off near the plug and the resistor is wired in to avoid a CEL.

The gaskets installed and sealed up perfectly. These are much better gaskets than the stock pieces, and I was surprised to see that I was getting the downpipe gasket. I was about to order one when I was told it was included with the uppipe. Another $15 bonus.

Installation was time consuming, but not too difficult, as described by many other threads. I used a combination of the included instructions, those for the Perrin uppipe, and the amazing tutorial put together by TubbyTreats and included in the clubWRX.net tutorial forum! The uppipe lined up with the mating surfaces perfectly, and the gaskets sealed up tight. I installed the resistor per the instructions (as well as the PEP CEL eliminator for the downpipe), and was ready to go!

I've been driving the car for almost two weeks now, and have not had a single leak or CEL. I still need to replace the downpipe-to-midpipe gasket (installed Oakos Automotive downpipe at the same time - also highly recommended!) so I do hear leaking at that junction.

Performance is markedly improved, and spool-up is much quicker. There is more low end grunt, and it pulls better from a corner. I'm anxious to see how well it improves my autocross times! The sound is just perfect, without being too loud. You can really hear the turbo easily, now.

Great job, Russ! There are already a lot of uppipes available for the WRX, and maybe Crucial is a little late to the game, but definitely with a quality part! This product should soon be the standard by which others are measured. Highly recommended!

Here is a link to my istallation thread: http://www.clubwrx.net/forums/showt...&threadid=60529

(Standard disclaimer, no affiliation of financial interest in Infinite, Crucial, Oakos, etc. other that Russ is just a good guy trying to make premium performance parts that stand out above the rest. Plus he's an old fart, too )



Here's the link to his thread, http://www.clubwrx.net/forums/showthread.p...&threadid=61929