Upgraded TMIC or downpipe?

I’m considering either the Corksport TMIC or Downpipe. Of course getting more power is desirable and that favours the downpipe, but having less heat soak with the intercooler is desirable for me as well.

Any advice? Other product recommendations?

I’m curious about one other thing. Corksport says no CEL on the downpipe, but wouldn’t a CEL happen indirectly due to no catalytic converter affecting what the O2 sensors see?

 

I ended up choosing the TMIC. Hopefully it’ll make a good difference over OEM.

 

Good call on the tmic. Having the extra power from the dp be taken away as soon as you do one pull due to heat soak would be no fun. Lol.

 

Now go buy an eBay downpipe and save a few hundred bucks over the CS while getting both of the mods you wanted

 

Seriously? Are they decent enough?

 

No foolin'. Don't use the bolts or gaskets that come with it but the pipes themselves are just fine.

 

this, more power gains from DP than tmic...

 

That was my dilemma… I’d like the extra power but I think the upgraded tmic might be of more immediate benefit for me. The downpipe will have to be my next upgrade.

Do those downpipes cause a cel?

 

usually they are catless after all

 

Couldn't honestly tell you if they do or don't cause a CEL on a 6. On a first gen 3, usually no; second gen 3, usually yes without adding a defouler/spacer on the second o2.

Also read stories of needing to clearance the pipe a little bit with aftermarket dps on the 6, but those have ranged the entire gamut from cheap eBay to fucking expensive cpe pipes so I wouldn't let it be a determining factor in which one to buy, moreso just be aware it might need a few love taps from your BFH.

 

I decided I don’t want a catless downpipe due to the hassle of un/reinstalling it for inspection/emissions, and someone in my area was selling a like-new eBay resonated test pipe for cheap and so I got it.

Will this net any power gains (with a tune) or will it mainly change the exhaust sound? I thought that when I receive the TMIC and get a touch-up tune I might as well add this while I’m at it.

 

Yup test pipe still get you some gains that second cat is pretty restrictive I don't recall an exact HP/TQ gain amount associated with it though

 

I'm a little late to the convo, but I have this exact setup, a Corksport TMIC, stock downpipe, second cat replaced by a Corksport race pipe. The sound change will depend on what kind of resonating they did, the Corksport one I have made the car slightly louder, but it's still a very quiet car for a Mazdaspeed. With the stock catback the sound hasn't really changed, it's just a little louder and you don't really hear it unless you are flogging the car in upper RPMs. For the most part I can hear my intake more than my exhaust.

As far as power goes, if you just throw it on you won't notice a whole lot. But when you get tuned, the combination of intake, TMIC, HPFP internals and the race pipe can work very well together. My otherwise stock car with a KO4 is hitting 21 psi very quickly while I was lucky to get 16 before. Air is passing through the system quickly enough that if you're in light boost the BATs actually go down, while if you're WOT the temps barely go up. The thing is no single one of the mods really would do this, but a combination maintenance, mods, and tune made it all come together nicely.

 

Good to know, thanks!

 

With the Catless ebay dp on my MS6 no CEL that I remember, the O2 sensors just need to be on the top most bungs they're like an inch apart the reading won't really change enough to throw the cars reading off.