1.9 exhaust question

[addautomotive]

Hey folks, the downpipe on my 96 Jetta 1.9 TD has bit the dust.... you can see the smoke coming out of the mesh of the flex pipe. Before I order the replacement part, are there any performance options I should consider? Mine is teh style that bolts up to the catylitic converter, instaed of the type that includes the cat.

[addautomotive]

last chance before I buy the stock part!

[DVST8R]

if you can fab your own out of mandrel bent U pipe do it. Or if you can tget some one to do it for you have it done. Last resort would be stock. Nobody that I know of in North America sells any aftermarket downpipes.

[farkman]

If you can make or get a larger downpipe and exhaust system, that would be a lot better than stock. With my 2.5" stainless steel system, on a 94 Golf 1.9TD, I got about 2.5-3 mpg more than stock and slightly better acceleration, especially above 100km/h. Of course getting one made will probably cost $700-900 CAN. Materials for my system was about $275 and about 80 hours of my time. It was well worth it though.