So I am planning on buying the RV6 Catted Downpipe for my RDX, but from looking at the exhaust system it seems that the Catalytic Converter is located after the downpipe. Does anyone know what those parts are?

 

what are you asking??????

the rv6 downpipe replaces the downpipe on the car. that's it.
the stuff you pointed out has nothing to do with the downpipe...they are just more mid-mufflers

 

Sorry for being confusing, its just that the first mid muffler looked suspiciously like a catalytic converter, so I wanted to make sure I wasn't buying a catted downpipe when there is already another catalytic converter.

 

the down pipe will replace the catted down pipe...
or in your case,the aftermarket catted pipe will replace the OEM catted pipe.
per this diagram:





turbo--->rv6 cat downpipe--->mid-muffler--->

 

you can always call Richie at RV6 to ask him to explain to you what his product does.

RV6 Performance - 630.447.8309

 

Just curious what the benefit is to buying a new exhaust on an RDX. I never think of it as a performance vehicle. Is it just to have a different sound?

 

Since the RDX has a turbo 4 cylinder engine somewhat derived from the Civic Type R, you can extract a ton of hp and torque from it with upgrades and a tune. (intercooler, downpipe, etc.) Also I just enjoy tuning cars and making them my own.

 

Civic Type R has a different ( manual ) transmission. It's unknown how much headroom the 10AT may have to deliver increased engine output to the ground.

Coincidentally, I saw a somewhat vintage Porsche Carrera abandoned at roadside this morning. It had stickers advertising tuning equipment.

 

Somewhat?

 

As long as the tune is relatively conservative, I don't believe I will run into any transmission issues. Graham Rahal (who works for honda) recently tuned a RDX to 345 hp and 370 tq without any issues. I won't be pushing my RDX to those numbers to preserve reliability, but I will work with my tuner to see what we can achieve. At least if my transmission does blow, you guys will find out the upper limits of Honda's new 10 speed
To Alias: The RDX has a "detuned" Type R motor, which likely means it has weaker internals in addition to a more conservative ECU tune. Therefore, you can tune up a RDX to a certain level but never to the level of a fully tuned Civic Type R unless you upgrade internals, turbo, transmission, etc.

 

The Rahal tune was only for like one race though, right? Not exactly a good basis for implying a tune shouldn't negatively impact transmission life. (I have no beliefs either way, but would like to know more)

I know it's a "detuned" Type R motor, I had just assumed the only difference was timings, etc. I didn't think it would also have "weaker internals." (Unless you're referring to ancillary stuff like the turbo and intercooler?) I'd love to know more about this, do you have more info on what is different, hardware-wise?

 

I am expecting that the tune will definitely impact transmission life, but that kind of comes with the territory when it comes to higher performance. Hopefully as more Acura models get the 10 speed, we will begin to see how much abuse the new transmission can take. Perhaps the Type S models may even use the 10 speed? That would give a pretty good indication.
The reason I don't believe the RDX and the Type R have the exact internals is because Rahal installed the turbo from a type R and upgraded almost every other ancillary parts, and yet only made 345 hp as opposed to the 380 hp that can be achieved in the Type R with only the Hondata Tune and no aftermarket parts.
This article details how different the Type R engine and the Accord's "Detuned engine" is, and I'm assuming that the RDX engine is more similar to the accord engine.
https://jalopnik.com/heres-exactly-w...ivi-1820164645

 

Those "mid-mufflers" are resonators used to tune the sound of the exhaust and/or tune out unwanted tones/frequencies.