Take a look at the third photo of the stock exhaust system that appears in post #17 in this thread:
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=618555
(If someone with better skills than me can copy the picture into this thread, it would be appreciated.)
Is the flattened area just before the flange on the passenger side downpipe a crush bend? Or might it have been designed to acccomodate a cross-brace?
I ask because it is perfectly aligned with the rearmost bolts attaching the the front subframe to the body. Also, it is not obvious to me that the downpipe could not have been bent without this crush.
Finally, I assume that none of the aftermarket dowpipes have this feature. Any idea how much it might constrict flow?
Neil