Really? I figured it wouldn't give me much as far as gains go, just a bit louder. I'm still going to order it as im not able to afford a flash pro yet and it's pointless to tune until I get what I want installed.. my main concern was will it damage my motor in any way and as far as I've found it won't. You seem to be well respected here though. My plan was to install to see how it felt and if I didn't like it return it to stock. I currently have a k &n short ram and I was told the same thing, it'll run like **** unless tuned. I don't find much difference in the power since I got it but it runs fine. What do you mean by run like garbage? Misfiring and sounds like ****? not challenging you I just need to know.
The K&N will actually rob you of power. Only 3.5" CAI have been shown to make gains over the stock airbox. All others show no gains or even losses.
The downpipe is actually what will give our cars the greatest bang for your buck as far as gains go. Hard to explain the problems of running an untuned DP without actually experiencing the difference. A LOT of rasp. Also, the flow and pressure is all messed up due to a lack of a tune. You will think it runs better, but all you are really feeling is better throttle response. You will probably also think the increased noise is the result of more power. Both are poor false assumptions.