The downpipe is the pipe that runs down from the turbocharger. This is where backpressure builds up: the turbine has to force the gases through a narrowed section and often a catalytic converter. Widening it frees up the turbine, allowing it to build boost earlier and more decisively - it is the exhaust modification you feel most on a turbocharged engine.

What changes behind the wheel is the response. The turbo takes less time to spool and the power continues higher up the rev range. On a remapped engine, this is the part that allows the ECU to deliver what the tune promises; without remapping, the ECU compensates and much of the potential gain remains untapped.