if you have a good turbo and no leaks you should see more than 240lbft with stage 2 really
imo the entire stock exhaust system is a restriction, but if you're being picky about things the standard exhaust manifold is even worse.
i love my fmic in this weather, i did 250 miles today and heatsoak wasn't an issue once!
..i realise that probably hasn't helped the original question

i would say you need to do everything, doesn't have to be all at once but what's the point in going stage 2 if you can't use the power all the time?