Turbo Pipe Material ?s.
Thread Starter
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,414
Likes: 28
Turbo Pipe Material ?s. Looking at doing a flip manifold setup, my question is where is the best place to buy decent V bands, tubing, and should my first kit be mild steel, if comes out half way decent, have it coated or so S.S?
Thanks.
Thanks.
Hey Joe piggy back off your comment. Why not aluminum? I see a lot of the new kits are aluminum for the cold and hot side. I have been doing some research on the same question as OP and was wondering in your experience.
Cheers!
Cheers!
TECH Addict
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 2,513
Likes: 480
From: PDX-OR-USA
Aluminum tubing alloys are not often suitable for extreme heating and cooling cycles, it will Harden and crack. There is AL that will work but its not the common stocked tubing at suppliers.
I know a guy who builds custom headers for folks, he uses very thin Iconal tubing for his best ones.. But I don't live in that $$ range for a car part.. I think he gets north of 5K for a set of open wheel V8 headers.. But they are SOOOO light..
I know a guy who builds custom headers for folks, he uses very thin Iconal tubing for his best ones.. But I don't live in that $$ range for a car part.. I think he gets north of 5K for a set of open wheel V8 headers.. But they are SOOOO light..
9 Second Club
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 13,616
Likes: 185
From: Norn Iron
TECH Regular
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 487
Likes: 6
From: Orange, Texas
I got mine at mandrelbends.com, I went with stainless.
And I agree with others above, aluminum on the hot side isn't a good idea. I have seen some people use aluminum on the turbine outlet with success.
ETA: mandrelbends.com = Columbia River
And I agree with others above, aluminum on the hot side isn't a good idea. I have seen some people use aluminum on the turbine outlet with success.
ETA: mandrelbends.com = Columbia River
Last edited by squarles67; Jun 21, 2017 at 08:19 AM.
Trending Topics
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power
Verdad Gallardo
10 Camaros You Should Never Buy
10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die
Verdad Gallardo Woops gotta lay off the devils lettuce....i see some kits use Aluminum for the cold side NOT the hot side. 
The kits i was referring to are using mild steel for the hot side....my bad lol.
The kits i was referring to are using mild steel for the hot side....my bad lol. Last edited by 2muchboostNY; Jun 20, 2017 at 05:20 PM.
Thread Starter
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,414
Likes: 28
I have seen some aluminum down pipes, but they are short runs, and mainly drag cars. I'm thinking of going with mild steel for my first build. Knowing my luck, it will look half way decent, and wish I would of used S.S.
Still need to source some good affordable V bands.
Thanks.
Still need to source some good affordable V bands.
Thanks.
Restricted User
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 7,192
Likes: 109
From: Ohio
If you see hotsides made of aluminized piping, that's completely different. Its steel with an aluminum oxide coating on it to prevent corrosion. When you grind the aluminum off to weld it, it will rust as normal steel.
There are drag cars with aluminum downpipes. Its not that uncommon.
You can get pretty much everything to make a hotside from somewhere like Columbia River. That's where I get everything I use. I've only made 1 hotside out of stainless. Mild steel is easier to deal with and usually a lot lighter.
There are drag cars with aluminum downpipes. Its not that uncommon.
You can get pretty much everything to make a hotside from somewhere like Columbia River. That's where I get everything I use. I've only made 1 hotside out of stainless. Mild steel is easier to deal with and usually a lot lighter.
TECH Regular
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 487
Likes: 4
Columbia River mandrel sells "B STOCK BENDS" for 25 bucks a box of like 25lbs of mild steel bends... one box gave me more than enough for a hotside. Their pipe is good quality and welds great, but the b stock has a few imperfections.
For V Bands I found modern automotive performance on ebay to be good quality. I replaced some china stuff with theirs when the v band bolts easily stripped. MAP's v bands use a 13mm nut versus 10 for the china stuffs
For V Bands I found modern automotive performance on ebay to be good quality. I replaced some china stuff with theirs when the v band bolts easily stripped. MAP's v bands use a 13mm nut versus 10 for the china stuffs
TECH Addict
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 2,177
Likes: 627
From: Florida
ive run full aluminum downpipes from the turbine to the rear bumper. they work but theyre a lot of maintenance. if you cant make them yourself (ie have a tig) its not worth it.
they get cracks a lot. i eventually replaced it all with mild steel because my truck is used as a truck. for a weekend beater id probably do it again, especially if i did the first foot or two out of stainless.
they get cracks a lot. i eventually replaced it all with mild steel because my truck is used as a truck. for a weekend beater id probably do it again, especially if i did the first foot or two out of stainless.
Ive only ever used SS on the couple hot sides Ive built. Everything Ive researched on mild steel is OK for hot sides, but it can lead to some nasty rust running through your turbine if you dont have it coated on the inside. You will never know its there till it chews up the turbine wheel. Once I added coating to the cost estimate for mild steel, stainless was just as cheap to build with. This is just what I found out through researching when I first started to build my own turbo piping and I have no personal experience with the mild steel rusting.
When you include the cost and skill of DIY TIG welding vs MIG, the price is substantially different.
Staging Lane
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 62
Likes: 7
From: Connecticut
I made a flipped truck manifold twin turbo kit using SCH10 304 stainless 2" pipe. It's actually 2.1" ID and fits perfect in a 2.25" V-band. A couple other friends have used the same material with single turbo kits, but you need a flex joint on at least one bank to prevent cracking. It's also a good idea to brace the turbo if you're using something heavy like an S400.
I flux core welded mine with gasless stainless wire from Blue Demon. I use a Lincoln 140 mig welder turned all the way up to get enough heat to get good penetration , but its a strong , UGLY weld that seems to hold up really well. A 1# spool costs about 32 bucks on Amazon. Its Blue Demon 308LFC-0 and works well with all 300 series stainless up to 308. Mine is made of 304 SS from Vibrant.