Well I finally finished my custom Exhaust. The project started due to my downpipe clearance issues with my front swaybar. I designed and built a new dp to clear my swaybar & couldnt stop there, so I took it the whole way back. I used 304L stainless on the entire system and incorporated a highflow Metallic cat. I used V-Band connections on all of the pipes to make it eaiser for disassembly and having the ability to nix the cat if I need to at any given moment. I chose Magnaflow race cans 3" in 4" out.

I cant really tell you how it sounds, as I havent took it down the road yet, as I am waiting for some more V-Band clamps, as I was sent the wrong size. I modified regular hose clamps to at least get the system mocked up.

 

 

the back of that thing looks mean... I hope I get to hear this thing in person some day. Oh and I love your license plate... how'd you get them to let you have a smiley on it!?!

good work... excellent fabrication.

 

ha ha wooot! getter done!

it was great to meet you... I am excited to see what you do with this thing!

 

Won't the lack of mandrel bends hurt exhuast flow?

 

Very nicely done. Also I would like to know how the non-mandrel bent pipes effect the flow, and if you do not mind...what did all of that cost you?
Again...Nice Job

 

Not too concerned about the mandrel bends. This is 3" pipe and I couldnt get mandrel bends to make the turns I needed unless I could find a shop that would do it for me. I had to measure out all my angles and it was eaiser and quicker to cut and weld. I would of needed some tight radius bends to cut to what I needed and if you ever ordered mandrel pre-bent pipe you would probably cut your own as well ($$$). Theoretically speaking though, the turbine of the turbo creates such a turbulance in the exhaust flow, it wouldnt really benefit for mandrel. although it wouldnt hurt. Also the cat even thought its high flow is 10x more restrictive then a 30° angle cut. Let me put it this way, going from 2.5 to 3 back to 2.5 with mandrel would be more restrictive then a few angle cuts still at 3" diameter. The DP does have a mandrel bend at the top coming off the turbo as that was the only way I could get it to fit. It started as a 120° bend pre-fab pipe & I cut it down to the angle I needed.

Total cost for the project??? well... somewhere in the neighbourhood of $800-900. That would include everything I needed, like argon, 2 spools of SS wire, all the V-Band clamps & flanges, cat, hangers, o2 bungs t5 to v-band adapter and the such.

The big benefit was designing it for my car to work and not have any clearance issues. It wont work on any other car, as the points where the v-bands connect are not near stock. I can swap out my cat in a few minutes for a straight pipe if I choose for off-road type events. Like I mentioned above, the DP was my biggest issue I was having, and I was forced to fab one up myself in order to solve my clearance issues.

 

Thanks Champ! Wish I could of been in the beer olympics as well! Great talking with you too!

 

Thanks! Yeah I had to kind of beg and plead with the DOT to get that plate!, for real! hehe

 

Ok finally got the chance to run this thing down the road since my v-band clamps came in. A few things come to mind:

1. No more rattles from the old exhaust hitting the swaybar or the body somewhere. Note to self, if you want it done rite, just do it yourself.

2. Its freq'n loud! And I am not talking just turn your radio up loud. I am talking windows down and you start to think maybe I should really put in a adjustable valve or resonator loud.

3. Turbo spools up more evenly and the power is more smooth & it just looks bad *** sticking out of the rear like it does.

So for now, I likey, until I get sick of the drone, but I can now drive at 3k rpm and not need to schedule a dentist appt to have my fillings fixed.

 

Hey there , nice looking setup. Can you do me a big favor and take a picture of the mufflers under the car. I want to see how much clearance there is to do the piping like that. Thanks.

 

Looking good! Dude, you and I are definately on the same wavelength. I just ditched the Magnaflow for a 3" straight pipe. I moved the battery into the passenger compartment and got rid of the battery box to do it. I have just a Magnaflow race muffler on the end. Nice, fat, beefy exhaust tone.

I didn't do mine myself, though. I have no skill in that department. Interestingly, the guy that made the exhaust (dominationchassis.com) told me my downpipe is all wrong. He says that at its current angle it limits turbo spooling. He proposes to move the power steering resevoir and upgrade to a nicely-flowing 3" downpipe as well. Time to break open the piggy bank.

Oh yeah, he he also wants me to ditch the supercharger, too.

 

I was hestitating about throwing my two cents in, but I just have to say - man, that is one sick looking exhaust. Nice!

 

Yeah I will do my best, its kind of hard as I am work on jack stands and not a lift. It is actually a lot easier this way as I am not holding my arms above my head for long periods of time or holding up the heavy exhaust. I can tell you this much, there isnt much room. I basically designed the system as I went, knowing how I wanted it to end in the rear. I built from the DP back and made sure everything fit perfect and wasnt touching anything. The problem with off shelve stuff is it generally is mocked up from a jig, and although jigs work really well, sometimes welding stuff pulls it from the heat. I was able to avoid most of that by assembling each bit as I went along. The mid pipe was cructial in making sure that one it didnt hit the brace at all & two it was at the right angle for the rear assembly. From there I measured my angle, which turnout out to be around 60degrees so I made my angle pieces. In order to find that, I had to mock up the cans by placing them on something that held them in the position I wanted. I measured and re-measured, then top'd it off with the final dicerning tool, my eye. Astetics is upmost in the end. The last thing I did was weld the hangers onto the cans. That pretty much made the system set perfect. I had to do no shimming or anything, it just sat perfect. If you want to do something similar, just take your time and think about it & for your own peace of mind, measure twice and cut once, this stuff isnt cheap to buy over due to a bad measurement!

 

Yeah I thought about ditchen the batt box as it would of made my life 10x easier, but I liked the dual side look too much. I am not familer with Helix's dp but if I saw it I could tell you.

I am actually in the process of ditchen the sc. I have a new engine sitting on the stand waiting for me to get around to putting in the cp pistons, rod bolts, head studs, & hey-suess head. There is a lot more in the works as well, thus the reason of picking up the new engine as it just helps minimize downtime!

 

Why thank you!

 

O and btw, for you guys that like the pop.....I have so much more pop now then I ever did before....

 

That's it... now I HAVE to take you up on your offer to compare cars. I'm going to be in Lancaster in Sept. You will be hearing from me!

Me, too. The 3" pipe gives more of a pow,pow,pow, than pop.