DIY Hard Pipes
- Thread starter mk3
- Start date
IJ.;1115180 said:
<CRE searches for paper upon which to write his [strike]list of demands[/strike] wish list> :naughty:
If you've already got a set of hardpipes for your car I'd just put them in (hell, even if you don't have a set yet)... I couldn't see going to the trouble of making a set that's just going to get tossed in a couple months and going through the effort of putting them in twice... no thanks.
car is currently unregoed/getting rebuild and uncomplied
im building it for 400-500hp so i cant exactly rock up and say rego me with a HKS T04 coming off the side of my motor
+ i gotta put my pistons and crap in and let it all run in then im chucking my FFIM and front mount cooler on. so just wanted to see if it actully made a difrence with some DIY hard pipes. stock piping is so fucking shit..half rubber half difrent sized plastic. stock pipes FTL
im building it for 400-500hp so i cant exactly rock up and say rego me with a HKS T04 coming off the side of my motor
+ i gotta put my pistons and crap in and let it all run in then im chucking my FFIM and front mount cooler on. so just wanted to see if it actully made a difrence with some DIY hard pipes. stock piping is so fucking shit..half rubber half difrent sized plastic. stock pipes FTL
as long as they hold the air, im sure it would be an improvment. if you do it, use high temp stuff - even then i wouldnt recommend it
if you can find john lunsford's website (I think its jblmk3.com or something, google probably has it) he has a writeup on how to do the pvc piping.
Definitely check out JBLMK3.com he's made some fast cars on the cheap and shows you how to make the Lowes/HomeDepot pipes that are soooo tempting to do, esp when u see his numbers and the years theyv survived.
Dont listen to IJ tho, ive read that guys thread and he can make gold out of straw.
If you do make yourself up a set of metal ones document it with some pics so i can try to copy...or have a muffler shop copy.
Dont listen to IJ tho, ive read that guys thread and he can make gold out of straw.
If you do make yourself up a set of metal ones document it with some pics so i can try to copy...or have a muffler shop copy.
Last edited:
i'm suprised. i thought the welds would be mega clean with a TIG. i don't have much experience with a TIG though so i can't say for sure. my dad has a old friend that welds aluminum parts for us cheap. his welds look like a robot did it to. he will be doing my hardpipes soon and i will show you what i mean.
Adjuster
Supramania Contributor
I made mine up with mild steel, mandrel bends and straight pipe.
It is 3" ID at the throttle body, and 2.5" from there to the FMIC, and another 2.5" from the IC to a single shorter 2.25" ID pipe off the turbo. (The actual ID of the turbo outlet is more like 2.25, not 2.5 I've found in many cases.)
I've powdercoated this set of pipes twice.. Once in white with a black vein.. looks "hammertone" in the photos, and now candy apple red with a clear coat..
Made my own custom down pipe, and modified the "chinabay" stainless manifold as needed to get it exactly like I wanted.
Here is how they used to look.
My FMIC is not as big as IJ's, but I'm not sure that's a bad thing.. the oil cooler might not fit if the IC was any larger. (I just TIG welded the RX7 cooler mounting brackets to the end tanks of the intercooler, and there is a good 3/4" air gap between them, with only a few inches of each mounting bracket touching between the two, so not much heat transfer from the oil cooler to the FMIC.
It is 3" ID at the throttle body, and 2.5" from there to the FMIC, and another 2.5" from the IC to a single shorter 2.25" ID pipe off the turbo. (The actual ID of the turbo outlet is more like 2.25, not 2.5 I've found in many cases.)
I've powdercoated this set of pipes twice.. Once in white with a black vein.. looks "hammertone" in the photos, and now candy apple red with a clear coat..
Made my own custom down pipe, and modified the "chinabay" stainless manifold as needed to get it exactly like I wanted.
Here is how they used to look.
My FMIC is not as big as IJ's, but I'm not sure that's a bad thing.. the oil cooler might not fit if the IC was any larger. (I just TIG welded the RX7 cooler mounting brackets to the end tanks of the intercooler, and there is a good 3/4" air gap between them, with only a few inches of each mounting bracket touching between the two, so not much heat transfer from the oil cooler to the FMIC.
Here are some Custom Hardpipes we made for a customer, so I guess you can consider them DIY since they are built for the customer's particular setup:
Custom 3000 Pipe
RayRay getting it ready to weld the next piece
Mocking it up
Mocking up the rest so Ernie can weld it
Custom 3000 Pipe
RayRay getting it ready to weld the next piece
Mocking it up
Mocking up the rest so Ernie can weld it
black89t;1116267 said:
tig welding takes mad skill and very very steady hands....especially with aluminum considering it is generally a pain in the ass to weld....
IJ.;1116424 said:While my welds may not be pretty they don't fail and don't over penetrate into the pipes
ij its not about how well it works...but how good it looks....damnit man get with the times....so friggin old school lol