Custom intercooler piping, how much did you pay?

[drifts14x]

This is in the General Forum, but I want to know, particularly from you all here in the KA-T Forum, how much you payed for your custom piping setup, and if you have FMIC or SMIC, please let me know, I am finishing up my KA-T and want to know how much I should be looking to pay.

[2d-ink]

I paid $35

[fiznat]

lots... For my FMIC setup:

Mirror finished aluminum mandrel bends (5 x 90 degree and 1 45 degree, all 2.5") came out to a little over $200.

Then there were silicone connectors from turbohoses.com and constant torque clamps. These include reducers for some places and hump hoses for the intercooler connections... also 1 straight section to take up slack in the IC piping in one place. Came out to a little over $200 also.

I overpaid quite a bit for some things I think (specifically the silicone), but I got a decent deal on welding so I donno... Figure you'd probably spend a little bit less than me to do the same thing with similar quality.

[MarkEmark]

It could vary quite a bit depending on how professional (or lightweight) you want it. If you stick with regular aluminized steel from JC whitney and radiator hose (more on the "ghetto" end of the spectrum), it will be cheap. I went with all aluminum, mandrel-bent intercooler piping just to save weight. I got the bends from http://www.burnsstainless.com. The silicone ended up costing me LOTS of money and I used quite a bit of it, but it's all very good silicone and I know it won't be blowing off or failing me...

I got the silicone from http://www.turbohoses.com and http://www.pegasusautoracing.com

Including the stainless clamps designed specifically for use on silicone, I probably paid about $350 or so for just to plumb the intercooler...

[fiznat]

yup Mark I got silicone from the same place. Just note if youre gonna buy from them, a 15% discount is available if you just ask for it and you're buing a decent amount of stuff.

[crzycav86]

I spent about 200 dollars on aluminized steel from summit-racing.

I bought a lot more bends/piping than needed, and thats why it ended up being so much.

Labor is free.. I still have to buy connectors.

EDIT: I also had to buy extra 3 in. piping/bends for an exhaust..

[DRIFTEADOR]

I paid $35

how/where?

if you want to do it right (or maybe i should say blingin') it'll cost quite a bit. t-bolt clamps alone will be $50+. Silicone couplers another $100-$200 depending what you'll need and where you get them from

[2d-ink]

hehe I went to a Muffler shop bought a stick of Pipe but they were cool enough and gave me 10 feet of it instead. for $35 and I brought it to school and bend it haha yeah yeah I know its Crush bend but it wasnt Wrinkle bend.. A friend of mine work at a local hard ware store so I got some Free silicon coupler and I guess I just got the regular screw clamps hehehe.. I do everything at school all the welding etc.. save me money

[AustinSilvia]

i paid close to $100 for 3 unpolished aluminum u bends and a 3 foot length of silicon tube. as above if you want a mirror finish in the aluminum it will cost more. if you stick to steel it will cost less but weigh more. i held comparable sized ubends of aluminum and steel in either hand... oh my freaking goodness the aluminum is light.

[DRIFTEADOR]

i paid close to $100 for 3 unpolished aluminum u bends and a 3 foot length of silicon tube. as above if you want a mirror finish in the aluminum it will cost more. if you stick to steel it will cost less but weigh more. i held comparable sized ubends of aluminum and steel in either hand... oh my freaking goodness the aluminum is light.

are 3 u-bends enough for hot and cold pipes? how much did you pay to have it welded? what do you need for a dp on a top mount? I'm probably going to go with aluminized steel bends from jcwhitney.com for ic piping and stainless from kteller.com for dp

[AustinSilvia]

i guess it depends on what and where your intercooler will be. i don't know that the welding is a must... i get mine done for free but you can always just use silicon and clamp it together.

[sil80drifter]

4 Cold Air Intakes from an Integra on ebay = $120 shipped = Lots of shiny 2.5" bends and straights to play with.

I picked the Integra because out of most CAIs for sale on ebay, it is the most practical, with a lot of bends and such.

Welding was free for me... so I cannot comment.The intake come with rubber couplings, and yeah they are no silicone, but somethign to hold you over while you look for a good deal. You may need to go to Home Depot for additional couplings when you connect the 2.5" to the smaller compressor outlet.

sil80


Modified by sil80drifter at 4:36 PM 1/8/2005

[MarkEmark]

4 Cold Air Intakes from an Integra on ebay = $120 shipped = Lots of shiny 2.5" bends and straights to play with.

I picked the Integra because out of most CAIs for sale on ebay, it is the most practical, with a lot of bends and such.

Welding was free for me... so I cannot comment.The intake come with rubber couplings, and yeah they are no silicone, but somethign to hold you over while you look for a good deal. You may need to go to Home Depot for additional couplings when you connect the 2.5" to the smaller compressor outlet.

sil80

If you want your intercooler piping to blow off and leave you stranded out in the middle of nowhere, go shopping for intercooler coupling at Home Depot. If you want it to last, buy the real stuff, turbo hose made out of multi-ply silicone and use clamps designed for high pressure silicone applications.

How do I know this? Because it happened to me. Lesson learned.

[coolcloo1019]

If you want your intercooler piping to blow off and leave you stranded out in the middle of nowhere, go shopping for intercooler coupling at Home Depot. If you want it to last, buy the real stuff, turbo hose made out of multi-ply silicone and use clamps designed for high pressure silicone applications.

How do I know this? Because it happened to me. Lesson learned.

--Hop out, put the couplers back on and you're on your way again...

[sil80drifter]

1) I should have specified, home depot coupling on the vacume side only, not on pressurized side. Not that it would matter anywhere under 10psi if you have put any effort into tightening the hose clamps. But again, HD connectors are still ill advised for the pressure side of th IC piping. My bad

2) What the guy above me said. If they pop off, it's not the couplings' fault, it's the clamps or IC piping designs fault. If you have very odd angles connected by less than befitting couplings (i.e.: a 45 deg "made"to be out of a straight piece), yes the couplings will pop off.

I always have some tools with me, even in my parents car. I've never heard of any HD coupling splitting in half under boost, so their durability is not really to be questioned. Again for a budget design most people do not run over 10-15psi, so they can use them.

If this was a thread abotu the BEST PARTS POSSIBLE, I wouldn't have made any such input. But it's about the best for the money.I've used HD couplings on vacume sides of my 240 for over 2 years, and never had a popping off issue.

sil80