OK...I'm 99% done piecing together my turbo kit for my KA. (trying to keep a budget of $1500) I picked up 6ft of 2.5"dia aluminum piping and 5ft of 3"aluminum piping for only 10 dollars shipped. Is that enough?
I did some research, seems like aluminum is hard to weld and bending it with tight radiuses will cause stress and crimps on opposite ends. Is there a trick anyone can share with me so I can complete my IC piping? I have access to machines shops at work but i'm not too familiar with terms so please explain in detail.
Constraints: I also want to use the minimal amount of couplings since they seem to be a source of leaks and problems down the road. Not to mention T-bolt claps are $$. I also want to snake the piping myself. I like to be thorough with my work and not cut corners. So taking the piping to someone is my last option.
Thanks all ahead of time.
IC piping; aluminum
How do you plan to make bends with the pipe?
Aluminum itself is cheap, its the tig welding and mandrel bending that gets expensive. Usually an 18" finished piece of 90 degree mandrel bent polished aluminum is about 30 bucks, welding can run you up to 10 bucks a bead depending on who you have do it. You're going about it in an odd way- Ive never seen people buy aluminum stock and have it bent, maybe thats cheaper. What most people do is just buy mandrel bend sections and then piece it together.
Silicone couplers are only a leaking problem if they are not put together properly. A good thing about having a few connectors in the system is it gives you some wiggle room in case you mess things up (and you will).
Aluminum itself is cheap, its the tig welding and mandrel bending that gets expensive. Usually an 18" finished piece of 90 degree mandrel bent polished aluminum is about 30 bucks, welding can run you up to 10 bucks a bead depending on who you have do it. You're going about it in an odd way- Ive never seen people buy aluminum stock and have it bent, maybe thats cheaper. What most people do is just buy mandrel bend sections and then piece it together.
Silicone couplers are only a leaking problem if they are not put together properly. A good thing about having a few connectors in the system is it gives you some wiggle room in case you mess things up (and you will).
You can use the stuff you have, but from the sounds of the price, I imagine its very thin wall stuff, something they would use on an intake for a honda, which means when you go to crank down a clamp, especially a t-bolt clamp, you will crush the piping. A worm gear clamp would probably be fine. You can most likely get away using the piping for the straight sections and buy some 45deg and 90deg silicone couplers.
Rick
Rick
Re: IC piping; aluminum (adoboboy)
I bought a piece of aluminum and had it bent. It cost $100 for 4 90* and 2 45*. That took 12ft of material. It also depends on the aluminum. If you have a hardened piece they wont be able to bend it without it being anealed. So you might have to get it heat treated.
Re: (fiznat)
THanks for the input. Lets say I ditch the piping I have now and buy U bend piping. What radius is ideal? 4, 6inches? what lengths? also how many U bends would I need to complete an FMIC?Or...How many 45, 90 degree elbows would i need?