Intercooler piping.

[drEameRvaJ]

Aluminum or stainless steel? Which material is better or which material does the KA-T crowd prefer?

[WDRacing]

Aluminum is better on two counts. Its lighter and it transfer heat far better heat the steel. Steel retains heat for long periods of time.

However, anyone can peice a kit together with prebent tube from Summit and weld them up if they are mild steel.

WD

[Chezedik]

God damnit, do I need to be the ying to tickle your yang? Aluminum is a hell of a lot easier to saw through, in case you do not have the facilities to create your own barbs. I use hairspray.

[crzycav86]

Aluminum is better on two counts. Its lighter and it transfer heat far better heat the steel. Steel retains heat for long periods of time.

However, anyone can peice a kit together with prebent tube from Summit and weld them up if they are mild steel.

WD

I completely agree.

[nissanfanatic]

Aluminum is just harder to weld...

[Edub1]

Aluminum is better on two counts. Its lighter and it transfer heat far better heat the steel. Steel retains heat for long periods of time.

However, anyone can peice a kit together with prebent tube from Summit and weld them up if they are mild steel.

WD

And stainless holds heat a lot longer than regular or mild steel.

[WDRacing]

I have a Chopp Saw, I can cut through just about anything with the same amount of hassle

[daconkiftador]

Titanium intercooler piping, ftw!

But out of the two options, yeah Id say aluminum aswell. Make sure you stick a magnet to the piping before you try and weld it tho, otherwise its a no, no

[Chezedik]

And why not? Titanium is cheap, and we have all often experienced a pipe blow out due to the positive pressures that they see. Or, uhm, wait...

[WDRacing]

Anyone try copper pipe yet? That would be so easy to braze together. I have no idea what the price per foot is compared to aluminum or mild steel.

Cheze, run down that info...GO!!!

[Edub1]

Right now copper is slightly cheeper than gold. LOL, you'd have a 150lb intercooler system.

[shockload]

Anyone try copper pipe yet? That would be so easy to braze together. I have no idea what the price per foot is compared to aluminum or mild steel.

Cheze, run down that info...GO!!!

copper would be a good choice on a setup using a chemical intercooling system, copper is highly conductive to heat so it is still a good idea to not use it for a hot pipe. copper is often even used on intake manifolds as well most people dont really take copper as an option though.

[nissanfanatic]

I'm using carbon fiber for intercooler piping.

[babowc]

some use pvc piping too.

hell,ill use my garden hose.

[nissanfanatic]

^ I actually did use that on my first setup.. Along with Ace hardware couplers..

[Chezedik]

Copper is about $2.40 a pound, which is much more than aluminum or steel (steel is something like $.20/lb or aluminum at 1.28 per pound pure or .99 in mag alloy form). Couple that with it's inability to be welded, and you find that it is a BAD option for an intercooler pipe. Also, it takes on heat as well as it removes it. Finally, I do not know it's density, but I would guess that it is as heavy as steel if not more.

[Craving4Boost]

What's your guys' opinion on people who substitute A LOT of intercooler piping for really long couplers? Besides the fact that it can get expensive, is it just as good? Will too much of the coupler material over actual piping be more prone to bursting under high pressures?

[babowc]

silicone COUPLERS.

i think the name of the part defines itself.

[Edub1]

You can't beat those Ebay kits. For $100 you get everything you need and a piece or two you would never have planed for. For 8 or so years I was a commercial electrician and that's mostly what I did was ran pipe. Even with my experience I still miscalculated one bend angle - lucky for me I had that 70* bend I planed on never using.

In the end you'll come out better on money and time if you buy the kit. Just read carefully as not all the kits are the same.

[Chezedik]

Agreed. Also, the couplers are fine instead of pipe. That is how many of the OEMs and Diesels run them, and they do not often fail. They just don't offer the bling factor that pipe does.

[babowc]

oo you can use a long section of the couplers to replace an actual pipe/piping?

maybe running low boost?

[Chezedik]

Yes, and actually you can run high levels of boost. I just bought a section that is good to run 50psi normally, and has a burst strength of 200psi. Seems good for the 15psi or less most people here will be running. You can also get it from NAPA, but 3 feet is about 70bux depending on size.

[babowc]

i have a question on ic piping.i just rcvd a "kit" with silicone couplers and all with tbolt clamps,but the pipes dont have a "bead" to sit the couplers on..i was just wondering what i can do about this.. instead of having to weld it, since i cant weld nor have the capability to weld aluminum

[Chezedik]

Hairspray, brutha!

Get a can of hairspray, and spray anywhere you are going to clamp a coupler down. It works like IC Pipe Dope (glue).

[babowc]

oohaha will do!thanks for the information

never thought about that.. neeato..

[soldiaboy]

since we are on the topic of IC piping. Im looking at buying a kit from ebay. they dont specify ka24 or sr20. can I get the sr20 piping for my ka-t w/o major modification?

heres an example

http://cgi.ebay.com/HYBRID-TUR...wItem

[babowc]

wow why is that crap so expensive?!even converted to USD, thats nearly 350 for an EBAY brand.... wow.if you have t25 ka-t, you can use the sr20 piping w.o major modifications.

[soldiaboy]

thanks for the answer. I also saw a thread towards the bottom with my same question

[Chezedik]

Only slight mods are required for T3/T4. If it actually a Hybrid Turbo intercooler setup, then it is not just an eBay brand, which is why it would be so expensive. But they may be using the name to get you to pay more.

[fiznat]

Just a couple minuses on aluminum IC piping from a guy who had it:

Aluminum is expensive

Aluminum is a pain/expensive to weld

Aluminum crushes easially, which means you can warp the pipe with just a coupler clamp if youre not careful (I did this and it sucked. Had to replace the pipe to get it to seal right)

Aluminum transfers heat well, but thats a minus in a heat soaked engine. I'm not sure how much heat transfer is really a factor in IC piping anyways.

Adapters/flanges are expensive for aluminum. The aluminum version of the HKS SSQV flange is SUPER expensive.

Just somethin to think about.