Dat73z Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 (edited) I'm looking to order 2.5" and 3" stainless tubing and vbands for downpipe, exhaust, and charge piping. Does anyone have recommendations on where the best places to order are in 2021? Thanks! Edited June 14, 2021 by Dat73z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AydinZ71 Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 19 minutes ago, Dat73z said: I'm looking to order 2.5" and 3" stainless tubing and vbands for downpipe, exhaust, and charge piping. Does anyone have recommendations on where the best places to order are in 2021? Thanks! local industrial steel shop will have the tubes of metal. Here in socal we have “industrial metal supply” warehouses. I get v-bands on Amazon and stainless bends from an inner cooler piping online store for $15 each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dat73z Posted June 14, 2021 Author Share Posted June 14, 2021 10 hours ago, AydinZ71 said: local industrial steel shop will have the tubes of metal. Here in socal we have “industrial metal supply” warehouses. I get v-bands on Amazon and stainless bends from an inner cooler piping online store for $15 each. Thanks Aydin, Do you have a preference or suggestion on Vband styles (ex: stepped/grooved lip) and vendors? I was doing some quick research over the weekend and there are a lot more options available now than even 5 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grannyknot Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 Vibrant sells straight from their site and the quality is excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AydinZ71 Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 Can’t go wrong with Vibrant. Honestly, for an exhaust system cheap Chinese V-bands are probably fine. Just read-up on the reviews. Certainly less finicky than old-school 3-bolt flanged connections with gaskets. If a V-band leaks enough to notice on exhaust, something went terribly wrong. As the exhaust system heats up, the V-band design pushes the flanges against one another with more force. I would be much more careful to find quality couplings for intercooler piping for instance, where the pipe is actually pressurized. Also, stay away from 316SS. It’s overkill, and used in engineered applications where chemical compatibility and is important (like food or medical applications). Go with 304. If they don’t specify, it’s probably 304 anyways. It’s going to be pricey though. My joint sells CS for $1-1.5 per lb, whereas stainless starts at $3.50. Are you going to weld this yourself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironhead Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 I have some experience with this.... To some extent it depends on what you want/are willing to pay. It is not all the same. One of the problems I have encountered with the cheaper stuff is that the tubing is distorted more in the bends. So if you cut an angle out of the bend to weld to another piece of tube, you will find that the bent portion is not round and doesn't fit without a ton of tweaking. My #1 choice...also a bit more expensive...is SPD Exhaust. Everything they sell is US made, superb quality, nearly always in stock, and they ship same day. They do not have an "add to cart" website, so you have to call or fax/email an order sheet. Stainless Headers is good too, but they make everything to order and it usually takes 7-10 days to ship currently. Vibrant is another great source...never had a problem with anything from them. I've heard great things about Burns Stainless, and they have a great website, just never ordered from them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhm Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 FWIW, I've been using generic stainless v-band clamps for many years without any issues. The flanges are typically non-grooved, but I always weld them to the exhaust tubing so as to incorporate a small lip between the two ends. Initially had a problem with leaks on some of the clamps, so now I use Permatex ultra-copper high-temp RTV on the joint EVERY time I bolt them together. (You can also use it on the threads, like Loctite, if you're having any issues with the nut loosening during usage.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dat73z Posted June 16, 2021 Author Share Posted June 16, 2021 Thanks for all the responses guys. Good info and it sounds like Vibrant is in the lead. Has anyone tried Ace Race Parts / Ace Stainless? I'll try some local industrial warehouses too, but where I'm at in CA most things local are more expensive than ordering online including raw materials. Or at least that's been my experience with Argon and local metal suppliers which I'll still support since they do smaller walk-in orders but they mostly serve large commercial/industrial customers. I will be fabricating this myself in my garage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exposed Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 ace race is good, stainless bros are also good. I always use one of these two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerrud Posted July 1, 2021 Share Posted July 1, 2021 Another vote for Vibrant. I got mine from them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LooseRocks Posted July 1, 2021 Share Posted July 1, 2021 ATP turbo (atpturbo.com) also some. The selection of piping is more limited than some other sites but the price seems in line. They also have a bunch of v-band stuff specific to Garrett, Tial and Borg. There's also a bunch of other misc transitions (round to oval ...). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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