ZR8ED Posted February 14, 2002 Share Posted February 14, 2002 Well we are getting up to our eyeballs in the z engine bay right now. I am currently installing a rather large I/c in my 280Z. I'm looking for sources for pipe..straight pieces or prebent..doesn't really matter. 2 5/8's is my i/c's inlet/outlet.. sooo 2.5" ought to do it..I can have it stretched a bit to adapt it...but mainly at this point I'm looking for a source for piping.. if they have locations in Canada, even better... Thanks.. 78 280Z Z31 turbo engine with a volvo i/c Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awd92gsx Posted February 14, 2002 Share Posted February 14, 2002 http://www.roadraceengineering.com/hackertweekerparts.htm http://www.roadraceengineering.com/mandrelbends.htm This may help you. They sell all kinds of mandrel bends and flanges for different things. I've also been told that JC Whitney sells mandrel bends. As far as the straight pipe, you can probably just head to a local exhaust shop and pick up some aluminized steel piping for pretty cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-Gad Posted February 14, 2002 Share Posted February 14, 2002 I bought a couple of mandrel bent 2.5" u-bends from J.C. whitney...it was the least expensive of anywhere I checked and I purchased them online. I am unsure of the website, but a search should find it pretty easily (that's how I found it anyway). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awd92gsx Posted February 14, 2002 Share Posted February 14, 2002 http://www.jcwhitney.com/product.jhtml?CATID=14721&BQ=jcw2 That's the link for the mandrel bends from JC Whitney. Road Race Engineering sells these cool mandrel bent "donuts." I, for the life of me, cannot figure out how they make them. They're pretty cool, though, they allow you to choose your own bends and length of bends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-Gad Posted February 14, 2002 Share Posted February 14, 2002 Those donuts look awesome . I'm tempted to buy one just as a conversation piece!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted February 14, 2002 Share Posted February 14, 2002 Damn, those are cool as hell. My guess is they're cold formed from a steel tube - picture a section of 10 inch diameter tubing cut about 16 inches long. This gets stuck into a machine that mashes it - forcing outer edges to fold inward until they meet each other. Then the inside gets seem welded, probably by the same machine. That's just a guess though. I can see a seem weld inside, and nothing outside, so, it makes sense. And that place sells 14ga mandrel bends! Beefy. Tight radii too - 4". I wonder if it's worth it to use such heavy material for an exhaust. 16ga is probably plenty tough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tim78zt Posted February 15, 2002 Share Posted February 15, 2002 Page 3 of this forum has a thread (the top of the page) that lists some other sources too, including J-bends from Summitt. Tim78zt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZR8ED Posted February 16, 2002 Author Share Posted February 16, 2002 Thanks fellas for the help. I did some searching, and while I looked at the net, my mechanic searched locally.... well seems he made a good find. A local performance shop chain called 'Performance Improvements" has a supply of I/c piping. He managed to get me some piping 2.5" 1- 180 degree, and 5 ft of straight pipe made from stainless steel, for about 90$ Cdn He haw.. Aluminum would be lighter, but SS looks sooooo slick...my favorite metal hehehehe I love it when a plan comes together.. won't be long now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAW Posted February 16, 2002 Share Posted February 16, 2002 I've gathered Volvo and Saab OEM pieces as I see them at the boneyards. They are larger dia. than most other intercooler hoses & tubing. When piping my intercooler, I have a selection of pipes to use and can come up with a combination that looks like it was designed to fit. One nice feature is that they have ridges already rolled into them for secure hose fits. I also used an Audi hose which was formed larger on one end (which fits onto the intercooler inlet) and smaller on the end which fits onto the Nissan turbo outlet pipe which I cut before the stock U-turn to the throttle body. I left just a slight amount of the larger U-turn segment so that it serves as a ridge for the Audi hose to fit over. DAW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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