auxilary Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 mcmaster.com has 6 feet for 42 bucks. add tax and shipping, about 60. ebay shops want about 16 bucks per 16". 25 bucks per mandrel bent 2.5" diameter tubing in 90* angles... anyone have any recommendations for online shops? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 My suggestion... Skip the aluminum and go with thin wall mild steel (18 to 20 ga). I saw a a test at a couple weeks ago at DRS that showed no measurable difference in intake temperature (measured at the TB) between mild steel, aluminum, or stainless tubing on an Audi A4 with a 1.8T engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 John, What about the rust factor? Wouldn't going with steel incur additional costs to have the tubing coated/powdercoated to prevent rusting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Wouldn't going with steel incur additional costs to have the tubing coated/powdercoated to prevent rusting? There's this stuff called Paint that comes in spray cans costing about $3.00 each ($5.00 if want high temp). Any color you want. Or you can do like Amir did and let the tubes rust. Gives a nice, industrial look to the engine bay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Ya know....sarcasm is not a form of humor It is pretty tough to get good coverage on the inside of the tubing, esp. once it has been welded in fairly long lengths, with bends and all....I guess a person could always pour in a pint of paint and slosh it around a while, then pour out the excess...... Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 OK, call me stupid, but why would you need to paint the inside of the IC tubing? I know some of the big chromed steel IC tubing used on diesel trucks is just bare steel on the inside. I also recently helped re-install the IC tubing on a Dodge 2500 turbo diesel truck and it was just painted black on the outside with bare steel on the inside. Are the insides of cast iron intake manifolds or cylinder heads coated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Since the tubing is 'after' the air cleaner, would the tubing not rust and 'flake' off and go into the intake? [edit]Alex, sorry for the hijack[/edit] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Since the tubing is 'after' the air cleaner, would the tubing not rust and 'flake' off and go into the intake? That would be an astounding amount of rust inside that tube! I think a squirt of WD40 or something similar would be more then enough to prevent any significant rust accumulation over years of use. I would be more worried that a poor paint job inside the tube would start flaking off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted February 17, 2005 Author Share Posted February 17, 2005 and I have no answer whatsoever nice! reasons for aluminum? a. weight b. no rust i have leftover stainless steel tubing, but I don't want to use that. I suppose aluminized steel would be just fine. not too heavy, and won't rust because it's not exposed to the elements as much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yo2001 Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Mild steel will get rust inside from all the condensation but it'll take a decade before it kill an engine. One thing to worry with an alumi. pipe is road debrees that kick up. I had a rock hit my Al. IC pipe and put a nice dent in it. 2.25 inch pipe now only about 1 inch diameter. Doh! Road Racing Enginering got selection for pretty reasonable price. You know EVO8 comes with Al IC pipes. you might be able to get those cheap. People are throwing those away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 According to my handy-dandy EMJ Materials Reference, 6061T651 aluminum tubing in 2.5" OD .065" wall weighs .5847 pounds per foot and 20ga mild steel tuding in the same OD is .8917 pounds per foot. You save .307 pounds per foot using aluminum tubing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolane Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 As for coating the inside of the tubes, maybe an undercoating type sprayer would work well. I got one from Eastwood that included wands for getting into hard to reach areas. It also has a few different sprayers, one of which spray to the side of the wand... Just an idea on painting the inside if that was desired. Joshua Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted February 17, 2005 Author Share Posted February 17, 2005 According to my handy-dandy EMJ Materials Reference, 6061T651 aluminum tubing in 2.5" OD .065" wall weighs .5847 pounds per foot and 20ga mild steel tuding in the same OD is .8917 pounds per foot. You save .307 pounds per foot using aluminum tubing. good to know, since I have about 6-7 feet of alum tubing to run! that's about 2lbs of weight savings! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supra510 Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 I wouldn't worry about rust inside the tube. I've had steel tubing for 5+ years with no rust at all on the inside. Turbo's will leave a slight oil residue in the intake even if they are in good shape. I'm not talking about anything that would drip, just a residue. This is plenty to keep any rust off the inside of the pipe. Anthony '71 510 wagon, '91 Supra turbo engine (357 rwhp) http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/674663 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 240zJake Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 good to know, since I have about 6-7 feet of alum tubing to run! that's about 2lbs of weight savings! Drive naked, 2lbs saved! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clifton Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 When I put the big intercooler in I used aluminum to try to save some weight, intercooler was 15 lbs heavier. The cost isn't much different and most of the peices came polished. I got my tubing from Ebay. I got the 2.75" from here http://motors.search.ebay.com/_W0QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQsassZvertexnowQQsojsZ0 I just called them and ordered it. It' s thin wall, .080" The 2.5" stuff from this guy, This was a little thinner wall. http://motors.search.ebay.com/_W0QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQsassZdelubozpartsQQsojsZ0If you buy the bends you won't need very much straight as there is quite a bit on the legs. I have always used steel in the past and rust has never been an issue. It is not very humid here though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobythevan Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 I suppose aluminized steel would be just fine. not too heavy, and won't rust because it's not exposed to the elements as much I like aluminized steel pipe because I can weld it, therfore making any type of custom IC piping really cheap for me and it does not rust if left unpainted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yo2001 Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 According to my handy-dandy EMJ Materials Reference, 6061T651 aluminum tubing in 2.5" OD .065" wall weighs .5847 pounds per foot and 20ga mild steel tuding in the same OD is .8917 pounds per foot. You save .307 pounds per foot using aluminum tubing. 20 ga vs .065"? that like half of the thickness. I would look into aircraft quality al pipes. those are like 20ga al pipe. No weight at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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