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Silicone Reducer / Transistion Elbow Source


phil280zxt

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I'm in the process of planning out my spring intercooler install on my 81 280zxt and I need help finding a source for silicone reducer / transistion elbows. I would like to transistion from 2.75 intercooler inlets/outlet to 2.25 for the piping. Any ideas where I could find these?? I'm not sure if I will need 45's or 90's. The car is zipped up in its winter sleeping bag for another month. I've searched on this and other forums and also used google searches extensively.

 

Thanks, any help would be appreciated.

Phil

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i got a kit off ebay, im sure it was the cheaper stuff that is not fiber reinforced, but it still worked out very well for me. I got the 2.5in kit for around 100$ and then just cut the pipes and used the supplied connectors. I think the key is to cut the pipes to that they fit very close, my pipes all but up to each other. If you leave a lot of space between the pipes the connectors can balloon out. My intercooler has 3" inlet and outlet so i boiled my 2.5" connectors and they stretched enough to fit perfectly. Back to your original question, im sure just about any 2.5" connector would; 1 stretch around your 2.75" intercooler and, 2 compress around your 2.25" main pipe.

Blake

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I like Blake's idea of boiling silicon couplers to get additional diameter out of them, at least in a pinch. However, I have to disagree with him on being able to compress a coupler that is .25" oversized and have it seal properly. I tried fitting a 2.25" coupler onto my 2" compressor outlet, and it didn't work out.

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The couplers that come with those ebay intercooler kits are rubber not silicone. Which is why you can heat them up and expand them (which may lead to a lot of boost leaks down the road). Real silicone is rated at 300+ degrees, and one elbow will cost you at least $30 (typically $40+) compared with less than $10 for rubber. I'm going to end up spending more on silicone couplers than I did on my intercooler!

 

Nigel

'73 240ZT

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I second ATP they have a good selection, good prices, and i always get all my stuff quite quickly. The only time they have been out of stock on a connector was for a 2.5" straight piece -- they upgraded me to a hump connector for free instead of backordering, but called to be sure it was okay.

 

I recommend buying t-bolts to -- definitly worth the investment.

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Thanks for the info on silicone sourcing options. My plans are to transition from the 2.75 in/outlets on the intercooler to 2.25 piping with elbows. With my luck I probably won't be able to pull that off and will have to come up with a different plan. I hope that I don't have to resort to modificating the intercooler endtanks. It sure would make it easier if my Z was not under wraps at the moment!!

 

Here is the intercooler I purchased on Ebay for $150. It's a Spearco 20x8x3.5 core.

 

2090741_10_full.jpg

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Reducer elbows are very hard to come by. Hoover's boys will rig you up a ghetto fabulous one, in which they slice a piece of 1.25 off a straight piece, shove it into the elbow and charge you an extra 20 bucks for the "reducer" piece.. It may be cheaper to just buy the elbow and slice the piece off one of the straight pieces you already have and do the same thing. I second the silicone vs. rubber comment. Turbohoses, ATP, and Road Race sell very good material that will endure high boost.

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