Custom 2.5" Piping

[QuA]

Has anyone dont custom 2.5" or 3" piping from a muffler shop?

QuA

[R_Ethug]

Re: Custom 2.5" Piping

thats what I was always wondering like i have a 2.5" CB but seriously how is brullens pipe better than anything else you could buy your own muffler from whomever and then pay a muffler shop to make the cat-muffler portion but they would have to bend it ,etc but it can't be that hard.

[Flanders]

Re: Custom 2.5" Piping

Not sure if it matters to ya , but Bug_Power on vortex did a comparison of mandrel bent 2.5" piping with non-mandrel bent 3" piping. ...and the bent 3" piping flowed better than the mandrel bent 2.5".

(just telling you this in case you can't find somewhere that'll do mandrel bent stuff)

[Simon]

Re: Custom 2.5" Piping

yah most muffler places aren't capable of doing mandrel bends, so they have to buy the mandrel bends seperately and weld on to pipes.

[QuA]

Re: Custom 2.5" Piping

All I need is a 2.5" catback and my performance mods should be completed... until mr stg 2 comes in =) I dont think any tiptronic has been hit with a stage 2 kit.... let the NVD be the first!

QuA

[R_Ethug]

Re: Custom 2.5" Piping

or your tranny dragging behind your car from too much TQ

sorry for the bad joke dude.. try it out if you can..

aren't C1 still selling thier Brullen's at cheap prices? could get one of those..

[Kor]

Re: Custom 2.5" Piping

or your tranny dragging behind your car from too much TQ

sorry for the bad joke dude.. try it out if you can..

aren't C1 still selling thier Brullen's at cheap prices? could get one of those..

In retrospect I find myself wondering how much it would have cost to have a local shop custom-fabricate a 2.5 (or larger) cat-back. Calgary Muffler by chinook mall can mandrel bend pipe (I've heard). You should do it. If I was doing it again I might go even larger than 2.5"... after all, its underneath the car, why not?

--
Kris

[Billip]

Re: Custom 2.5" Piping

Ok... I finally have to ask after reading all of this... what the hell is a mandrel bend? My rear sway bar has mandrel bends and I've always wondered what that meant.

[Flanders]

Re: Custom 2.5" Piping

it means that the pipe was "bent" in such a way that the inner diameter hasn't changed anywhere along the pipe. (vs a non-mandrel bent pipe, where there will most likely be kinks at the bends, reducing the inner pipe diameter)

[Kor]

Re: Custom 2.5" Piping

So-named because a mandrel is a tool used to support the inside of the tube to improve the quality of the bend by minimizing any flattening or quality of the tube and to help control wrinkling during the bending cycle.

[Billip]

Re: Custom 2.5" Piping

Awesome info! Thanks guys!

[Tuna]

Re: Custom 2.5" Piping

I guess I'll pipe in here. I did a full custom exhaust on the Corrado before I sold it. Now the G60 engine is a very unique beast so there were a lot of issues. Honestly, I was wishing the whole summer I would've just bought a brullen. So, if you have time and aren't feeling sleepy please read on......

First, went to the shop to inquire, they gave me a quote which I thought was pretty reasonable. I was getting a full system after cat (i had recently installed a new one so wanted to keep it). It would have high grade stainless, mandrel bent 2.5". It sounded really good. So I went through a bit of a nightmare 'cause My stock resonator packed it in before I had quite enough cash saved up yet so I had to get it done in a couple of installments. So first they did the resonator portion (from the cat to the last bend before the muffler). Like Ryan said, they measured my car and ordered up the mandrel bends before hand and welded everything. Now the quality was VERY good they had an excellent welder but it took a whole day to do. So I drive my car for a day or two and I start noticing a rattle, it gets worse to the point that after a couple days I'm embarassed, so I book it in again for them to look at. Now those of you that know about G60's they run extremely hot and as it turns out, the heat had destroyed the glass pack in the resonator reducing it to about 5 golf ball size chunks. They put a new resonator on (they made them custom, handbuilt, they looked nice actually) stuffed it with stainless packing and off I went after being without my car for a day again. A couple days later, start hearing the same thing again. So, car goes in again, apparently I burned that packing out too. So I after another day without my car they get rid of the resonator completely put in a high flow cat to bring the volume down (I said I would not put up with a noisy droney sound) and I got the muffler done at this time as well. So, things are looking up (Now it's been about a month and I had to take my car to BC with my rattling exhaust). So I'm on my way again, a day later, when I start hitting bumps I notice a banging sound and it keeps getting worse until there is a constant rattling sound only to be interupted by banging when I go over bumps so, back to the shop only they are really busy so I have to wait a WEEK to get it in
So I nearly drive myself to the point of insanity waiting a week to get it fixed, it turns out that, there wasnt quite enough clearance over my rear beam (you old school guys will know what I mean) and due to the added weight the stock hangers couldn't take it and stretched and/or broke. So I had to go buy some new hangers and they had to take it apart and adjust it. So another day without my car and getting rides to the shop etc. In the end it took about 2 months of fiddling before everything was right. Now the shop that did it handled it very well, and like I said, the quality was really good, but I don't think they were prepared for a supercharged engine. Now, had I gone with a Brullen (or other popular makes) fitment, sound, heat would have (for the most part, sorry to hear about your fitment issues Kor) been researched and I coulda had a new exhaust in about a day. The one thing that was nice about the custom way was the quality of the material, much much better than what you'll usually find out there. Also, if I would've kept it and wanted to play around, I know they would've done it for bit more cash. Ah yes the cash, in the end it cost a little less than an "off the shelf" system, it came out to a little more than a brullen after labour and GST.

So there you have it. There is more to the story but I tried to keep it on subject, and keep my emotions out of it I guess there are disadvantages to both but in hindsight, I would've went bolt on, it was just too much hassle and disruption. I guess things might have been different at a different shop too. I hope I have provided some insight so that i didn't just waste a 1/2 hour of my life!

[QuA]

Re: Custom 2.5" Piping

WOW nice info! I called in to concept1 and they should be recieving some new FK 2.5" mandrel stainless sometime soon for the jetta's. I think they'll be priced at $515 in the begining so I plan on getting those. I'd prefer something different then a brullen catback....

QuA

I guess I'll pipe in here. I did a full custom exhaust on the Corrado before I sold it. Now the G60 engine is a very unique beast so there were a lot of issues. Honestly, I was wishing the whole summer I would've just bought a brullen. So, if you have time and aren't feeling sleepy please read on......

First, went to the shop to inquire, they gave me a quote which I thought was pretty reasonable. I was getting a full system after cat (i had recently installed a new one so wanted to keep it). It would have high grade stainless, mandrel bent 2.5". It sounded really good. So I went through a bit of a nightmare 'cause My stock resonator packed it in before I had quite enough cash saved up yet so I had to get it done in a couple of installments. So first they did the resonator portion (from the cat to the last bend before the muffler). Like Ryan said, they measured my car and ordered up the mandrel bends before hand and welded everything. Now the quality was VERY good they had an excellent welder but it took a whole day to do. So I drive my car for a day or two and I start noticing a rattle, it gets worse to the point that after a couple days I'm embarassed, so I book it in again for them to look at. Now those of you that know about G60's they run extremely hot and as it turns out, the heat had destroyed the glass pack in the resonator reducing it to about 5 golf ball size chunks. They put a new resonator on (they made them custom, handbuilt, they looked nice actually) stuffed it with stainless packing and off I went after being without my car for a day again. A couple days later, start hearing the same thing again. So, car goes in again, apparently I burned that packing out too. So I after another day without my car they get rid of the resonator completely put in a high flow cat to bring the volume down (I said I would not put up with a noisy droney sound) and I got the muffler done at this time as well. So, things are looking up (Now it's been about a month and I had to take my car to BC with my rattling exhaust). So I'm on my way again, a day later, when I start hitting bumps I notice a banging sound and it keeps getting worse until there is a constant rattling sound only to be interupted by banging when I go over bumps so, back to the shop only they are really busy so I have to wait a WEEK to get it in
So I nearly drive myself to the point of insanity waiting a week to get it fixed, it turns out that, there wasnt quite enough clearance over my rear beam (you old school guys will know what I mean) and due to the added weight the stock hangers couldn't take it and stretched and/or broke. So I had to go buy some new hangers and they had to take it apart and adjust it. So another day without my car and getting rides to the shop etc. In the end it took about 2 months of fiddling before everything was right. Now the shop that did it handled it very well, and like I said, the quality was really good, but I don't think they were prepared for a supercharged engine. Now, had I gone with a Brullen (or other popular makes) fitment, sound, heat would have (for the most part, sorry to hear about your fitment issues Kor) been researched and I coulda had a new exhaust in about a day. The one thing that was nice about the custom way was the quality of the material, much much better than what you'll usually find out there. Also, if I would've kept it and wanted to play around, I know they would've done it for bit more cash. Ah yes the cash, in the end it cost a little less than an "off the shelf" system, it came out to a little more than a brullen after labour and GST.

So there you have it. I guess there are disadvantages to both but in hindsight, I would've went bolt on, it was just too much hassle and disruption. I guess things might have been different at a different shop too. I hope I have provided some insight so that i didn't just waste a 1/2 hour of my life!

[Tuna]

Re: Custom 2.5" Piping

Also, for everyone, one of the things I learned too is that there are different grades of "Stainless". I can't remember it all now (i've tried to leave that season behind me ) But there are different thicknesses for example.

[R_Ethug]

Re: Custom 2.5" Piping

i dunno qua my brullen is awesome..for some reason i don't trust FK stuff.. other than their suspension but they seem to be tossing their hat into so many rings.. i dunno thats just me though.. stick with a company that makes exhausts for a living.. only other one i would buy is APR for my car which i might do if C1 gets APR stuff