I need a downpipe made..who is best/cheap??

[Chris88CL]

Like the topic says, I need to get a downpipe constructed as cheaply as possible.

I have a crapload of 2.5" mandrel bent tubing for it. I even have a welder. I just dont have the time/skill/patience right now to deal with it. Its a VERY VERY VERY tight fit. It will probably have to be a 3 piece downpipe bolted together with flanges because its so tight. Its for a completely custom turbo project and requires some pretty tricky bends.

Obviously any muffler shop should be able to do it, but I want the best price and the best work. I feel more comfortable having a pro do this part of my project for me. Anyone have any suggestions? The closer to the Anderson-Chinook area the better. The car will have to be towed there. Provide pics of previous work and prices if possible. Im not sure what to expect $$ wise.

Heres a picture that shows the EASY part of the downpipe routing. Its gotta go under the red throttle body coupler and down the rear of the engine while trying to fit through a 3" (possibly) area. The giant harness will be relocated and im trying to figure something out with the TB so it doesnt have that downward angle. Im worried about it melting the coupler.
http://www.gmfwd.com/chris88cl/udp/underdrive006.jpg

The entire build thread can be seen here: http://gmfwd.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=15&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
if anyone is interested...

[legendboy]

doesn't look too bad. what is your budget?

[Chris88CL]

That area is the easy part. Its the rear of the engine where it gets tight. You've gotta squeeze the downpipe between the inner tie rod end and the massive auto transmission linkages.

Eventually the auto trans will be removed for the manual but not until I make it explode first :D

As for budget, I'd say a couple hundred bucks to get the downpipe completed to the rear of the engine and just over the swaybar (between the swaybar and the body, stock location). Thats with me supplying the tubing of course. Is that roughly what I should expect to pay??

From there I can weld the rest up myself easily enough. That and I havent decided on the rest of the exhaust components.

[finboy]

brake check on 16th ave did my turbo to side dump exhaust for $225 including a muffler (3" resonator, not really a muffler i guess) and it needed a custom downpipe as well (outlet aimed directly at the power steering lines).

just ask for exhaust and thats it.

question though, how come you decided on v6 instead of a low compression quad 4 with the same turbo? it would have given you a lot more room to work with

EDIT: i think you are using the same turbo as me

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v291/orphenz/DSC02413.jpg

you sure that will be big enough for your v6? :dunno:

good luck with you car :)

[Chris88CL]

Damn thats an awesome price. Do you have some pics of the downpipe installed in the car?

Most 4cylinder downpipes are alot easier to route then mine is. If my car was equipped with the 2.2L or 2.3L quad 4 engine I wouldnt have a problem at all.

As for the turbo size, yeah it should be big enough for now. I want to see how far I can push the stock internals so I wont be boosting extreme pressures or anything to begin with. Originally it had the .48 turbine housing but I put in a .63 for now. We'll see how it works. If I need bigger then I'll buy bigger. Not a big deal ;)

Stock this engine should put out around 170hp/200 ft lbs of torque so if I can hit the 250 mark for both I'll be happy for now.

Now, back to the downpipe discussion. Is there any decent muffler shops in the south that will do it for me? I'll pay for a tow truck to tow it if its nearby. If its way up north its going to have to wait for me to borrow/rent a car dolly and do it myself.

[finboy]

no pics yet, i'll try to get some soon, it was good work considering the room they had to work with. if you need the car towed, call crazy cooter, $50 flat rate anywhere in the city on a flatdeck truck.

the turbo should be alright for 250 hp, same with the intercooler, good upgrade going with the .63 housing as well. what exhaust wheel are you using?

[Chris88CL]

Hit me up on AIM or MSN to discuss some of the details and future plans if you'd like. I want to try to keep this as on topic as I can though :bigpimp: . AIM = Chris88CL and MSN = lezarch at hotmail.com

[Chris88CL]

Just thought I should add something.

Although I have a bunch of 2.5" mandrel bent piping, I dont have the flanges. Im using the internal wastegate though so a standard 3 bolt flange (2.5" outlet) will work. The downpipe will also have to be ATLEAST 2 pieces but likely 3. So flanges will be required for that aswell.

Someones gotta have some suggestions for something down south?

LegendBoy, are you able to do it? If so how much $$ and where?

[QuasarCav]

Is that a 3100 chris?

looks good!

[Chris88CL]

3.1L/3400 hybrid engine. Unfortunately I cracked my 3400 upper intake manifold so I had to replace it with a 3100 manifold (same size ports and flows just as good, but says 3100 :thumbsdow )

[legendboy]

Sounds like alot of work if it needs to be flanged in 3 places. Hope you find someone willing to do it for $200!

[Chris88CL]

You could do it in two pieces (1 flange in the middle and 1 on each end). Infact, I could get it to the point where you could make it one piece. I just didnt want to screw around with doing the tight bends behind the engine myself.

Looks like I'll be doing it myself afterall if $200 cant cover 3 feet of exhaust pipe labour.

[finboy]

i would also recomend heat wrap and heat sheilds

[Chris88CL]

Oh dont worry, I'll definately be taking care of that.