I'm trying to extend my tophats (1st mod on this page)
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=469485

what kind of pipe should I use? does thickness matter ? Home depot has anodized, copper, rigid,

Also what is the inner diameter that I sould use?
I tried to get 1 1/4 inch but the rubber parts that sits at the top of the hat looks like it would fit but the bumpstop wouldn't. 1 3/8in would be perfect but they dont have it, should I just use 1 1/2 inch Inner Diameter piping?

 

Use steel man, i dont know about the sizing because i cant really see what your working with. You might wanna make a jig so you can make sure it lines back up just the same as stock.

 

Shave the sides of the bumpstops a little and they will fit into the extended part easily. Also make sure that your new extended piece and outside welds can fit through the hole in your shock tower.

 

i used exhaust piping from autozone. works great

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hugh G. Rection &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i used exhaust piping from autozone. works great </TD></TR></TABLE>

What thar bejeezus? Exhaust piping, isn't that kind of thin?

You need a TUBE, not a pipe. Very big difference. I couldn't find any tubing at my local Home Depot, I had to head out to an industrial tubing shop.

 

its as thin as the tophats if not thicker. how think do you want it.

 

I was under the impression that most if not all piping was aluminum.

Steel Tubing &gt; Aluminum Piping

It might seem thick, but I sure as hell wouldn't want to gamble when it comes to suspension.

 

hmm, well, works fine for me for about 6 months now. i only use it for my rear. i have ground control tophats in the front

 

Home depot had copper pipe that looked like it would fit pretty good or is copper too soft?

 

you have to shave the sides of ur bumpstops to get em to fit inside

use steel not copper

 

why would copper tube be bad? is it harder to weld it to the tophat? or is there danger that it would crack? the reason I ask is the coppper tube that I found looked like I would not have to trim anything...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tad &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">use steel not copper</TD></TR></TABLE>
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by erikiksaz1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Steel Tubing &gt; </TD></TR></TABLE>
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ohjolt2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Use steel man.</TD></TR></TABLE>
You cant weld disssimilar metals

 

the extension for the top hate will see 95% or more of its load in tension (and the oppisite), in most cases thin walled tubing is strong in tension (and in the oppisite)

 

He has a good point, as long as your welds are good i think you will be fine, you can check them every so often and should be able to spot a crack before it completly busts though.

 

does it matter if its anodized steel

 

WTF dude, anadized is like the blue coating they put on aluminum parts like fuel pressure regulators on a red fuel rail or some ****. Your not going to find anodized steel tubing, i dont even know if you can anodize steel. you might have went to home depot and found some black pipe witch has a coating on it or some GALVINIZED piping, but thats not what you want. Honestly if you dont know that you cant weld disssimilar metals and you dont know **** about metal then you should just get the GC tophats.

 

Woah, this thread is pretty scarry. As for the original "inner diameter" question, you have to make sure it's large enough for the shock body to travel up inside (esspecially at a slight angle). As your suspension goes through it's travel, the shock pivots back & forth at the upper bushings. Since the upper mount doesn't pivot with the shock, you have to make sure that the pivoted shock body won't crash into the upper mount before hitting the bump stop. That would a pretty stupid enginnering mistake that will destroy your shocks & shock towers. This is the reason the Ground Control upper mounts have a tappered inner diameter that gets larger towards the bottom.

Also, the outer diameter of the tubing just has to be small enough to fit through the hole in the shock tower.

It really scares me to hear that people use exhaust tubing & **** like that. You have to remember that all of your vehicles damping force is directly controled by this one point. It's very important not to **** around here. If the welds or tubing breaks, your going to find an ugly hole in your hood...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ohjolt2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">WTF dude, anadized is like the blue coating they put on aluminum parts like fuel pressure regulators on a red fuel rail or some ****. Your not going to find anodized steel tubing, i dont even know if you can anodize steel.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'm pretty sure your correct here. Anodizing is a natural surface coating that aluminum generates as it oxidizes. This aluminum oxide seals in the raw alumnium from the elements. This coating is technically ruby or emerald, and is very hard. The process of Anodizing uses electricity & chemicals to force the metal to grow an extra thick surface layer...

That doesn't sound like a possibility with other metals to me...

 

This thread is like buying an exotic car, if you have to ask how much it cost you cant afford it. If you have to ask about welding copper to steel you should just buy the GC tophat.


Hopefully some one will quote this

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 94eg! &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I'm pretty sure your correct here. Anodizing is a natural surface coating that aluminum generates as it oxidizes. This aluminum oxide seals in the raw alumnium from the elements. This coating is technically ruby or emerald, and is very hard. The process of Anodizing uses electricity & chemicals to force the metal to grow an extra thick surface layer...

That doesn't sound like a possibility with other metals to me...</TD></TR></TABLE>

I believe that Al oxidies to a dull grey naturally, not ruby or emerald, but could be wrong. The pigments are added to the anodizing process and they get trapped in the oxidized layer, which is how you get the colored anodizing.

 

Aluminum Oxide is clear, and naturally forms on the surface of bare aluminum almost instantly (within minutes). You are correct about the pigmintaion being traped within though. Rubys & Emeralds are chemically identical to Anodizing (aluminum oxide), that's the only reason I mention them. The gem stones color comes from internal contamination just like our pretty anodizing...

Thats why I say it's technically a ruby/emerald coating...

Also, Alumnium Oxide is the only thing keeps alumnium from coroding into nothing within hours. If mercury paste is added to the surface of aluminum, it inhibits the formation of the outer oxide shell. Then the aluminum is allowed to naturally oxidize like iron (only much much MUCH faster). Aluminum Oxide is the only thing that keeps our planes from falling out of the sky...

Click here for an interesting article about my stupid tangent...

 

Step 1: Okay, go to http://www.mcmaster.com

Step 2: in their search bar, type 7750K15

Step 3: click Butt-Weld x Butt-Weld

Step 4: click 1 in Add To Order box, click box

Step 5: buy it...

Step 6: let someone else weld it, for god's sake

This is the part # for the correct piece. It's 1.5" schedule 40, which is ~3/16" thick (perfect size for tophat). It's also steel ("All fittings are seamless carbon steel"), not iron like the crap they have at Home Depot. I'd recommend 1-1.25" in length to add to the tophats. First stick a small clay bar on top of front strut & close hood to see how much clearance you have, then decide.

 

ur right I dont know **** about metal but im trying to learn, what would you recommend for inner diameter?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sporty240 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ur right I dont know **** about metal but im trying to learn, what would you recommend for inner diameter?</TD></TR></TABLE>

gosh, I can't remember exactly what it was for mine..

are you sure it doesnt say in that thread that benen made???
i'd doublecheck

 

no I dont think so cuz I looked it over a couple times...