what are the pros and cons of mild and stainless....my car will have a max of about 325whp in the forseeable future so i'm not building a huge hp race car....

Does the quality justify the price difference??

 

Unless coated (aluminized, paint, ect.) mild can rust. Stainless won't rust.

 

Get stainless....
Mild steel sucks *****..

 

why though?? Its like $100 more for the dp made of stainless vs. Mild steell......whats the diff?? I'm going to heat wrap the whole thing anyway....

 

Just paint it with some high temp paint..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Schister66 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">why though?? Its like $100 more for the dp made of stainless vs. Mild steell......whats the diff?? I'm going to heat wrap the whole thing anyway....</TD></TR></TABLE>

IIRC heat-wrapping pipes will make it even more prone to rusting, then a non-wrapped pipe. I cant remember where I read this though, so I'm not 100% sure if it's true or not.

 

when you heat wrap a downpipe it holds in moisture and will rust from the inside out....it will end up cracking like a spider web with mild steel


stainless will last longer and wont rust and weaken/crack.....

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by D@nnY &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">when you heat wrap a downpipe it holds in moisture and will rust from the inside out....it will end up cracking like a spider web with mild steel


stainless will last longer and wont rust and weaken/crack.....</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah I heat wraped the top portion of my Mild Steel DP and it has those spiderweb marks because of the moisture it held. I've had it on for over a year now and 0 problems aside from a little exterior rust. To me I couldn't justifiy the expense for a little rust. It's not like the car is going to last me 8-10 years anyway. SS will rust, but it's a lot harder to.

If you want bling and rust protection get SS
If you want the cheapest get Mild
There is a clear benifit, but the price justification is up to you.

 

For the cost of mild steel + heat wrap and wrap sealant paint, you could just get the stainless. Buy from Global Tech Engineering; they sell mandrel bends for dirt cheap. 3" ID 16 ga. 304SS 90° mandrel bend with tight-*** 4.5" CLR? $22.30. 2.5" ID 4" CLR is only $16.87.

I built an entirely SS exhaust using materials from them, and it only cost me about $300 including cat, muffler and v-bands from ebay.

 

Stainless is quite abit lighter. Although it won't make a huge difference on a DP every ounce counts.

 

what about mild steel on the charge pipes. im sure it still rusts, but can that harm the engine.

platinum.

 

stainless exhaust piping and aluminum charge piping. only way to do it

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by AutoEng2002Si &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Stainless is quite abit lighter. </TD></TR></TABLE>

how do you figure?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Turbo-charged &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">stainless exhaust piping and aluminum charge piping. only way to do it </TD></TR></TABLE>

i made my charge pipes from mild steal. should i be worried

platinum.

 

I think you should make yours out of platinum!

 

haha,
yea that would be nice

got any laying around i can barrow

platinum.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by AutoEng2002Si &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Stainless is quite abit lighter.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Not tryin to flame, just educate......

carbon steel (aisi-sae 1020) density = 7.86 g/cm^3
stainless steel (304) density = 7.9 g/cm^3

So for the same voume of stainless and carbon steel the stainless would be a little heavier.

 

3" solid round bar, 304 stainless - 24.030 lbs/ft
3" solid round bar, hot rolled steel - 24.030 lbs/ft
3" solid round bar, cold finished steel - 24.030 lbs/ft

That's all right out of my "metal reference guide".

 

I say either wya dont make a diff. SS just takes longer to rust depending on climate you are in.
I personally made everything from Mild, but I also powder coated and ceramic coated all my pieces

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by platinum00 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

i made my charge pipes from mild steal. should i be worried

platinum.</TD></TR></TABLE>

personally... i wouldnt use ms for ic piping... imo its risking too much being as though the inside can rust...

downpipe its really up to u... its ur own prefererance... personally i make everything out of stainless... it also looks that much nicer if that means anything to you
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by itr206 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> SS just takes longer to rust depending on climate you are in.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

i like 316

 

 

Mild steel is fine , Just have it thermal coated. Plus it will cut down on radiating heat. Stainless coated, even better.

I would not build charge pipes out of mild steel, Take a look at the inside after about a year.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tony1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">3" solid round bar, 304 stainless - 24.030 lbs/ft
3" solid round bar, hot rolled steel - 24.030 lbs/ft
3" solid round bar, cold finished steel - 24.030 lbs/ft

That's all right out of my "metal reference guide".</TD></TR></TABLE>

Why you always gotta bring up that technical mumbo jumbo that we don't understand?

 

Probably because the guy that posted that stainless was lighter than mild is wrong and tony just wanted to show the technical part proving it. Of course an 18ga piece will weight less than a 14ga. Thinner metal usually does weigh less.

I honestly think some people look into this too much. "Mild steel will rust" yea, and how many years is it going to take a mild steel piece to rust beyond usable point? Yea stainless is nicer looking, will outlast a mild piece, so what. Coat or wrap the mild and it looks nice too.

I guess it all comes down to personal preference. And how long the downpipe will be on the car...1 year, 5 years, 10 years? Have to remember you are building a car not a spaceship.

I think someone should make inconel downpipes and exhaust sytems, light and strong, no rust, there ya go. Who was it that had the inconel header at SEMA? Burns stainless wasn't it?

 

A mild down pipe that is heat wrapped may last less then a year.....heat wrap helps destroy the metal

If the downpipe cracks itll have a nasty exhaust leak....


use it on a charge pipe and when it rusts up you can start having rust flakes sucked into the motor... aluminum will also be much better at disapating heat

but its no space ship so who cares