I have access to a Tig Welding machine and I am getting pretty decent at it.
I wanted to tig weld my own intercooler piping, and my own downpipe.
Still curious which route I should go with a vband style or 5 bolt depending on the turbo I want to get.

What are the best resources out there, or sites I could go to get my materials at ?

 

Vband, the end. Anything else will leak sooner or later.

Acestainless, verocious motorsports, etc.

 

V-band x2

 

Okay. Vband it is. So since I have never done this before, and I called one of my main shops and they told me they have J Pipes for sale.
J Pipes would be one of the good ideas to start off with if I am going to do a B series turbo downpipe ?

 

A J-pipe or a U shaped pipe would prob be the best to start with because u can get 2 90° angles out of it and that should get u underneath the oil pan and u can go from there. I'm also just starting out tig welding.

 

what about pipe schedule ? Should I go with a schedule 10? ... since it's going to have gasses traveling through it and not any dense liquids.

Also, if I was to get a Vband flange, are there different things I need to know besides the diameter ?

 

Sch 10 for anything other than a turbo manifold is beyond overkill. Basic thin wall is fine.

The vband you will use will likely be specific to your turbo, as most of them seem to like to use their own "special" sizes. But a basic vband to vband connection is just a standard size.

 

16 gauge is what you want for IC piping and exhaust. Schedule 10 is for turbo manifolds.

Vbands are great until you heat cycle them, then you run the risk of t-bolt failure when you take apart the clamp. We've sold 20,000+ sets using every manufacturer of clamp out there - they all randomly fail after heat cycling. Just keep that in mind. If you got to take it apart, you should order clamps first in case one or two goes.

 

Very good info and input here on the newbie questions, thanks a lot Honda tech.

 

That's weird I hear of people having problems out of vbands every now and then but honestly I've taken mine off and on so many times I couldn't even begin to remember.

I personally can't stand anything but a vband, hate bolts loosening up. When you weld it, its a good idea to clamp the flange the turbo or to another flange to help prevent warping.