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intercooler piping aluminum or steel?


emc
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i have the tubing off my car while i tend to other problems and decided to clean it out it was all oily inside. after cleaning i still had time while waiting on a part and started to sand the scratched paint off. i was going to repaint but decided it would look good polished. i am now polishing all tubing and started wondering about increasing air flow. i thought grinding the lip off the inside of each end would help air flow. havent started that yet. my questions are is the stock tubing steel or aluminum my guess is steel. my car also has what is assume is a bov it makes that cool sound when the turbo is released. did they come on a 87. my boost gage reads 13-14 psi when at full boost. does that mean i have somewhere a boost control   ive looked. anyway back to my question how much weight is steel over alum. and how hard is it to find someone who will bend oversised tubing.how much does upsising the tubing help a mainly stock motor. and what size is a good size. i can always search for the answers but some of you already have so i'll ask that you dont make me    thanks
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http://www.jcwhitney.com/product.jhtml?CATID=14721

 

Check out the link, all the mandrel bends you could want.

 

Personaly I like steel over aluminum for the IC pipings. Steal is readily available, easy to weld and cheap.

 

You'll run all over town trying to find aluminum tubing and when you do it won't be exactly cheap, especially for mandrel bent aluminum....yeouch!!

 

Weight? I mean sure aluminum is lighter but for the extra weight and less hassle I like the steel pipes.

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thanks boosted one for the easy tubing. i would have had an exhaust shop try to bend but thats much easier. is the air flow greatly restricted on stock cars. i know the mass air sensor holds some flow back. must of my auto experience have been with non turbo car and v8s. on a 5.0 a cold air intake doenst make noticable changes unless you also change the TB and open up the intake and heads. do stock quests benefit form the change or is it for modified motors.
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The stock 1 5/8-1 7/8" piping is smaller and constricted than what most upgrade it to. Most guys go to 2.25" tube.  That requires cutting the holes bigger in the radiator support.  Easy enough.  You want the mandrel bent tube, so, if a muffler shop does it, they need to use a mandrel type bender.

The stock rubber also expands under boost, which makes it not flow as fast.  I used 2" tube and noticed quite an increase.  It was free to me, and easier to install.  It is also electropolished for maximum flow on the inside.  Very expensive if one were to buy it.

Tim C.

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