Aluminum vs Steel IC pipes.
 

I would prefer to use mild steel IC pipes. Adding the bungs for IAC, IAT and BOV would be easier since I can weld mild steel. Welding would allow me to have less couplers, and mild steel will be simple to cut using my chopsaw.

Now the dilemma. I haven't found anyone that sells a "kit" of steel bends, couplers and t-bolt clamps. CXRacing sells aluminum bends, couplers and clamps in kit for, which would be ideal since I don't 100% know what I will need.

http://www.cxracing.com/mm5/merchant...gory_Code=PIPK

Who has the best deal on steel bends? Or should I get the aluminum bends and use steel for the coldside?

Jay

Just use steel for the one pipe you need the bungs on and the aluminum ebay kit for the rest. Then sell what's left over. The ebay kits are so inexpensive, it just doesn't make sense not to buy them when you add up the cost of standard steel/aluminized pipes plus the clamps and hose. I just went thru this with my cold side pipe. The advantage of having more couplers is they add more flex to the system.

FWIW, I had no problem FluxCore welding bungs to aluminum pipe.

Steel is fine. I assume your worried about extra heat? I wouldnt

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I knew this, I just needed someone to tell me :)

Given that the I/C has 2.5" in/out and the turbo is 2", what combo of piping and reducers would you use?

Not even a little bit. My preference comes from how easy it will be to work with.

if you have the luxury to choose whatever you want, i would go with 2 1/4 hot side and then go with 2 1/2 cold side...whatever material really, there is not enough of a difference in properties to notice anything...SS would be my #1 choice if money was not an issues, but it is...so ebay AL will do

Why would I go 2.25?

I will probably go 2.5" and then run 1 reducer at the turbo to 2". 2" pipes would be easier to route, but 2.5" would make more sense considering my I/C is 2.5".

I went to 2-1/2 right off the turbine housing exit... but my housing has an aluminum pipe welded on it that steps up.

Ben - you welded a steel bung to an aluminum pipe using flux core? I figured the heat required to melt the steel would have long liquified the aluminum by the time you got there...no? I just kept my steel TB pipe because it was already setup and didn't have any smaller scrap aluminum around... but I do now - old a/c lines ftw.

turbo 2"-hot side 2.25"-IC 2.5"-makes sense to me
IC 2.5" to TB 2.5"
there are many ways to skin a cat

It welded up great. There's a pic or two on here somewhere under a thread like "show us your sensors" or something. That was maybe the fourth or so thing I welded up. I'm starting to get mean with the FluxCore. The welds are ugly compared to what I see others TIG, but they're fine.

My concern is routing the 2.5" pipe on the hot side. I guess I could buy two kits, 2.5" and 2" and then sell the left overs. You bought from CXracing through their ebay ad?

Jay

Sorry, I just don't see the point to the intermediate set of 2.25".

With aluminum youll save yourself a total of 5 minutes on the chop saw.

With steel you will save hours on the welder.

This is where I got my hotside pipes from but I picked them up in person. As of last Spring anyway, this is a one man operation working out of tiny shop just south of the Valley in L.A. Great guy, very helpful, with great prices, but it looks like he has a ton of stuff on his plate.

Aren't there a bunch of guys running 2.5 on both sides? You could buy to kits and then turn around and sell the kit as a combo 2 & 2.5. It'd probably sell easy for the same reason. I bought from "just-intercoolers" - same as cx etc. btw- if you pay extra for the black hose, the hose bends will still be blue, only the straights come black.

Here's some of the pipes in action.
That required two of the pipes from the kit, plus my steel TB pipe to do the around-the-rad cold side. Three cuts and four couplers. IMO it was quicker than welding.

So Ben- I suppose you could then weld aluminum to aluminum with flux core steel wire?

a not-even-decent mig can run straight argon and aluminum wire long enough to put a bung on...

Hmm...I never heard or thought of using a steel wire to weld aluminum to steel or whatever. But once while welding aluminum IC pipes together I accidentally grabbed the stainless filler wire and it wasn't pretty. it did melt both metals together though.

Good question, and I don't know. I do have that 4W head with a crack in the casting. Hmm... :)