Gino

OK... so I have had my new header and free flow exhaust system for about 250 miles. I'm very happy with the look and sound (and the performance extras) but why is the SS piping turning blue and bronze?
I tried some SS cleaner on the tail pipe and tip without any change to the bronzing discoloration.
I've posted this situation... hope someone knows how to bring it back to shining SS. the Fabspeed muffler box does not seem affected by all this. I did watch their video where they go on, and on, but claim their boxes are double walled with Nomex in between. this could have the effect of insulating the outer skin from the heat... and therefore no 'tarnishing effect'.

but, if it could be cleaned or polished, please feel free to clue me in....

kens911

all stainless steel and chrome will do this you can polish it off but it will just change again

A930Rocket

It will turn like this after awhile, unless you clean it constantly, as suggested or don't drive it.

This is a pic of a crack before I welded it.

PorschePhD

Now that is a never ending battle. No way to stop it. It is the nature of the beast. HEAT

DonE

There are different alloys you can use when building a header, such as 321. However, the cost is much higher than an alloy such as 302. I had mine made with 321, not for looks, but for the way it handles heat and resists cracking compared to 302. An additional benefit is that is also keeps its SS color much longer than lower grades SS. Fabspeed uses an alloy such as 321 which is why they claim their stuff will not discolor. For comaprison, my headers cost $2800 to make. By the way, wrapping the header decreases the life of the header.

38D

Junk those headers before your turbine gets ingested into your engine.

sonny1

I have mine made out of Iconel, (993TT)and they don't discolor at all, also the B&B stuff is not bad on the header dept.,they will do a decent enough job.

DonE

Yow - who made them for you?

38D

Where di you get those made and how much did they cost?

A930Rocket

Your saying the GHLs are going to fall apart on me?

They are discolored from the heater boxes to the turbo flange through the muffler.

38D

I am saying that if you are welding them up, they are already shot. This is result of my cracked headers:



As I have learned, a particle the size of a single grain of sand can cause major damage to a turbine spinning at 125,000 rpms. Do youself a favor and junk the headers and get your turbo looked at.

sonny1

I order the tubing from Burns Stainless,and a friend and I fab up the jigs,we copied the design from the 993GT2 EVo,it's been past a year since we did it,so far so good.,cheers,Sonny.

My87Targa

fabspeeds stuff discolors just as much too, ive just found their welds stand up better and the flanges are a bit thicker. other then that i can ger a pic where almost my whole pipe but the tip is purple blue and gold. its no big deal really, this will happen to any polished look exhaust.

DonE

38D - good pic. Thanks

Ever look at GHL's "collector"? Not a high HP piece. Good improvement over stock though. Ironically, it has big back pressure before the collector which helps spool a little quicker than B&B. There are diminishing returns around 400 rwhp, so they're good for a lot of people.

38D

Thanks. I didn't realize what cranking could do...no clearly I do. I am hoping to get 4 solid years of racing out of my new GHLs, but once they crack, I am junking them.


Being in D class, I didn't really care about high HP. DrJupeman is getting a set of B&Bs so we'll be able to compare notes. All I know is with a turbine that works and no cracks in my headers, my car is much faster. By the end of the season, I wasn't getting full boost until like 5,000rpms, which actually makes me feel much better about my performances last year. Watch out D class!