I recieved my Bursch 2.5" cat bypass/test pipe today, and it got me thinking that it would be nice to have this in stainless.
Anyways, I work for a control/automation company in the food/beverage industries, and I we work closly with numerous SS piping/tank companies.
Well I have a friend that I am going to meet with tomorrow and discuss him reproducing the 2.5" in 304SS, I think if I could buy 10 or so of these from him I could get a pretty good price. I know when we think of a testpipe we always think 3" in stainless and 2.5", painted mild steel. I think why not 2.5" in SS for us that don't have huge HP dreams and want something just a little bit more, that won't rust out eventually.


I have a couple questions before I meet with him.

Are the flanges on our exhaust a standard size that can be bought in SS somewhere? The tri flange that connects to the downpipe, the 2 hole flange that goes to the wastegate and the 4hole for the muffler.

Would there be any interest in this from fellow listers?

What would be a acceptable price?

Thanks,
Jason

 

I'm interested. Let me know.

 

There would also be interest for a 3" SS test pipe, but at a cheaper price than the others. I think this can be accomplished by not making it all shiny and nice looking, just the raw product.

 

Adrial,
I agree and will ask him about a 3" as well. These guy are EXCELLENT welders their work is outstanding when it comes to process piping.
And yes, no polishing would be done other than cleaning up welds.
The tubing they use looks good to begin with so I think it would look good anyways, without the extra polishing expence.
Please keep responding I want to know the level of interest before I meet with him.
THANKS!!!!!!!

 

I would be interested. Let me know the price.

 

Bump

 

Jason, I just bought one used in stainless about two weeks ago. I can't determine who the maker is, and it's probably a custom piece. In any case, I'm sure you will find a market for at least 10 units, and probably a lot more if the price can be kept out of the stratosphere.

Ron

 

RJP 951 did you install it yet?? Did you notice a difference in the car's performance? You should be getting flames from the exhoust tip.

 

Hey Ron,
If you don't mind me asking how much did you pay for the used one?

 

Yes, I installed it this past weekend. It was a real pain, but only because my car was all original, and some of the bolts between the cat section and rear/muffler section were basically fused to the flanges. I tried hitting, chiseling, sawing, torching, etc. I finally dropped the whole exhaust, used a saw to cut the bolts between the two flanges, and still had to drill out one of the bolts that had welded itself to the flange. Every muscle in my body was aching by the time I reinstalled everything.

As for performance gains, I haven't tried to measure any acceleration times yet, but there does seem to be a modest benefit. The added tone in the exhaust sounds great, too. I secretly am hoping for the occasional flame out the tail pipe, as well, but haven't been out at night yet to see if I can catch a flash in my rear view mirror!

Jason, I paid about $285 with shipping for the used pipe, which means you should charge at least $400 so I won't feel like I paid too much!

Ron

 

$285 for a used test pipe??? Geezus! I don't know whats wrong with the market place these days, but two years ago, I got a stainless steel test pipe custom bent and shipped to me for $125.

The only reason I haven't gone to 3" yet is the silly prices people seem to be able to charge for them. People, just say "no"! After I finish tweaking a few things on my car, I am going to pursue getting a 3" stainless system for my car, and I refuse to pay $1000 or whatever people seem to think its worth. Last time I checked, the right stainless steel (its either 314 or 316 I believe, not 304, as 304 has some metalurogical properties that don't make it ideal for exhaust use... if anyone is interested, I will try to look it up) costs around $130 for enough material to build the system. Add some flanges, a minimal amount of welding and pipe bending skill, and you should be able to sell a system for around $700 profitably, imo. And no, I have no interest in going into business building them, I already have a telcom biz that keeps me WAY too busy.

Sorry if I sound like I have been drinking too much caffeine on this subject, but seriously, I think you guys are paying WAY too much.

Regards,

 

Scott, these things do seem to command a premium. While I was looking I saw a used Bursch steel pipe in the Rennlist classifieds at $160-165 and it was gone before I could even think about it.

Ron

 

Well, I will promise everyone here that when I do get around to putting a 3" system on my car, I won't sell my 2.5" stainless steel test pipe for a penny more than $125. I know SFR's fab work is nothing short of beautiful, but I am not willing to pay that kind of money for polished SS on the underside of my car. Unfortunately for us guys looking for a more economical solution, there are plenty of people who are willing to. God bless SFR and anyone else that can successfully market a product for premium dollars, and I appreciate that they provide a service to the Porsche community by developing and manufacturing those products, but I hope I can find a better way for myself on this one.

Regards,

 

I agree that there are better suited grades of stainless than 304, but most of the tuners use it, so I can't think that it is the wrong type to use.

321 is the goods, but pricy. I can check this type as an option, but the overall goal is to keep the cost down.
If 304 is good enough for LR it's good enough for me.

I'm going to meet with my guy, in a couple of hours and should know more soon.
I'll add and link here and start a new post.
THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!

 

So, I know that the factory used the standard diameter exhaust, maybe even 2.25 or 2" on the cup cars and vented the wastegate exhause out the passenger side, just behind the front wheel. They used small idameter to keep the temp hot in the pipe so you don't get backfires and keep the flow rate up. If you return the WG back into it, you can use 2.5 or 3". I am also i the process of making a SS test pipe, but am probably going straight back all the way, no muffler. For the track of course. It would be nice to have the latter half bolt on and off for auto X's and DE's... That should be a consideration for all those who are fabing them. I think venting the WG seperatly is a good idea and less complicated for who ever welds the test pipe. Plus, if the factory did it, why shouldn't we?
BTW, brushed stainless, not polished, is quite inexpensive, I found it for around $6-7 a foot. We should be able to make them AND sell them for under $150.