My dad works on a machine that fusion/weld 1/8 aluminium sheets and makes 3inch aluminium tubing out of it.

Can aluminium be used for building exaust system ???
Will this last ?

 

i rocks constantly beat on the alluminum it might punch a hole in it sooner or later. not my first choice for the type of metal for an exhaust system.

 

good chance it may melt, too. On break in of my cam my entire exuast was glowing red from the lack of airflow around it.

 

I dunno if that would be a good idea... aluminum gets very soft at a relatively low temperature... like the temp of the exhaust system... so it could get really soft when it warms up to running temp and that could cause alot of peoblems.

 

how do heads last with the heat inside the exhuast ports?

yeah they have coolant running through them

but is that the only thing that keeps them from going?

 

the aluminum is a very good conductor of heat and the heat transferred from the exaust gasses is carried away and absorbed by the coolant going through the head.

 

The heads last because the aluminum is much much thicker and isn't really put under the same "bashed around" conditions that the exhaust is. And the heads have coolant running through them, the exhaust does not. The heads also have the somewhat cooling intake charge of air and fuel to help them keep cool.

 

oh with the fuel/air mixture

was refering to the exhuast ports rather then the inatke ports



myself just wish I could use a titanium exhuast but I can't


what can I use that handles high heat and is light weight?

 

Nickel :P Stainless steel is the next best under magnesium IMO. Did I say magnesium? I meant titanium. Hmm...Magnesium and heat...not a good combo. Anyways, the alloy and procedure it would take to make an effective aluminum exhaust system would so extremely outweigh the performance gains that the manufacturer themselves probably wouldnt buy it.

But, I'm happy with 3" mandrel-bent stainless steel.

 

If your engine was running right it wouldn't get that hot. However AL melts at 1100 deg F & certainly will warp at lower temps than that. Carbon steel or stainless is your best option, unless you got the bucks for titanium.

 

lucky bastards.... run titatium

but yeah your motor shouldn't be making the exhuast glow red unless something was wrong.... like a lean mixture or retarded timing.

 

no... it was running right and wasnt going lean/ firing late. It was at night in the pitch black darkness of my garage that i saw this, though. So it wasnt exacly glowing brightly, just a real dim crimson glow.