hey guys today i went to a " muffler shop" and i told em that i wanted to put a mandrel bent 2.5 I pipe, they told me " its not worth to put mandrel bent because its only for proffessional racers, but you can go with a 3 in if you want." whats up with that they also told me that nobody has them but he can order it, total, $200 just for the pipe. (Cali. go figure)

 

I dont see how you could put an I pipe on our cars.....but ok.

 

are you talking about the "Intermediate Pipe"? the pipe btween the cat & muffler? If so, you can get the dynomax cat-back for $154.99, mandrel bent.

 

What he's saying is that isn't not worth the cost for the power you MAY gain. Actually you may LOOSE power.
Not enough back pressure.
The factory I-Pipe is quite decent, no true kinks.
It's the pipes from the stock manifolds to the CC that you loose 5-10HP on! Look at engine bay, passenger side, straight down, to see that restriction.
Look to Edelbrock for a premade solution, use the V-8 pipe from their headers set up. You'll win there, WITH BIG SMOOTH POWER GAIN, entire RPM range!

 

thanks for the tips, i was talking about the pipe that goes from the cat to the flowmaster, i think the stock size is 2 1/4 and i have heard several people and companies(flowmaster,dynomax etc...) recommened going from stock to quarter more (2.5). i wanted to know because i have found a really good price for the mandrel bent

 

A mandrel bent intermediate pipe can only help, not hurt. That same guy probably would argue against you putting on a performance muffler.
Mistake you made #1: Asking a muffler shop to do work for you. Put it on yourself! Seriously.

Mistake #2: Asking him for a price. You can get the complete Dynomax Super Turbo Catback from Summit for $160, and that includes a 2.5" mandrel bent intermediate pipe, a super turbo muffler, and dual 2.5" exhaust pipes. $200 for just an I-pipe? Is it highly polished stainless steel or something??

 

a local shop quoted $90 for everything (2.5 and installation). i can't really do it by myself i'm going to school right know (Fresno State: Mech. Engineer) so you guys know how that goes, also found out, that shop is not "ethnic friendly" if you know what i mean

 

I was talkkin to my friend who is a mechanic has owned his own shop for over 30 years and i asked him about a I pipe and he said keep it stock you will loose too much back pressure. He said if i had a stock cat he would take it off and put a strait pipe but itd be a cash only sale and no recipts he said you would gain a few HP and it might me noticble but he kinda dougfhted it.

 

If a muffler shop can't bend one for you they are useless. The shop I go to custom bent one for me and installed for $50. I noticed no power loss. In fact I had a slight gain in power. Not much to brag about, but my I=pipe was rotted and needed replacing. Shop around make sure you are comfortable with the shop and the peppole there. Many muffler shops will try to rip you off,becuse you don't have the time or the tools to do it your self.