DIY Down Pipe Question

[JCL84]

Looking to make my own down pipe for a bullseye T3 70ar housing. This will be my first down pipe and I am a beginner at tig welding. Stainless steel is pricey so I only want to buy the right stuff once and not mess up.

I want to stick with mandrel bends and avoid pie cuts. THis will connect to my existing megan down pipe, ill just cut the flange off and replace it with a vband. To accomplish this I am thinking that a 180 degree mandrel bend with a 6" CLR will work. If any of you fabricators here see this not working please let me know. Also I have found SS pipe that ranges from $60 dollars for a 180 degree bend and SS pipe that is only $25 dollars. Im guessing I should stay away from the cheaper stuff? Not sure if thickness of material is the price difference here or if some 304 SS pipe is just better quality then others?

Thanks you.

 

[ThunderChild]

Not sure about the costs, my bet is the cheaper stuff is generic stainless like the cheap stuff you get on eBay.

Could also look for stainless donuts for tight radius bends (what I'm using), mine is 3" diameter, 6" center-to-center.

 

[MorrisonFab]

The BEP .70 T3 housing outlet is on the longer side so you're going to have a tough time clearing the factory oil filter location, let alone getting to the factory 2 bolt flange location (even with a v-band in its place) depending on where the manifold places the turbo. Your best best is to connect further down by the pan

3" with a 3" CLR (aka 1D) will almost be a necessity either way (unless you've relocated the alternator and oil filter), and 16ga 304/304L will be good.
StainlessBros has some tight radius extruded elbows:
http://www.stainlessbros.com/Tight-Radius-Elbows_c_38.html

Otherwise AceRaceParts.com always has really nice stuff as well and lists the CLR on each bend- just no 1D stuff that we have seen.

 

[JCL84]

Thank you for your advice MorrisonFab it helps a ton. The alternator is relocated but the oil filter will be in the way. Hopefully this turns out and if it doesnt I will contact you MorrisonFab for the nice downpipes that you make.