Buget Intercooler Piping

looking for "cost effective" intercooler piping... whats the best to use and where can i get it cheap

also, whats the deal with PVC pipes?

Define "cost effective."

I order my piping from www.siliconeintakes.com or www.cxracing.com

Cheap, decent quality.

I would recommend siliconeintakes over cxracing, though.

PVC will deteriorate at underhood temps, so will almost definitely fail at boost temps, and isnt known for holding up to the pressure.

I have a video up on streetfire of a car i saw at Edgewater a year or so ago.

It's intercooler piping was made of empty aerosol cans welded together. Homebrew turbo car. It was awesome. It hauled some serious ass.

VG30_S12 wrote: whats the deal with PVC pipes?

DukeOfUndersteer wrote:

VG30_S12 wrote: whats the deal with PVC pipes?

well done sir!

Cheap cold air intakes are a great source for cheap aluminum mandrel bends. Cut and weld as needed to fit your application.

EDIT - http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/95-99-ECLIPSE-RS-GS-COLD-AIR-INTAKE-SYSTEM-NON-TURBO-NT_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem2559bd3f4fQQitemZ160419364687QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories - $35 shipped and even includes some of of the couplings you'll need.

mandrel bent tubing aluminized from JCWhitney (I KNOW I KNOW) + NAPA stick heater hose from big rigs for couplers (far cheaper and more resistant to rubbing than silicone, ask me how I know), t-bolt clamps from ebay ($1/each), and eBay intercooler = 30+psi from a Holset Hy35 into a Ford 2.3 Turbo motor reaching ~ ambient / ambient + 5°F over 10 MPH.

infinitely configurable system...

Total cost of system $200...

Exhaust pipes work very well.

Andrew

Check factory turbo cars at the junk yard. I've noticed a few Saabs and Volvos like to use a lot of aluminum intercooler pipes with a fair amount of usable bends. The hot side pipes on my Miata are made up of about $5 wroth of junkyard pipes and adapters. The main pipe I used was off a Saab 9000. I even used the OEM BOV.

I also went with exhaust pipe - get a straight section and 1 or 2 of the 180s and you should be set. It really helps if you can weld (cuts down on the number of hose couplings). Silicone couplings are great (mine came from www.siliconeintakes.com ) but get expensive fast. For a budget build, I'd also recommend truck radiator hose.

You need to put a "bead" on the ends of the tubing to prevent the positive pressure blowing the couplers off the hose ends. If you lack a bead roller, you can put tack welds on the tubing ends. I've heard of folks doing a similar thing with JB Weld:

If you need a budget reducer (eg. the throttle body is 3" diameter, but the intercooler and tubo outlet are 2 1/4") you can weld on exhaust pipe reducers - most auto parts stores have them.

One final point is I'd recommend getting 2 hump hoses - you have an engine that rocks, but an intercooler that's rigidly secured - you need a little "give" in the system. One hump hose before and one after the intercooler will prevent the hoses being gradually pulled off the intake system. Hump hose:

For cheap straight pieces, check the yellow pages for "hose and pipe". Usually serving industrial outlets, their ends and scrap are usually free and tough stuff. Comes in colors too! Have also seen large truck radiator hoses sourced for turbo use.

Bruce

versus spending money on the silicone couplers for the exhaust pipe, I've seen many a turbo'd car with duct tape connecting the pipes together. If your going junkyard turbo, I say go all the way. It won't last long, maybe a couple of months, but its a good short term answer.

Andrew

I have:

Exhaust pipe (including reducers) with beads welded on. Could NOT get JB weld bead to stick.

Lots of junkyard connections. Primarily silicone or rubber connections from volvo's and saabs, a few nice metal bends from a volvo. A truck radiator hose.(that main piece going over the cyl head is all volvo, including the 90^ rubber and the "s" shaped rubber)

The only expensive thing I have is a reducer for the turbo inlet. It is a Holset hy35w with a 4" inlet, my free CAI is a 3" pipe, that rubber connector cost me a few dollars.

Hose clamps holding fine but everything has sturdy beads and is tight and oil free.

I too use the heavy duty hose from NAPA. You buy it by the foot and cut to size. I planned on replacing it later with silicone, but it's working great so why bother. I grabbed a bunch of junkyard pipes for $20, but the volvo stuff is Al and I can't weld it so I never ended up using it. Most of my pipe is exhaust piping welded together.

I just spray the ends of my intercooler pipes with some hair spray. They’ve held up to 20 psi so far with no beads welded on (don’t have anything to weld aluminum). The vacuum caps on the intake let go first.

I used exhaust pipe. I took a coat hanger and wrapped it around the end of the pipe, and then used light tacks all the way around until it had made a lip for the couplers. Held great.