ok, i went to this muffler shop and i asked the guy if they had any mandrel bend piping, and he's like, "WHat the heck is a mandrel bend", so he shows me this machine that bends this 2.5" pipe and the pipe afterwards has no ridges in it, like every crush bent pipe i've seen before. Is what he did actually a mandrel bend? or is it still a crush bend? If it is a crush bend, but is totally smooth inside and out, would it be suitable for a custom cai fabrication?

I know where to get a 180 mandrel u bend from jcwhitney.com pt no. 81EH3035N ,, but i dont feel like waiting for it to get here, plus ihave to pay for shipping.

so far i've ordered my K&N filter pt no. RU-2820 (note: this is a 6 filter and am starting to wonder if it'll actually fit in a B13 fender well. Anyone know?), hacksaw, file, high temp paint, and connectors. all i'm waiting for is the actually U-bend. Damnit i'm getting impatient and want my cai so badly. :D

Any info greatly appreciated

so long as it does not have any rush bends it is cool. usually i have to go to Tognotti's to buy the bent piping an dthen have it weldd. but if the bending does not leave any ridges then that is good

jorge

Check with BAP Geon and NAPA for the mandrel bends in stock. If he bent it on a machine and didn't put some metal balls in it to pull back through afterwards then it isn't technically a mandrel bend because it is probably not a constant diameter from start to finish.

98sr20ve, see that is the only reason i didnt buy it, and you actually could tell that the diameter got messsed up at the bend the guy made. thanks for the info, also, does anyone know if a six inch long filter should fit in the fender well?

FYI - You can get all kinds of different mandrel bent material from this company: http://www.burnsstainless.com

I'm making my CAI out of their mandrel bent 6061 aluminum.

Aaron

http://garnet.acns.fsu.edu/~sgg8661/cai1.JPG


Here is my cai, the first part from the TB to the MAF is HS, the second half is made at a muffler shop. Its not mandrel bent, it looses some diameter, but for $25, you cant go wrong. :)

Originally posted by eliterit
ok, i went to this muffler shop and i asked the guy if they had any mandrel bend piping, and he's like, "WHat the heck is a mandrel bend", so he shows me this machine that bends this 2.5" pipe and the pipe afterwards has no ridges in it, like every crush bent pipe i've seen before. Is what he did actually a mandrel bend? or is it still a crush bend?

Thats what I have and it worked great for me. Its no ridgedy.
Its still a smooth bend. And alot cheaper. I dont think the exhaust is going to mind that much.

Originally posted by eliterit
98sr20ve, see that is the only reason i didnt buy it, and you actually could tell that the diameter got messsed up at the bend the guy made. thanks for the info, also, does anyone know if a six inch long filter should fit in the fender well?

It should fit with no problems. Also, get a tapered one, they flow a little better.

cool, thanks for all the info guys. well i decided to go ahead and order the mandrel bend from jcwhitney for 30 bucks, and i also ordered that heat wrap($40) that some guy from this forum used and he noted a 15 degree temp difference which should give me extra hp :) . I just cant wait to get started, now all i have to do is wait for my filter($40), pipe($30), and heat wrap to arrive.Waiting for stuff sucks.

BTW, i'm thinking of painting my MAF with a high temp engine paint. Anyone think this is a bad idea? Will it mess it up? Hopefully the maf will end up having a lower temperature.

Originally posted by eliterit
BTW, i'm thinking of painting my MAF with a high temp engine paint. Anyone think this is a bad idea? Will it mess it up? Hopefully the maf will end up having a lower temperature.

Feel free to do whatever you want to to the outside of it, don't mess with the inside any - its just asking for problems.

Aaron