Hey All.

Just thought we could have a discussion over using stainless or mild steel for an exhaust.

Is the additional cost of the stainless worth what you get in return?

Who thinks stainless sounds better? If different at all?

What about the looks of a full polished stainless exhaust...

What do you guys think? ALL things considered, what do you guys think is best? And what do you have?

--Alex

stainless is heavier, sounds tinnier, can crack from heat stress easier costs more weighs a lot more harder to work with etc...



stainless lasts much much much longer than mild steel in cars that are not used frequently


go mild steel pipe with stainless mufflers!



looks hands down shiny stainless wins, but who is going to see it? and whats it going to cost?

classic muscle show cars where the underside has better paint than my magna need them exhausts, not regular driven cars


my exhaust is 3" stainless mandrel bent.... but the rear piece where it splits to twin 2.5" is mild steel mandrel bent

its only stainless as thats what the dude had there in the 3" pipe at the time i reckon




the mild steel has thicker walls and resonates less than a stainless exhaust, like i said stainless can sone a little tinny.... correct me if im wrong

can crack from heat stress easier, weighs a lot more

Ok, Ive only heard of stainless TURBO manafolds cracking dude to big heat generated. Also, I understand stainless is a stronger metal for the weight? And its doesnt weigh much more if at all then its mild steel counterpart.

Please, Can someone tell me if my above observation is correct or incorrect?

Regards,
Alex

Ok, Ive only heard of stainless TURBO manafolds cracking dude to big heat generated. Also, I understand stainless is a stronger metal for the weight? And its doesnt weigh much more if at all then its mild steel counterpart.

Please, Can someone tell me if my above observation is correct or incorrect?

Regards,
Alex

have had a set of extractors that cracked and were welded up.... my awd has the stainless hm headders too.... but there is a 10-15 year wty though so should be right

for the tail pipe you shouldnt have any issues with cracking, doesnt get as hot as the manfold..

i have felt the tubing and a full stainless system could add 5+kg but it's not reall much weight, strength isnt the issue

mild you can bash it on speedhumps and it will dint, the stainless is harder and thats when you can have them issues.... but if your not stupid low then no worries...

if you wernt going to be showing people under your car too much it wouldnt really be worth it? alothough by sayin that they look soo much better. and i spose there could be a "slight" increase with flow in a polished stainless steel pipe? wouldnt be much at all if any though i would imaigne.

Stainless lasts alot longer and sounds better (imo) - XR6T from factory uses full stainless steel exhaust system.

Mild steel is prone to rust.


If you have the coin, go the stainless direction.. But you have to make sure that the welds are done with stainless aswell.. Sometimes workshops scrimp on this and rust takes hold in the joins..

I got some quote from my exhaust guy... and a polished stainless system is exactly twice as much as a Mild...

My opinion is that it really depends on how much money you have to waste.

If you want something that will be a family heirloom, get stainless.

If you want something that will last the the time that you'll have your car for, get mild steel.

Both will do the same job, it just depends if you more or less want to through some money away for stainless

I have a mild steel exhaust and a stainless muffler, only because I didn't want rust marks visible on the muffler but didn't care about the exhaust itself, and the muffler I wanted only came as stainless :)

Q: Has anyone actually got a full stainless exhaust on here, or heard a full stainless?

have heard and seen a full stainless exhaust on a mates XF.

sounds mad, and it gets a fair bit hotter than mild steel.

have heard and seen a full stainless exhaust on a mates XF.

sounds mad, and it gets a fair bit hotter than mild steel.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I heard my mates VY S pac UTE with pacemakers and a full polished 2.5" exhaust.. Sounded REALLY nice.. I really liked the sound of it...

Just wondering how the magna would sound? Hmmm...

Q: Has anyone actually got a full stainless exhaust on here, or heard a full stainless?


yes my new car has full stainless and one of my old cars did, but they are both factory stainless, and made no noise lol

no matter what you do (unless s/c turbo massive cams) a magna is a magna and they all sound the same from the 200magnas ive heard with full exhausts wether they are redback lukley or whatever 90% of the time the tone is the same

All this talk about stainless being the best :doubt:

Titanium FTW, hands down. But good luck recovering from the shock induced coma when you see the price of a full custom titanium exhaust lol .

If you;
a) can justify the cost
b) regularly drive short trips (less than 10 minutes)
b) see yourself still owning the car in more than 5 years - then stainless is probably your best bet.

If none of the above apply, then there is no reason (other than pure wank factor) to go with stainless.

Carefull with witch grade of stainless you get (if thats the direction you take).

There are generally two grades of stainless used for exhaust systems, 409 and 304 the later considered better quality.

if you have a turbo car DO NOT get stainles manifolds as you will loose power as stainles looses to much heat.

I have an aluminanised mild steel system so it wont rust ever apparently 'shrugs'

Oh cost the same as regular mild system to.

hey guys my bf is waiting to get his posting privlages approved for here, he is an exhaust fitter specialising in custom fabrication and performance. When he is able to post he said he will give his opinion.

Hey All.

Just thought we could have a discussion over using stainless or mild steel for an exhaust.

Is the additional cost of the stainless worth what you get in return?

Who thinks stainless sounds better? If different at all?

What about the looks of a full polished stainless exhaust...

What do you guys think? ALL things considered, what do you guys think is best? And what do you have?

--Alex

I love the mild steel because you can HPC coat it.You can buy
a set of mild steel extractors (what ever type you like) and get them to look like
stainless...... and it will cut down on the hole heat drama.
Best way to go i think.:D

Personally I like mild steel (but with stainless mufflers/cat). IMO for most people rust isn't gonna be an issue with mild steel (unless you intend to keep the car for 10 years, do lots of short drives etc).

I think it's hard to justify stainless when mild is half the cost.

However I'm not sure about sound, never heard a stainless and mild system side-by-side on the same car. Opinion on which sounds better seems rather divided.

Ok... now where to start. Stainless IS heavier than mild.
stainless also hold's more heat due to the density of the metal. Yes it can crack due to improper welding practices, It's stronger and therfore thinner producing a slight tinny noise. But negligable.

Off the top of my head 310 is the heat grade stainless for manifolds and 316-304 are sufficient for the rest, i have 304 mandrel 2.5 inch and i have hade no problems. From the manifolds back! I think it sounds awesome!

Another note 316 is more resistant to corrosion from salt than the 304 due to the higher nickel content.