Looking to install 2"5 piping from cat-back (rip out first muffler) on my 3.5 late '96 verada in order to get the lukey sounding abit nicer...

Now im sure this is going to be flamed since its "one of those" questions :nuts:
I've been quoted $300 for a mandrel system, and $180 for a press-bent...

Im not looking for a race car out of my verada but i want it to sound like the V6 it is, so im finding it hard to justify spending another 300 after installing the lukey muffler...

P.s. whats it like without that first muffler, some have warned me of possible droning if i take it out...

Cheers boiz

get a mandrel bent system.

Theres no use replacing the current exhaust if you are going to get pressed.

Pressed means that you dont have a tru 2.5 inch all the way through the system.. At your bends you can lose as much as .5 inch which restricts the flow of the gases.

Spend the extra and get the mandrel.

u dont need Mandrel bent unless u are chasing big Horsepower...... i wouldnt worry about your piping.

Mandrel bent piping is the way to go, i'd forget about getting press bends if you decide to change your piping.

And $300 for mandrel bent piping? IMO that is too much. I got my mandrel bent piping from muffler to the cat for $100. Can't be that much from the cat to the headers....


This is a good article on exhausts:
http://www.autospeed.com.au/cms/A_1474/printArticle.html

still confused..

the one i have on is made of afew bull**** pipes (prev owners normal exhaust rusted out) so was replaced by a workshop that put bumped up pipes all round and theres one that is almost 2" itsself..


Talked to many people, putting a 2"5 inch system from CAT-BACK to the start of my lukey pipes should offer greater exhaust bark and performance than the other

ive been told mandrel is for 'wank value' and 'racing cars'

$100 for mandrel piping from ur muffler to cat?
Thats what i want, was it fitted?
Was it a pre-made assembly or custom piping?

have a good look a an orignal factory system , i'm not 100% but i thinnk you will find the factory system on a 3.5 is mandrel bent 2.5" . better still ask bain what system is on his vrx

yeah it was fitted, cant remember how much labour was, got it with my muffler, but they were mates rates.

Getting mandrel bent piping from cat to muffler is definitely not $300?!!! I say get some more quotes, sounds like that guy didnt have the equipment to do mandrel bendings.

have a good look a an orignal factory system , i'm not 100% but i thinnk you will find the factory system on a 3.5 is mandrel bent 2.5" . better still ask bain what system is on his vrx

Its not quite 2.5"

And the factory VRX rear muffler is not straight through

Get 2.5" mandrel bent pipes with a straight through rear and you'll be happy. Make sure you get a middle muffler aswell though or the noise will **** you

Its not quite 2.5"

And the factory VRX rear muffler is not straight through

Get 2.5" mandrel bent pipes with a straight through rear and you'll be happy. Make sure you get a middle muffler aswell though or the noise will **** youAgreed.

Proper job the first time and youll never have to change it out again. (unless you get a hole or something)

If you're going to get an aftermarket system go mandrel, there's no other choice really. Get it done once and get it done right :)

Is it just me or does the price seems rather high? :confused: As for pipe, u have to go mandrel bent and 6" cannon :)

still confused..

the one i have on is made of afew bull**** pipes (prev owners normal exhaust rusted out) so was replaced by a workshop that put bumped up pipes all round and theres one that is almost 2" itsself..

Talked to many people, putting a 2"5 inch system from CAT-BACK to the start of my lukey pipes should offer greater exhaust bark and performance than the other

ive been told mandrel is for 'wank value' and 'racing cars'

$100 for mandrel piping from ur muffler to cat?
Thats what i want, was it fitted?
Was it a pre-made assembly or custom piping?mate, if yu're going to get a cat-back and you want a 'stock' unit, talk to mitsiman or stick a post in the For Sale area (wanted obviously) chasing an factory unit, they are a 60mm (just over 2¼") mandrel bent which is better than a 2½ press bent!... some people here are installing bigger systems so their old ones should be sweet for yours!!!

mandrel bent provides a better gas flow. it is generally accepted that a press bent system will flow about as well as a mandrel bent system from ¼"~½" smaller.

The magna's respond well to a better exhaust system... i'd definately go with the mandrel bent... they sound better (less imperfections stuffing note up) and perform better!!

If you're going to get an aftermarket system go mandrel, there's no other choice really. Get it done once and get it done right :)

Too true, now i've got a 3" marine grade stainless mandrel bend, 3" high flow resonator exiting a 3" 3ARacing muffler. :shock: Yes it is big but little to no performance loss and for what i want to do i will never have to buy another again.
You go this big though and expect some noise to follow, but if you got some big tunes hey you wont hear it.
But it will cost you big$$
I paid $1200 at local place in Cronulla for mine
A:flame:

mate, if yu're going to get a cat-back and you want a 'stock' unit, talk to mitsiman or stick a post in the For Sale area (wanted obviously) chasing an factory unit, they are a 60mm (just over 2¼") mandrel bent which is better than a 2½ press bent!... some people here are installing bigger systems so their old ones should be sweet for yours!!!
Yeah, I got a figure of $50 for all the piping on a TJ Sports from the wreckers. I would however suspect that it wouldn't be noisier than what you have at the moment.

Thanks for all the advice i've rung up D&T Performance Exhaust and they quoted me $100 for mandrel bent 2"5 piping from cat-back to my al4 lukey muffler...


Cheers for all the advice...
Will be installing it all tommorow.. i'll tell y'all how it goes, thanks

i wouldnt get a 3" cannon let alone a 6", there ****ing crap -> will never consider ricing out my verada

For low angle bends such as up to around 30deg or so, press bends don't restrict much at all. It's only when you have 90deg bends or even 180bends that mandrel brings massive improvement. For that price I'd expect fully mandrel bent piping and not an exhaust made from sections of pre-mandrel bent pipe welded together, especially as most shops will not then bother deburring the weld drags inside (if they wanted to take shortcuts by using joins why would they clean it up for you afterwards?).

D&T Performance did a beautiful job, though it took hours it was the tidiest workshop i've ever seen in my life. And they did an extremly clean job on my 2"5 mandrel from cat-back.

GOODBYE RESONATOR

lukey is absolutly unleashed with no middle resonator and the new pipework, at 2000rpm and 4000rpm sound that comes is absolutly insane. Im very happy with the job.

For all y'all throwing out ya lukey's to get a cannon-style muffler, get it back out of the bin, they a very nice muffler

Some pic's of the tip i put on there, will take pics of my pipe work when i get under the car
Got my dad to stand behind it, he thought it was going to be ... fairly quiet
Yeah, he nearly jumped out of his shoes, hahaha

http://www.arach.net.au/~pecca/pecca/mystuff/48330100.jpg

http://www.arach.net.au/~pecca/pecca/mystuff/48330101.jpg

http://www.arach.net.au/~pecca/pecca/mystuff/48330102.jpg

For low angle bends such as up to around 30deg or so, press bends don't restrict much at all. It's only when you have 90deg bends or even 180bends that mandrel brings massive improvement. For that price I'd expect fully mandrel bent piping and not an exhaust made from sections of pre-mandrel bent pipe welded together, especially as most shops will not then bother deburring the weld drags inside (if they wanted to take shortcuts by using joins why would they clean it up for you afterwards?).
ummm... unless I'm mistaken, ALL mandrel systems, except prefab jobbies from like HKS & Fujitsubo & the like, are made from mandrel bends welded together. If you've ever seen a proper mandrel bend, you should see it'd be nigh on impossible to make bends of that uniformity in-house. Every one I've eva seen was made from factory prebent sections, & any exhaust welder worth his salt should be able to it with much in the way of burn through... hell, my mate down the road did a mandrel exhaust up for my Lancer & we checked every weld after, & even he managed 3/5 good weld without dags! Sumone who does it for a living should have a lot better hit rate then that!

I would think $100 would be way cheap for a mandrel sytem unless it was nearly straight... the bends cost me nearly $25 a peice as it was!