Flex joint up-pipe or non flex joint up-pipe?
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Flex joint up-pipe or non flex joint up-pipe?
I am going to be buying an up-pipe, but have seen them with and without flex joints. Does this matter, or is the joint a waste of money? I haven't heard of anyone cracking an up-pipe, or breaking something because of stress. Will the smoother interior piping of the regular up pipe produce more power that then flexpipe?
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I dunno about breaking, but I assumed the flex is for leak prevention from heat expansion/cool down and from the natural movement of the block and exhaust piping. The OEM uppipe has a flex.
I'm saying this after I bought a solid uppipe and now, after about 10,000 miles, I've got a small leak in the usual uppipe-manifold spot....
I'm saying this after I bought a solid uppipe and now, after about 10,000 miles, I've got a small leak in the usual uppipe-manifold spot....
Last edited by Ride Operator; May 14, 2003 at 11:01 AM.
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I going to run a flex uppipe, either a gutted stocker or an Autospeed one. I'd rather have a little turbulence then have to deal with a leak.
However, the flex joint will eventually fail. It might take 5 years or it may be 20 years, but it will fail. Sometime in the future, you (or the next owner) will be replacing the uppipe.
However, the flex joint will eventually fail. It might take 5 years or it may be 20 years, but it will fail. Sometime in the future, you (or the next owner) will be replacing the uppipe.
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I'd rather have the flex joint then have to deal with leaks. I dont know about gutting the factory up-pipe though. Downpipe I'm ok with cause it's after the turbo, but I don't want any debris getting sucked into the turbo from the up-pipe.
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I'm going with a flex piece, not sure which one though, most all I've seen have been the same price. One that came out recently was a good price though, I can't really rememeber what the name was though, it was real recent though. It uses the braided style flex, only one company I've seen uses accordion style and that's PDE. It looks clean, but I've heard accordion flex breaks after a while. Just what I've heard.
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Originally posted by firedog25
I'm going with a flex piece, not sure which one though, most all I've seen have been the same price. One that came out recently was a good price though, I can't really rememeber what the name was though, it was real recent though. It uses the braided style flex, only one company I've seen uses accordion style and that's PDE. It looks clean, but I've heard accordion flex breaks after a while. Just what I've heard.
I'm going with a flex piece, not sure which one though, most all I've seen have been the same price. One that came out recently was a good price though, I can't really rememeber what the name was though, it was real recent though. It uses the braided style flex, only one company I've seen uses accordion style and that's PDE. It looks clean, but I've heard accordion flex breaks after a while. Just what I've heard.
But yeah, Helix is the one, looks like a nice, solid piece. Anyone heard anything good or bad about it?
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I always go with the mentality of, "well - the stocker has a flex in it, so..." I don't think anybody would argue that the uppipe itself would break, but rather (as was mentioned here)
1. Causing leaks or
2. Posisbly causing some undue stress on the parts it's connected to.
In other words, I know the factory engineers may not have always made the 'best it can be' on certain areas, but I just have to beleive that if they DIDN'T have to put a flex uppipe in the stock configuration, then they probably wouldn't have done so, especially in the interest of cost.
Many are cnocerned about the disintegration of the flex material into the turbo. I need to find evidence of this, because everytime I mention it, somebody invariably "knows somebody" but yet can't find any evidence of this actually happening. (Which is not to say it CAN'T happen, but I haven't actually seen/read any REAL evidence of this happening as of yet...) I mean, heck, the factory uppipe has a flex AND a cat in it! I give the engineers some credit that they wouldn't allow the cat+flex to disintegrate and ruin a turbo after 5 years.
Just speculation on my part, however, but I know what my decision on the matter is. Many others have many valid reasons for disagreeing, however, so just research and do what you think feels right.
1. Causing leaks or
2. Posisbly causing some undue stress on the parts it's connected to.
In other words, I know the factory engineers may not have always made the 'best it can be' on certain areas, but I just have to beleive that if they DIDN'T have to put a flex uppipe in the stock configuration, then they probably wouldn't have done so, especially in the interest of cost.
Many are cnocerned about the disintegration of the flex material into the turbo. I need to find evidence of this, because everytime I mention it, somebody invariably "knows somebody" but yet can't find any evidence of this actually happening. (Which is not to say it CAN'T happen, but I haven't actually seen/read any REAL evidence of this happening as of yet...) I mean, heck, the factory uppipe has a flex AND a cat in it! I give the engineers some credit that they wouldn't allow the cat+flex to disintegrate and ruin a turbo after 5 years.
Just speculation on my part, however, but I know what my decision on the matter is. Many others have many valid reasons for disagreeing, however, so just research and do what you think feels right.
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