I just got an ERZ/ETS bellmouth downpipe. My plan is to make a short downpipe out of it. Before I do, however I was thinking of getting it powder coated or heat wrapped. My thinking is since I have 90K miles on the car, I can replace the main cat legally, and have found a CARB-listed California OBDII-compliant 3" high flow cat. The problem is my shiny new SS downpipe. I'm trying to make it as non-eye-catching as possible.

The two things that come to mind are header wrap and powder coating. Both of these would have the added advantage of getting heat away from the intercooler. So...is there a shop in the L.A. area that can powdercoat my downpipe? I REALLY don't want to hassle with sending it to Jet-hot.

Also, I need an exhaust shop to cut up the pipe for me and weld some flanges, and install a cat for me that won't charge and arm and a leg. The guy at the local shop that USED to be reasonable suddenly raised his prices when he saw a relatively new car with all those mods. He suddenly went from "about $80 in labor plus the cost of the cat" to ~$500!!!!

 

nu-tec powder coating in anaheim.
http://yp.yahoo.com/py/ypMap.py?Pyt=...r:regT:1:fbT:0

my friend did his wheels there

 

do they do high temp coating that won't burn off or is it only cosmetic?

 

i believe both but you can always give them a call and find out

 

that rip off bastard

where are you at? powder coating itsnt going to keep the heat in as well as heat wrap. but heat wrap can sometimes hold moister sp? water in making your pipe rust. there is a member on this board that has a welder im sure he could do it for a reasonable amount.

 

i agree with sigma...but if you REALLY want a good powdercoating place, try Olympic Powdercoating in Santa Ana. They are absolutely the best.

 

**moisture**

 

i have actually heard of them

people say they are good.

 

I'm L.A. Mostly, I was looking for a way to make the pipe less shiny so it doesn't attract so much attention durring inspection. Anything stainless is cause for closer inspection since NO manufacturer uses polished stainless steel for exhaust. I guess headder wrap will work as well. Isn't there some kind of sticky wrap that melts to the pipe after it gets hot and seals itself in so water and junk can't get in? Salt isn't that much of a problem here since its illegal to use salt to melt snow, and there's no snow anyway, but we do get a few months of consistent rain.

Ferdie from South Coast Subaru said he passed his inspection with a similar (one cat) setup...and he's got way more mods than I do.

 

try taking sand paper or steel wool to it

 

you know, sometimes I'm so retarded it hurts.

 

if that isnt less bling enought then powder coat


dont worry your better than some of the regulars on this board hehe

 

try tacking on the stock heat sheilds also if possible

 

well that goes without saying. there was no question about that.

 

isn't there also some kind of bluing process for stainless that bikers use to make their pipes dark?