Titanium Exhaust

[Jordan I]

Very interesting thread! It's wonderful to see the high-end guys get together like this to make the rest of us get to work

We've done quite a bit of custom exhaust work and have access to a great tube bender for tube and mandrel bends. Titanium is a little tricker to weld - especially when everyone wants to go ~.030" wall - but getting the mandrel bends (for all intents and purposes you can't put it through a regular tube bender) is the tricky part.

It does sound amazing, and will bolt on some lightness. That being said, as one of the people involved in Conrad's Formula Drift Camaro since 2009, there are A LOT of ways to remove weight and this will be one of the most expensive.

I put a call in to see what the feasibility of doing a 5-unit run would be if we built the first one, should hear back today.

[McRat]

The interesting part about Ti is it's strength to weight ratio at high temperatures.

You can go thin as you can fabricate without losing much strength from EGT's.

As soon as somebody weighs the factory system from the manifolds back will we know how much it will cost per pound to drop exhaust weight.

But... Exhaust weight is down low, so it doesn't help as much as removing weight from higher up. Or wheel/tire weight, which slows down acceleration more per pound that any other item.

[SVThis]

It might be a wild goose chase, but you may want to look into custom bicycle builders who build titanium frames. Some of their welding is like art work. Firefly out of Boston is a good example. http://fireflybicycles.com/
For examples of welding http://fireflybicycles.tumblr.com/

[Zfatuated]

Originally Posted by Zfatuated

Ti is a specialized manufacture and welding so please no guesses about your buddy's backyard shop being able to hack something together. I want a professional-quality system.

Incorrect spec Ti alloy (there are many Ti alloys) gets brittle with exhaust heat and fails (cracking), hence my comment. A builder either 1. does Ti exhaust and understands it 2. or they do not. I don't have the time, money or inclination to screw around with builders who don't already understand 100%

Thank you.

[ayousef]

ill say it as well forum member Unobtanium could get it done for you and personally has a Camaro so he could fabricate it on his personal vehicle and send it over, assuming the exhaust dimensions for the z/28 are equal to those of the SS. He could do Inconel if you wanted, Titanium, or Stainless 321 etc...

It wont be cheap though... you're looking at 6500+

[Milk 1027]

http://www.agency-power.com/catalog/...ktmfpecvms38t2
Looks like this company makes exhausts here in Arizona. Never heard of them but came across them when looking for videos of the litespeed exhaust.
I'm not sure if I'm interested but I would volunteer my car for testing if the owner is interested.

[McRat]

Originally Posted by Zfatuated

Incorrect spec Ti alloy (there are many Ti alloys) gets brittle with exhaust heat and fails (cracking), hence my comment. A builder either 1. does Ti exhaust and understands it 2. or they do not. I don't have the time, money or inclination to screw around with builders who don't already understand 100%

Thank you.

Good luck with a Professional Quality exhaust anything from the off-the-shelf aftermarket. I've heard unicorns are more common.

Even the best custom guys will take it as compliment when you say, "man that looks factory!"

Which perhaps is seldom said about companies who make $1500 exhaust tips, and 62lb slip on ti mufflers:

http://www.lingenfelter.com/mm5/merc...8#.U22SfvldVfI

[Diode Dynamics]

Did that say $1,500 for just the tip? Wow....I know titanium is incredible, but that's a big number for just tips

Nick C.

[McRat]

One the best prostitutes are worth a $1500 tip...

[McRat]

No, titanium is expensive, but NOT that expensive.

[Zfatuated]

Originally Posted by McRat

Good luck with a Professional Quality exhaust anything from the off-the-shelf aftermarket. I've heard unicorns are more common.

Which perhaps is seldom said about companies who make $1500 exhaust tips, and 62lb slip on ti mufflers:

http://www.lingenfelter.com/mm5/merc...8#.U22SfvldVfI

Originally Posted by Diode Dynamics

Did that say $1,500 for just the tip? Wow....I know titanium is incredible, but that's a big number for just tips

Nick C.

That piece at that link is manufactured by Akrapovic (not Lingenfelter), it's expensive as hell and the best quality money can buy. It's also who I tried to get to build the Z/28 system and is not interested. My last Akrapovic Ti full system including cats was $13,000 and I got much of that back when I sold it.

Chris at Unobtanium advises he is covered over with work for most of the summer and has gracefully bowed out of potentially building the Z/28 system (for now at least).

[brt3]

Originally Posted by McRat

No, titanium is expensive, but NOT that expensive.

Thanks to the political situation and the fragmentation of Mother Russia, titanium supplies surged over the past decade. A lot of what was going into Russian defense came back into the public sector market. Russia makes most of the world's titanium, but US defense contractors are forbidden from sourcing titanium from Russia. So, auto parts makers and bicycle frame makers suddenly were able to provide their products at more reasonable pricing levels. Not that Akropovic's pricing is "reasonable", but there's a LOT of work going on to build Ti exhausts to those tolerances...

[after reading the above I apologize for any resemblance to the immortal Cliff Clavin. At least I didn't start with, "It's a little known fact that titanium..."]

[McRat]

Originally Posted by Zfatuated

That piece at that link is manufactured by Akrapovic (not Lingenfelter), it's expensive as hell and the best quality money can buy. It's also who I tried to get to build the Z/28 system and is not interested. My last Akrapovic Ti full system including cats was $13,000 and I got much of that back when I sold it.

Chris at Unobtanium advises he is covered over with work for most of the summer and has gracefully bowed out of potentially building the Z/28 system (for now at least).

Yes, but Lingenfelter (RIP) was the first link I found with pricing.

IMO, the best quality money can buy is OEM. It's tested extensively, uber light, and warranteed well. It mounts with heavy 3 bolt flanges, not hose clamps. Unless an aftermarket shop has the original tooling, there is always going to be variations from stock.

I can tell you why GM made the center section stainless. Certainly if they can make a 1 piece Over The Axle with muffler and tips, they could have made a couple of ~ straight tubes. It's durability, noise, and vibration. Something we noticed with the Corsa Ti competition system, which while pricey was cheezy. It used clamps so the joints would leak, and could not hold the pipes in a fixed position for long.

Does Akra use any hose clamps? Or flanges everywhere? That will tell you how accurate their jigs are in real life. Lining up two 3 bolt flanges, 6 feet apart, and being parallel to <.010" (two sheets of paper) tells you something about GM.

Looking under a 11 year old Z06 with 85k miles on it last night, no leaks at all.

[crangie]

bump

any Vendors on sight for this?