4thgenssuck

is it ok to use 1/4'' thickness mild steel to make a turbo manifold or is it better to use stainless?? i work for a steel company so i get all my metal for free...thanks for any info guys...i'am in the process of making my own traction bars also...

t_cel_t

1/4 is pretty thick, most guys here use either sch 10 or 40 stainless. i personally like mild steel becuase of the softer/flexible properties that resist cracking like the harder stainless is prone to.
and now someone will come on and say that im an idiot for saying stainless doesn't crack because theirs hasn't.

TorganFM

Mild ftw. It's flexible and east flux core booger weld. Plus, you really don't need to worry about the manifold rusting through since water is burned off as soon as it's fired up. That's the only advantage of stainless. Oh and pretty blue welds can be tigged in it.. but who needs that really?

jinxy

the more energy (heat) mild steel has in it, the more prone to reduction oxidation it is. Not something that most people think about, but a majority of your exhaust gas is water vapor..

TorganFM

But I thought oxidation was an exothermic reaction, which would make it slowed as energy is put in. Reduction takes energy to go, oxidation releases it (exothermic).

jinxy

Anytime you have heat you have a heightened potential for electrons to move, add an electrolyte for the metal electrons to move across to be lost and you've heightened the potential even more.

I think you might be thinking of more violent oxidation reduction reactions like explosives, batteries or burning magnesium, but even with all of those if you add heat as a catalysis the reaction is going to take place faster.

klyph

If you can run a turbo setup long enough to rust through a sched 40 mani, you obviously drive it like a ------- -----.

jinxy

I'm not saying it's going to rust to the point where it breaks, just that it's going to rust more with more energy put into it.

rsmith2786

Stainless has a higher coefficient of expansion. You could argue the pro's and con's forever but in the end either will work fine. I would say in general mild would be more durable but it wont have that honda-tech bling factor your after.

Eville140

Mild steel can be pretty too.