what's mandrel bent? So we're talking $110-$180 you think?

 

Bascially most muffler shops do crush bend where they use a machine to shape the pipe however they want and because of that the diamter of the pipe at the bend becomes different, some people think because of this, airflow is affected. Mandrel bend doesnt compromise the diameter of the pipe.

Yeah, getting this mod done shouldn't cost too much. In my opinion, the most expensive part of it is are the tips.

 

Ok, well I can take a hacksaw to my local junkyard and probably walk out with two OEM flanges for around $40. Tips, $80, and I could probably find a ~45 degree mandrel bent elbow of aluminum (or order one in whatever degree I want online). I bet a muffler shop would weld that to a straight pipe, put the two hangers on (which I could measure and reference) for maybe $50; this would be just bringing in the parts, having done your pre-measurements, and just letting him do it on a table in 5-10 minutes. For me, my friend has a TIG welder which he is pretty handy with so we could have some fun doing this.

My buddy seems to think I can buy the V-bands in 2 or 2.25" (whatever our diameter) is for very cheap removing the need for that. It's possible "Bob's Muffler Shop" has these anyways.

Long story short, with patience I think I could do this tastefully for around $175. I'm not knocking the original poster, I could be wrong. I mean he got polished stainless steel pipes and had that mandrel bent which seems like a completely unnecessary cost.

Once I get into the $300 territory, I'd assume just by that Tanabe or HKS setup for $200 or so more which I'm still considering because this setup is probably too loud for everyday use (but cool for hobby use) whereas the Tanabe/HKS would be a one and done solution for me.

 

Simply put, Crush bent is where they take a straight pipe and put it in a vice like machine and then using a hydraulic machine they bend the pipe by pushing a piston at where the elbow is supposed to be.

The problem is it causes the pipe to dent inwards a bit (like what happens when you bend a watering hose close to 90 degrees.

Mandrel bent is where they basically use a piston inside of the pipe and make it bend perfectly without crimping. Most corner exhaust shops only have crush-bending machines and don't have mandrel benders. However, with this setup we could probably just order the one elbow at the right angle from some online source and then use the corner shop to weld the straight pipes on.

Here's a picture of the difference:

 

I have a 2005 g35 coupe with a revup air box, k&n drop in, Z tube, 5/16 motordyne plenum, invidia 60mm test pipes, stillen y pipe, stock coupe middy, to a y pipe dual exhaust muffler delete.... Between 2500-4000rpm there is an insane rattle with rasp.. What can I do to deepen the tone and get rid of that? Preferably either a weld on after market strait through muffler or axle back muffler... Any suggestions will help

 

Hey man I don't have the car anymore but for me cut out my y pipe and welded an X pipe that was muffled. I had tanabe exhausts and HFCs. I found the rattle was from the Y pipe. With the muffler it helped.

 

you realize this thread is from 2009 and you are posting in the sedan forums right?