Exhaust Tubing

There are plenty of reasons to replace or upgrade your current car, truck, or motorcycle exhaust tubing. You can increase the power of your engine by

providing better airflow. If the outbound air is restricted it will suffocate the engine and not allow air to be taken in, which is crucial to combustion. Aside from allowing better airflow, larger tubes will create a much more robust engine sound. Often the muffler along with the exhaust tubing are designed to silence to engine, and make it as none-noticeable as possible. If you want an engine that lets it’s presence known, the first step  would be to buy larger exhaust tubing and replace the factory stock muffle and tubing.

On motorcycles the exhaust piping is often directly visible, and can add to the attractiveness of the bike. There is a whole art to exhaust tubing, and a wide variety of materials and finishes to choose from. The most popular is stainless steel because its ability to combat corrosion and last a long time. Water, which is a by-product of combustion, drains out of the exhaust pipe along with soot, carbon dioxide, and excess air. Water typically is very corrosive to iron and steel, but not stainless steel. Stainless steel exhaust pipes are iron with a touch of chromium. The chromium reacts with the air and creates a resistive film over the metal, protecting it from water and where it gets it “stainless” name from. Other exhaust tubing metals include aluminum and titanium.

Of course many exhaust pipes don’t just use chromium in the steel, they are also chrome plated, which is to say they are covered with a film of chromium. This provides a corrosion resist cover for you exhaust and even more desirable: a beautiful silvery, reflective finish. Polished chrome has a unique and striking visual look. Chrome plating can be expensive, so likely you will only want chrome plated exhaust tubing on a motorcycle, where the pipes are visible, there is little point in putting chrome plated tubes under your car unless you specifically intend to show off the bottom of your car.

It is also possible to craft your own custom exhaust tubes. You can buy stainless steel, steel, or other metal tubes, and bend them with either a press, or tube bender. Tube benders are surprisingly inexpensive and easy to purchase. Also, most well equipped machine shops will have them and will bend the tubes to your specifications. Obviously this can be fairly tricky to install and I wouldn’t suggest doing it unless you are familiar with custom car modifications.

The air handled by the tubes is fresh out of the engine. This means it is full of energy with both latent heat and hot air. Latent heat refers to the energy in the hot water created as a by-product of combustion. Steam is very corrosive and will damage your pipes unless you use the appropriate materials for your pipes. Soot can also clog your tubes, much like plaque clogging your arteries. The soot builds on the walls and can choke the airflow. When the engine cannot take in air it cannot completely combust the fuel and loses significant power. For these reasons it is often worthwhile to replace or clean your exhaust tubes. You can browse or buy various exhaust tubes online or at your local auto store.

There are different kinds of flexible exhaust tubing in the market. Most of these are used for the exhaust systems of automobiles. The reason for its flexibility is that

there are many different types of exhaust systems that are arranged independently. There is really no standard that dictates how long or how wide a car’s exhaust chamber should be. Hence, flexible exhaust tubing fits the requirements of various exhaust systems because it can bend across obstructing tubes and components, unlike hard tubes.

Flexible exhaust tubing is usually installed between the engine and the muffler, and is used to decrease engine noise and vibration. It also absorbs the muffler pipe thermal expansion and shock, thus protecting your muffler from damage and shock sustained in bumpy rides. It can also compensate for misalignments in the exhaust converter because of its flexibility. No matter how much the under chassis experience stress, these are just absorbed by the flexible exhaust tubing, proving resistance to cracks, blow outs, and leaks.

Another great advantage of flexible exhaust tubing is that it eliminates the expensive costs of customizing exhaust tubes for the car. It bends where you need it to go, and is tagged at very cheap costs, which is better than installing a custom furbished pipe.

The best type of flexible exhaust tubing available is the stainless one. It is as expensive as a galvanized or aluminized type, but will certainly last longer. The flexible exhaust hose is measured through the diameter inside. It is designed to wrap over an existing pipe and is fastened with a clamp. Band clamps are preferred over u-clamps for the reason that it has a lesser chance of leaking and has the capacity to stretch itself and give a tighter seal. It is available in sizes starting from 1.5″ diameter and up. For most diesel exhaust systems, using a size of 3.5″, 4″, or 5″ is advisable.

Flexible exhaust tubing is available online. There are many cheap products from China that have passed strict international quality standardization procedures. Cheap flexible exhaust tubing is also available in a local dealer near you whenever you order in bulk, but you have to cut the lengths by your own.

Flexible exhaust tubing has many advantages than just being flexible. It’s definitely cheaper than having a customized pipe installed in your car, it is more resistant to shock, and it reduces engine noise and absorbs pressure. Cheap and reasonably effective, it fits every automobile because of its flexibility.