Fabspeed bypass pipes

[jwade]

Ok, seems that most people like these. Now do you guys still have the stock headers in place with these on or you running different headers?

On a side note, please look at this recent update regarding Fabspeed products.

Fabspeed has a new video uploaded for the 986 S. They do an interesting test where they install hardware "adding one piece at a time" from exhaust, headers, BMC air filter, EVO intakek, and then finally, an ECU reflash.

Total cost - a whopping $4795

Total HP gains - 229 stock
241 w/ headers & sport cats
245 w/ BMC (good value - 4hp for about 100 bucks)
247 w/ EVO (not a good value whatsoever)
252 w/ ecu reflash and all above hardware installed

Total Gains - a whopping 23 hp
Total price per hp - just under 210 bucks each

See video here:

FYI - Turbowerx headers cost 800 and hp gains on a 986 S 3.2 motor is 22hp

Don't you guys find this interesting? Hell, I'll "splurge" and add a BMC filter too.

For 1500 bucks, I can have the headers, by-pass pipes, and the bmc while I take the rest and spend it on my family at a 5 star resort in the cayman's......

[silver arrow]

Why not just gut the stock pipes or have a muffler shop weld some up. It's not a complex exhaust piece. Seem crazy to pay $500 for 2 pieces of piping with one mandrel bend.

[ChrisZang]

Originally Posted by silver arrow

Why not just gut the stock pipes or have a muffler shop weld some up. It's not a complex exhaust piece. Seem crazy to pay $500 for 2 pieces of piping with one mandrel bend.

The though that crossed my mind is to get a set of worn out secondary cats from a dismantler for super-cheap, get rid of the "filling" in the cat, and now you have your low-cost bypass pipes...

[silver arrow]

You can gut the ones in your car in one afternoon. A long 1/2 drill bit, long chisel, hammer and a respirator. Back in 02 when the Subaru WRX came out, we all gutted the preturbo cat to get it to spool faster and because the facotry cat had a habbit of sending pieces of catalyst through the turbo, which is not a good thing.

I'll gut mine this weekend and let you know how it works out. If it's a success I'll post a DIY. If not I'll cry myself to sleep.

[j.fro]

It works. Be careful about this as a DIY, though, unless it is explicitly for off road/racing vehicles!

[jmatta]

I agree with the expense comment...$495 for a couple stainless pipes seems absurd. After listening, though, I feel they are well worth it. I think it would be difficult for a muffler shop to make up a couple of pipes unless the worker was a talented pipe bender?

I don't know about gutting the existing pipe, because you've introduced an odd shape in the middle of the exhaust route that would likely affect flow.

[j.fro]

I've looked into building a set myself, and I've made a couple of unfortunate discoveries about why the price is so high. For starters, 4 to 5 foot pieces of straight stainless 2.25" tubing are about $50 delivered to your door. A pair of stainless header flanges are going to run $10 or so, making the raw materials cost around $100. The next hurdle is finding someone with a mandrel to bend the tubes correctly. Most exhaust shops don't have this...they've got a cheaper bender that puts the little wrinkles in the inner part of the bend. Anyone who's got a mandrel is going to be a real specialist, and their rates won't be cheap. I wouldn't imagine the labor to be under two hours to bend, cut, and weld both pipes. That's easily another $100+ . Put general retail markup on, and you're right at $450-500. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm sure Fabspeed sources the materials cheaper, and I'm also sure their welding dude isn't making $100/hr, but they also know their clientele and originally marketed the pipes to folks who paid new or near new for their cars.

Just to throw it out there, what would folks be willing to pay for a set of bypass pipes that WEREN"T stainless?

[chitowndad]

Jmatta, I'd love to connect with you in April to hear it before I pick up a pair.

Now I need to find a used pair...

[edevlin]

"Total cost - a whopping $4795

Total HP gains - 229 stock
241 w/ headers & sport cats
245 w/ BMC (good value - 4hp for about 100 bucks)
247 w/ EVO (not a good value whatsoever)
252 w/ ecu reflash and all above hardware installed

Total Gains - a whopping 23 hp
Total price per hp - just under 210 bucks each"


Hey, thats quite a deal, my intake, chip and full exhaust ended costing around 7K and gave almost exaxtly the HP increase of the system above. That means it cost me over 300 bucks/hp, yikes. Nobody has ever accused me of being especially clever, but I am having a pretty good time....

Ed

:dance:

[mts]

here are some of the Fabspeed pipes on the car...they are larger diameter than the Stebro ones.

[jmatta]

MTS, your picture is far better than mine. I could tell right away the Stebro's were a smaller diameter than the Fabspeed's.