I bought a pipe bender from Summit Racing and some straight pipe to make my own exhaust. After kinking the crap out of the 4th bend, I tried heating with a torch. That gave me a hot piece of kinked pipe.
Has anyone tried to use
this bender from Summit Racing?
Maybe it's total crap, maybe I'm doing something wrong. But after ruining 6 pieces of exhaust pipe and one kinked up piece of 1 inch conduit, I called it quits.
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John Wilken
2002 Cavalier
2.2 Vin code 4
Auto
would have been cheaper to have a shop custom make you one...
GO PATS!!!
^^ That's where it's going after I return the bender and put on the header. That should be a nice loud trip!
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John Wilken
2002 Cavalier
2.2 Vin code 4
Auto
I have had better luck w/ capping one end, filling the pipe w/ sand and then capping the other end. Put it in the bender after that and bend away. The pipe will definitely not kink because the sand is keeping it from collapsing.
My Cardomain Page
what exactly do you mean by kinking? when bending a pipe, the center will bow in a little bit as a relief in bending the pipe. now, if your pipe is coming out completely ugly, then its odd and i think you should post a pic for us to better understand. this is why mandrel benders are more expensive, because it remains round throughout.
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- Sold my beloved J in April 2010 -
Viper98912 wrote:what exactly do you mean by kinking? when bending a pipe, the center will bow in a little bit as a relief in bending the pipe. now, if your pipe is coming out completely ugly, then its odd and i think you should post a pic for us to better understand. this is why mandrel benders are more expensive, because it remains round throughout.
They were kinking as in dented in on the inside of the curve and flat on the outside. I didn't expect perfection, but I couldn't get one usable bend. They'd crush to about one third the pipe diameter before getting to 45 degrees.
It's dark out now, my camera doesn't get good night photos, pics will have to wait.
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John Wilken
2002 Cavalier
2.2 Vin code 4
Auto
Ummm...
what type of pipe were you using exactly? Sounds like a softer steel or alum. based metal!
N2O + Bolt-ons
= 220Hp/
250Tq
Coming Soon:HpTunersPro, EagleConnectingRods, WiescoPistons, 13sec2200
2 and a half inch steel pipe.
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John Wilken
2002 Cavalier
2.2 Vin code 4
Auto
the indentation is normal, but the outside of the pipe should remain relatively round, not flat.
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- Sold my beloved J in April 2010 -
I'm going to try Cavettes suggestion of filling the pipe with sand.
Yea Viper, a crinkle here and there for a bend wouldn't be that big of a deal, but flat, crinkled and not even bent all the way just sucks.
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John Wilken
2002 Cavalier
2.2 Vin code 4
Auto
maybe if you were bending pipe instead of tubing it wouldn't have kinked.
exhaust pipe is tubing, the walls are thin, if you are going to use a pipe bender, then you will have better luck using the 1" or 1/2" mandrel. as tubing has to either DOM (drawn over mandrel, different than the pipe bender) or crushed to bend without kinking.
that bender is used for making things like roll cages and frame pieces, thicker stuff that wont kink as easily.
you need one of
THESE to bend tubing properly and not spend a fortune on an electric/hydraulic model.
forgot to mention, tubing and pipe can also be rolled, I got the plans somewhere for a tubing bender and a roller. If I canfind them, I'll post up the website where I got them.
Thanks, Hotbug.
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John Wilken
2002 Cavalier
2.2 Vin code 4
Auto
I tried Cavette's suggestion of filling the exhaust pipe with sand, and I bent 1 pipe!
I began jumping around the backyard like Tom Hanks did when he made fire, but yelling "I have bent pipe!" My neighbor was outside, she calmly leaned over the fence and told me that viagra would straighten it out...
Thanks to everyone for their suggestions, and I'll start saving for that mandrel bender so the next project will go easier.
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John Wilken
2002 Cavalier
2.2 Vin code 4
Auto