Press v Mandrel Bends

[[stealth]]

Are there any real differences at the end of the day for our Hondas?

[z3lda]

mandrel is same lenght all the way through. no resistance
press bend, the tube will be smaller at the bends cuzing resistance of air flow

[[stealth]]

k sounds like mandrel all the way then??

[bennjamin]

yes.


perhaps you could search - there is a few issues we have covered in the past....pipe material, diameter , wall thickness , bend type etc :)

[joneblaze]

Mandrel will always be better. At the same time, it will always be more expensive. If you're building some track/drag/road warrior which needs ultimate flow and ever kw milked out at any one time, then mandrel is definitely your friend.

IMO, for a mildly modded/stockish car, eg. DC2/4, EK4etc, there isn't really a huge difference between 2.25" press bent and 2" mandrel.

That is purely my opinion, some of the experienced hands (eg. DynoDave) might be able to comment further.

[fusion_VTi]

ive heard mandrell bending also reduces the pipe thickness on the bends quite significantly, i think it can get down to around 0.5mm in some parts..

[EuroAccord13]

To put the term properly, Mandrel Bend is where the internal diameter of the pipe remains the same through out the bend and Press Bend is where the internal diameter on the bend is reduced (sometimes by up to 20% depending on the degree of bend).

[KB]

As Joneblaze said, Only if your car is say turbo-charged or high output N/A would mandrel bending make that much of a Power difference over Press-Bent Exhausts. For a mildly modified civic the difference between Mandrel/Pressbending is about a bees **** of a kilowatt. So basically, its up to you and how much money to spend.

Yes mandrel bending flows better, but unless you are planning to wildly modify your car, you have to weigh up the pros/cons, pay 150$ for a 3hp increase or 250$ for 4hp increase.

Check My VB Garage for a pic of a pressbent catback. There really not that bad.
I have a set of Xforce headers and a 2.25" Pressbent catback and I made 115Whp out of my d-series. Which is roughly 100Kw at the flywheel. Not bad considering its 93Kw stock. :P

-KB

[Stroza]

mandrel bent is better, when alot of bends are incorporated into the system.. Personally i suggest you make you decision how bends are involved and move from there.. If not there will be next to nothin in power gains, and you could save yourself a heap in cash...

[[stealth]]

I guess the question of mild steel v stainless steel is a question of budget$$/personal preference i spose??

[kez13]

s/s vs mild i think is just an issue of how deep is your pockets.....worry more about the build quality of the exhuast (bends/welds) before the material.