Is there any reason I cannot use a heavier wall tube for headers? I was going to bend up a bunch of pieces with my tube Bender (yes it is a tube Bender) and then make them that way. The tube I have around is 0.120" wall. I know that's thick but any reason to NOT use a heavier wall tube? Thanks Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
WEIGHT is the first thing that comes to mind. With thicker wall you will have to go up in size to make up for the reduced ID, which means More Weight. That weight means more vibration and prone to cracking at the flanges as you have to have some movement in the system to account for the motor mount movement. You are putting a lot of weight out there that is supported back at the cylinder head.
Thanks! Makes sense. I had 1/2" thick flanges machined for lake style headers. I don't think the difference in weight is enough to create much of a difference. If you compare a piece of tube that is .065" vs a piece that is 0.125" you are doubling the weight roughly but the short length of the headers makes the weight gain negligible in my estimation but I am just guessing. The motor is a LQ9 6.0 LS that is converted over to carb/distributor but the overall engine vibration should not be too bad compared to an older unbalanced motor. Another thing you mentioned was losing ID due to wall thickness. I increased the flange hole larger than the exhaust port hole to allow for thicker tube so that shouldn't be an issue either. Any other reasons other than weight? Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
It's a waste of perfectly good thick wall tubing? Do you have a mandrel bender? If not, you'll collapse the tube some as you bend it.
What you are proposing is basically a tubing manifold anyway - have at it. BTW, your engine combination isn't too popular on this forum
What tubing bender? Most of them have a minimum thickness that they can bend without collapsing. Mine does 0.83 at 1-3/4" and under, and 0.95" up to 2".
The rest of the vehicle is perfectly suited to be on the forum. Actually every bit as much as a regular SBC. There are no computers and it has a distributor even. I was simply inquiring about tech issues with a thicker tube being used for the headers. I believe I got the answers I was looking at. Thanks Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Mine is a JD2 model 3 with full hydraulics and digital readout. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Wrong but thanks for trying. I've bent thousands of feet of tube from tube chassis all the way to very small tubing that ends up in crucibles to melt silicon that ends up in the computer you're typing from. Only need a mandrel Bender for very thin wall and tight bends with zero deformation at start and ends of bends where the die seats. Thick wall tube will last significantly longer than thin wall so I hardly see how that is a waste... Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
sounds like your not going to have room for the bolts, and if you do have room for the bolts, take a look at how small and thin they are. Your wanting to add a ton of weight, maybe they will snap off? I dont get it.
Now that is useful info. I will take a look at the bolts. The cast iron header was heavier than what I am proposing but also had support further down stream. There is more than enough room for bolts. Considerably more than a regular ole SBC! Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Thanks. There is a thread with the build called AKA Phoenix. I wanted to keep the tech question separate to get more attention. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
ah, I see, now my concern would be that there are less bolts, since they made less, maybe they made em beefier, thicker bolts than the sbc small ones, I dunno lS stuff
How long does thin wall tubing last? I haven't noticed it being a problem on the headers I have, and I've put a lot of years and miles on some of them. But maybe you're harder on exhaust systems than I am. Thanks for letting us know what kind of bender you have, you didn't provide much information in your original post.
Squirrel, my post came off a bit short and rude. Not my intentions. Sorry about that. All my research on the net suggested that thin mild steel will deteriorate much faster than a thicker wall. SS was NOT the material being referenced. Mild steel. I'm not any harder on things than anyone else. Just wanted to see if there were any reasons not to use a thicker walled tube. Weight seems to be the prevailing concern. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Thanks. I think the life of normal steel header tubes depends on a lot of things...if you drive on salty roads, or run the motor lean, or build lousy headers, then thick wall tubes might be a way to make it last longer. I would think that you'd have a tough time outliving a well built header made of 14 gauge mild steel tube. If the tubes are not very long, then weight should not be a concern. You might want long tube headers on a hot rod, to make it look right...and some folks think it actually adds a bit of power.
Here is what I am leaning towards. Drivenford on here built these and I really like them. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
The cones won't be thick wall, will they? If you're only making the bent tubes near the flange with thick wall tubing, it should be fine.
That's what I'm thinking. If the primaries are going to be ~6-8" long, dumping into ~20" cones, 0.120" wall primaries mighty actually be a better idea than thinner ones. A 4-2-1or 4-into-1 header exerts less force at each head flange connection than a 2-into-1 setup (repeated twice per head).
And if you don't spell out all the details in your first post, folks will assume all kinds of crazy things.
Very true but in all fairness I did say lake style headers. Just not the 2 into 1 cone like in my pic. Thanks all. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Also, as has been mentioned, I'd probably edit out what exact engine these are going on. The el-to-the-ess motor is not a welcome sight on this site. House rules, and the self-appointed trad-police will jump on your head. I just call them a "late-model SBC".
Thanks gimpy! I don't plan to edit it out bc the mention of it was in response to vibration concerns. The balance of the motor compared to others is much better and justified as I can see. If the moderators choose to delete it they most certainly can do so but it would only be a disservice to others wondering about header tube thickness. Thanks again all Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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