I'm about to have a catback done soon (at a muffler shop) and was wondering if I really should spend the extra hundred dollars or so for mandrel bending or just go with crush (or pressure) bending? I mean, does mandrel bending really count for THAT much back there between the cat and muffler? What should I do??

 

Make sure you're actually getting mandrel bent pipes. Very, very few muffler shops have the machine to do it. And a lot of the ones that claim they mandrel bend it actually don't.

 

That depends how serious you are about the performance aspect of it. I'd like to hear from some more people too....

 

i had mandrel bending done to my car. the main thing is, if your goin for non mandrel i duno why you should even get it at all for i hear the stock exhaust rilly isnt that restrictive at all(excluding the y pipe) and features the crush bends you talk about. Now lemme clear something up, my mandrel bending is the in between one, its not crimped around the bends, it actually loses a little diameter through the bends, but its upgraded to 2.5 inch and is better then crimped bends. so like i said, its not true mandrel bending, and if you want to know what true mandrel bending is, look at someones cold air intake from place racing and notice how its same diameter through out, that is the actual type of mandrel. so basically, if your gonna put on a new exhaust with crimped bends, stay stock and put on a muffler. crimped better then pvc piping with holes in it, my mandrel better then crimped, real mandrel better then mine, thats how it goes

 

hmm, what did they call the bending they did for you, mandrel? thats weird...how much did it cost you??


also, would it make more sense to buy the courtesy b-pipe and a custom muffler, or a complete catback?