Designing an exhaust system
Designing an exhaust system
(OP)
As I mentioned in a previous thread, I'm in charge of designing the exhaust system for the vehicle my company is building. Are there any kits available that you can buy that make designing a custom header/exhaust system easier, or is it just a matter of going to home depot and buying a whole bunch of pvc?





RE: Designing an exhaust system
I would start with a software program such as Flowmaster (not the same company that makes after market exhaust systems) to start the design process, of course after all of your requirements have been defined.
-Reidh
RE: Designing an exhaust system
A lot depends on how you intend making the final product.
The methods are:-
A pipe bender, but these cause some crush or restriction at the bends.
Sand pack then heat and bend the pipes. Nice job but requires a very skilled craftsman and is hard to reproduce.
Various mandrel bends and straight sections cut and welded. These can be semi automated for larger scale production, but they still require good skills. They give the best end result if the cuts and fit are precise and the welds good.
Regards
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RE: Designing an exhaust system
RE: Designing an exhaust system
Cheers
Greg Locock
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RE: Designing an exhaust system
http://sbmar.com/Articles/Exhaust_Introduction.cfm
Good readin', I hope....
Tony
Tony Athens
http://www.sbmar.com
RE: Designing an exhaust system
I've also seen them made of stovepipe, paper, plywood, sticks glued together... and of course the remains of the pipe that failed or didn't fit right or didn't work right.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Designing an exhaust system
RE: Designing an exhaust system
Cheers
Greg Locock
Please see FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.
RE: Designing an exhaust system
RE: Designing an exhaust system
Use 3/8" copper tubing with one end fastened to a wood exhaust flange mockup, and a tube bender (use radius of final pipe bends and mark your bend start/end points with a Sharpie) to rough in your system. Then cut round wood (or similar) discs to the outer diameter of your pipe size. Slide the discs over the length of your bent tubing to check for interference between pipes and surrounding components.
Measure your straight sections and bends and cut your pipe to those lengths and angles. Get some hose clamps that will fit around your pipe and punch 3 or 4 holes in the clamp's band. Fit the cut piping together using the hose clamps at each joint. When you've got everything to line up and fitted, tack weld the joint seams through the holes you made in hose clamp bands. Pull off, final weld, test fit and adjust where necessary.
I can't say I've personally used this method but I've made a few sets of headers in tight spaces without it and this is the best non-CAD method I've ever come across.
RE: Designing an exhaust system
http://www.icengineworks.com/
It's kind of like Lego for headers.
It costs quite a bit for guy designing a manifold for his hot rod in his garage at home, but for a business it looks like a pretty good deal, assuming they regularly design custom exhaust manifolds. It costs about $1300 for the basic 1.75" OD V8 kit.
Bob
RE: Designing an exhaust system
As stationzebra recommended-buy cheap mild steel tubing ubends-cut and tack them together-its the best/fastest/cheapest way to throw together
Or you can always go to exhaust design/manufacturing companies for assistance such as Saridea Autosport Gruppe www.Saridea.com or Milltek Sport www.millteksport.com
RE: Designing an exhaust system
RE: Designing an exhaust system
I don't know if this can be done in other software but my colleage that used this Solidworks method figured it out on his own pretty quickly. Of course, you need an accurate model of the surrounding components though...
RE: Designing an exhaust system
ISZ