Banks TURBO Exhaust system, how much and worth the $$ ??

[john8662]

I'm working on a few 6.2 turbo conversions (three), One ATS and two Banks configurations (one T04B and TE06H). Problem is that all the systems and parts of systems that I'm going to start putting together lack the exhaust. I would like a nice mandrel bent system. But unfortunatly none of the shops in my town, or nearby have a mandrel bender. So, one local helpfull shop would be willing to make me a system, but piece it together using pre-bent purchased tubing elbows etc.

So, I'm considering just buying one Banks turbo 6.2 exhaust system for the time being, minus the turbo stuff and modifying it for the ATS system (that will be the first system to be installed).

My main questions are (for those that might have done this) how much did it cost you to buy the Banks exhaust system components, excluding the downpipe. Crossover, muffler, rest of system. I think the Banks system is 3", I was thinking of 3.5 but I may be just dreaming. I'm trying to figure out if it's worth the time to find someone else to custom make a system.

How good is the Banks exhaust, flow, room for improvement?

Finally, if all else I was thinking of calling some exhaust shops out of state that might be able to make a generic system for the body-style truck/burb that I'm working with.

[grape]

my banks exhaust didn't come close to fitting and as you can tell i'm not afraid of fabwork, but there was absolutely no way the muffler they sent would fit under my truck no matter what you did.

[dieseldummy]

Going with pre-bent pieces makes for a really custom system perfectly tailor made to your vehicle. The only down side is pre-bent pieces are pretty expensive, but I would guess the Banks kit costs more... I made my system out of prebent pieces and regular pipe and it turned out pretty good. Another option is to get a 3.5" or 4" kit out of JC Whitney or Summit that fits your model year and then make a cutom downpipe out of prebent parts. It would be pretty cheap and all you would have to build would be the down pipe.

[arveetek]

Banks is really proud of any part they sell. I wouldn't bother trying to buy a system from them. I did like the one shop you mentioned ... I simply bought several pre-mandrel-bent elbows and fittings, and made my own 4" exhaust system. I found all the fittings, pipe, and hardware at a local shop that caters in parts for big trucks.

It's really quite easy to do. If you have access to a metal cut-off saw and a wire-feed welder, you can make the exhaust system in a couple of hours.

On my truck, the most difficult part was making the down pipe. I used a 3" pipe (the largest I could use coming off the turbo), and had to cut and weld it in a couple of places to get it pointed where I needed. After that, a pre-formed 45 degree elbow pointed the pipe down past the engine, a 3 to 4" transition pipe was next, followed by a 4" 45 degree elbow to point the exhaust back towards the rear of the truck. A section of 4" pipe came next, followed by the Kennedy 4" muffler I purchased from another DP member, and then another section of 4" pipe. Next came two 45 degree elbows to go over the axle, and then another 45 degree elbow to make the tailpipe point out past the right rear wheel. A 4" chrome tip from ebay finished the system off.

I think I have around $200 in my system.

If you can't do it yourself, I'd let the shop make one from pre-formed pieces.

Casey

[grape]

www.airflo.com (http://www.airflo.com)

[G. Gearloose]

Having been there..
I would buy a downpipe from them again, and the crossover...
Any shop can do the rest.
Last I bought their stuff was still not aluminized, so it wasn't worth the premium.
You don't need no stinking muffler, either.
A walker 'race' series straight muffler works great also.
And if I were handy with a welder I'd rethink all I said...

[mpascino]

I bought EVERYTHING except the downpipe for my burb from banks for $280 shipped. Worth the money if you want to get it done in a hurry. Not perfect in my mind but suited the purpose of getting me through inspection. It is aluminized mandrel bent 3" pipe, should last a long time. Only took about an hour to install. The hardest part was getting someone on the phone from banks that was willing to look up all the parts. I think I have a manual from them around here somewhere if need be.
Good luck

[odee]

the 3" flange on the airflow site will it work with the mating system on the 6.5 style turbo? I too am in the process of fitting a piece together setup for my 80's model dually that I'm swapping a 6.5 into. What about having the pieces coated after welding the mandrel bends into what you want?

[blazer84]

Originally posted by grape:
. . . you can tell i'm not afraid of fabwork, wow - :D that is nice work! Like to see the finished install of the red turbo'd 6.5 in the pic mvc-003s

[catmandoo]

there is a place in des moines that will custom mandrel bend any pipe you need,if you would like i could get there number.i got a mandrel downpipe from them for 68 bucks.