How-Too - Aerospike Mod

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Here are the instructions for Aerospike mod to go with super porting the J-Pipe. Do it at you own risk and use all appropriate safety precautions !!

When used on conjunction with the J-Pipes Super Port (http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?257-How-To-Super-Port-J-Pipes) mod they were good for 23 hp during our exhaust shoot out.

I started out by tack welding a piece of 1/16" welding rod to the center of the exhaust flange. You then want to bend the rod so that it goes straight up the center of the J-pipe. Make sure you double-check the orientation of the J-pipe to the sidepipe on the car as it isn't intuitive (for me anyway :rolleyes: ). Some eyeballing is required since you can't see the rod inside the J-pipe when it's mounted. This gives you the right angle and gives you something to tape the patterns for the sides to when mocking it up. The rod is removed after the first side is tacked in place during final assembly. I then used some central vac tubing to make up patterns for the 4 sides of the spike. This tubing is nice since it is about the same wall thickness as the metal and is easy to cut with some aviation snips. Here are some pics of the mock up:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/dvdt/Exhaust/MySpike4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/dvdt/Exhaust/MySpike3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/dvdt/Exhaust/MySpike2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/dvdt/Exhaust/MySpike1.jpg

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Since mine were going to be removable for the Exhaust Shootout (http://www.ffcars.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php/ubb/get_topic/f/1/t/087240.html#000007) I welded them to a base plate with a bolt for attachment but you would weld it straight onto the pipe. These were made with 18-gauge tubing but I would suggest 16 gauges. Once you have the patterns you can use the same paper pattern technique as I used for the How-To Super Port J-Pipes (http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?257-How-To-Super-Port-J-Pipes) to transfer the patterns to the metal pieces.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/dvdt/Exhaust/MySpike6.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/dvdt/Exhaust/MySpike7.jpg

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Here it is on the pipe before cleaning up the welds. I used a TIG to weld these up and it was much easier/cleaner than I could have done with the MIG. Using 16-gauge metal will probably reduce the chances of blowing through the metal with a MIG:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/dvdt/Exhaust/MySpike8.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/dvdt/Exhaust/MySpike9.jpg

And here are some pics after cleaning up the welds.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/dvdt/Exhaust/MySpike11.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/dvdt/Exhaust/MySpike12.jpg

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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/dvdt/Exhaust/MySpike13.jpg

Here is a pic after the dyno runs. You can see the tack welds at the corners for the temporary installation. For a permanent installation they should be completely welded up at the seams and smoothed out.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/dvdt/Exhaust/Shootout5.jpg

Cheers, Rod