What are my side pipe options (replacement)

[Usudno]

I have a set of ceramic coated pipes that I purchased from a forum member. They have rusted through the finish and I’m torn as to what to do. I can have them chromed locally and save a few bucks but knowing myself like I do.... I will not be happy with the finish blueing over time and I will want them record them once they discolor too much. That was my thinking behind get ceramic coated pipes. The finish on these pipes has not held up and is not very shiny.

What kind of prices are you guys seeing on chroming your side pipes or ceramic coating them.
Anyone have any input on stainless pipes? I know they are pricey but do they hold up better?

If it’s part of owning the car, and I get discoloration and need to recoat them every two to 3 years, I can save a ton with chrome being that I can drive 45 minutes to have it done. Ceramic will require shipping two ways and that’s going to add substantially to the cost if I have to continually recoat them.

I guess what I am asking is... what would you do in my shoes? Should ceramic last longer and be shinier than what I have now? Is chrome a good option? One thing I know for sure is that I love the sound of the factory pipes. I do not want to muffle it any!

Thanks for any help

[GFX2043mtu]

For longevity stainless wins. I have a set from gas-n and they are awesome. Chrome coating is not recommended as exhaust heat will kill the coating and they will still rust if left wet. Ceramic coating is a decent option but kinda pricy. Honestly if you want a solution that is a easy quick fix get gas-n pipes. George also has mounts that come with them that fixes the cracking issue. You can powercoat the mounts as they are steel and mount where the pipes never get hot enough to hurt the coating.

[Usudno]

I was trying to avoid the 1000$ plus expenditure around the holidays. I guess I’ll save up for stainless. I do not like the sound of the gasN pipes. They are too muffled for my liking.

[BadAsp427]

For longevity stainless wins. I have a set from gas-n and they are awesome. Chrome coating is not recommended as exhaust heat will kill the coating and they will still rust if left wet. Ceramic coating is a decent option but kinda pricy. Honestly if you want a solution that is a easy quick fix get gas-n pipes. George also has mounts that come with them that fixes the cracking issue. You can powercoat the mounts as they are steel and mount where the pipes never get hot enough to hurt the coating.

2x this.... Call Georgie, He is great to work with!

[Mark Reynolds]

https://www.zoro.com/rust-oleum-spray-paint-high-heat-black-12-oz-7778830/i/G4071225/

[Usudno]

Mark.... black would not do justice to the rest of my car as it sits! Gotta have some shine to it!

[Avalanche325]

If you don't like discoloration, ceramic is the way to go.

Chrome - it will discolor and will not last.

Stainless - It will last. Unfortunately, it doesn't really blue. It nasty gold-browns.

Not to scare you away, but stainless does this pretty quickly. It does clean up with something called Compound 302. Makes them look brand new with almost no effort.
98389

[Usudno]

Anyone have a picture of the stainless before and after a clean up?

[KDubU]

Another vote for Gas-N’s, very nice pipes with a deeper sound.

[Usudno]

I spoke to Georgie today. Sounds promising. I’m not a fan of the lower rumble. I like the raspier sound of the stock pipes. Now my concern is discoloration of the stainless.

[Gumball]

I have the Gas-N' pipes, but for my car they had to be black. Not offered that way, so I had a local shop blast them with aluminum oxide to remove the polished surface, then coated with a matte black ceramic.

I like the shape of them, as they have a little longer outlet that has a better turn-down than the original FFR pipes. I preferred the sound of the FFR pipes at anything other than full-throttle, as the slightly deeper tone of these causes a harmonic that seems to bother my ears right around the sweet-spot cruise RPM of 2000 - 2200 at 45 - 50 mph in 4th gear that makes up most of my backroad cruising. A fair trade-off, though, for not killing my hearing at heavier throttle settings - for sure!

https://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab15/CCRsAC/Gas%20N%20Pipes_zpsing8yfcm.jpg (https://s845.photobucket.com/user/CCRsAC/media/Gas%20N%20Pipes_zpsing8yfcm.jpg.html)

[mefford]

I spliced in flowmaster slimline mufflers 30" in original ffr sidepipes. They have the laminar flow design and they make my sbf sound deep and alot bigger :) I got a fix it ticket here in ca for the ffr muffler sound level.

[Usudno]

Chris, the black looks great on your car. My indigo ink is begging for something shiney.

[steno]

30” Slimlines here... black matte ceramic coating... been loving them for 3 seasons now!

[JohnK]

I have the Gas-N' pipes, but for my car they had to be black. Not offered that way, so I had a local shop blast them with aluminum oxide to remove the polished surface, then coated with a matte black ceramic.


JFYI - I traded messages with Georgie the other day, as I'm also considering doing black ceramic-coated Gas-N pipes on my project and he advised that the Gas-N pipes are also available bare (unpolished).

[65 Cobra Dude]

Another option I don't see mentioned is Quiet Pipes from Boig Motorsports. They sound great and can be ceramic coated. I had my locally coated for $500.

Henry

[rich grsc]

I don't think you can have a set of pipes chromed for anywhere near the price of ceramic coating. I think the golden hue on stainless is good looking.

[BEAR-AvHistory]

Anyone have a picture of the stainless before and after a clean up?
https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=17193&pictureid=67961

About 7,000 miles in this picture. Cleaned a number of times with Wizzards Metal Renew. Wipe it on let it sit wipe it off, no muscle required. Most all stainless steel cleaners should work.

https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13899&pictureid=55142

Starting to go gold will see if I can find a better shot

https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=14742&pictureid=66137

A bit more when still very new maybe 50 miles. Lean fuel mix generated heat on dyno runs effected the color. Once its dialed in normally takes quite a while for them to require cleaning.

[Usudno]

Thanks BEAR. I think I’ll go with the gas n pipes. I did take some polish to my ceramic pipes today and it helped the rust not be as prominent. I guess it knocked the surface rust of and just showed the smaller darker area. I probably roll with these for a few months thru the winter then get the gas n pipes installed.

[BadAsp427]

Thanks BEAR. I think I’ll go with the gas n pipes. I did take some polish to my ceramic pipes today and it helped the rust not be as prominent. I guess it knocked the surface rust of and just showed the smaller darker area. I probably roll with these for a few months thru the winter then get the gas n pipes installed.

I'm pretty sure that you will really like your GAS-N pipes.... You will also find that Georgie will do everything to make the transaction go smoothly and help you any way he can. I'm all ready convinced I will be getting them as soon as I wear out the SS FF side pipes that I have.
98482

[CVOBill]

Another vote for Gas-N. I ordered Georges headers and side pipes for my Kit I'm picking up in January.

[edwardb]

Yet another vote for Gas-N's. Love the quality, sound, and longevity. Regarding the discoloration or "straw" color that SS pipes can get, depends very much on your engine, lean/rich fuel tune and exhaust temps. I've had Gas-N's on two different SBF/carb builds. Well tuned, but still did get some discoloration. The Compound 302 already mentioned brought them back to new looking, but still was part of ongoing maintenance a couple times a year to keep them that way. The Coyote setup I have on #8674 is in it's second season with nearly 4,000 miles. The discoloration is just barely visible and I haven't touched them since new.

[Usudno]

I’m running really rich right now. Going to have to get that sorted out. Runs good but the wife doesn’t like me starting it in the garage. I usually give it a little push out to keep her happy!

[Jeff Kleiner]

I’m running really rich right now. Going to have to get that sorted out. Runs good but the wife doesn’t like me starting it in the garage. I usually give it a little push out to keep her happy!

Rich is "cold" and won't affect the pipes; lean (and slow timing) are hot and will quickly discolor SS or chrome. The golden hue that Paul mentioned is an indication that fuel mixture and timing are correct.

Jeff

[Usudno]

Jeff, thanks for the clarification. That’s what I thought made since!