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Where to get a mandrel-bent 2-1/2" XJ tailpipe?

H

hawk_sixsix

NAXJA Forum User
Location
L.I. New York
I'm putting together a 2-1/2" cat-and-catback system from universal components . . . I'm going to weld it all together at the shop; I'd rather get a mandrel-bent tailpipe than bend one out. I contacted some of the big-name catback suppliers, they don't want to break up their kits and sell individual pieces. I don't know anyone with a mandrel bender in my area - I'd prefer to order the pipe online. Where can I get a 2-1/2" mandrel-bent tailpipe [only!] for a '97 XJ?
 
Rusty's has one I think.

But tailpipes really aren't the problem (performance wise) on the XJ, its the piece of crap head pipe and muffler. The exhaust manifold isn't tuned very well either.
 
I'll do a header eventually, but is it worth it before then to do a quick 2-1/2" headpipe off the stock manifold while I'm doing the cat and catback? While I'm already under the thing cutting and welding pipe, why the hell not, right?
 
Putting in a better headpipe is a good idea but don't spend money or time on a headpipe if a header is in your future.

The good headers come with their own mandrel bent headpipe. Borla, Pacesetter, etc.

I did a report on my installation of my Pacesetters on here somewhere. Use the search bar "pacesetter headers" or something like that.
 
eBay. I bought a bunch of nicely bent pieces of 3" for cheap for my rotary project.
 
hawk_sixsix said:
Where can I get a 2-1/2" mandrel-bent tailpipe [only!] for a '97 XJ?
Click to expand...

Shoot an e-mail to either [email protected] or [email protected]
The guy behind those addresses is Nick Ianuzzi and he runs his own company called Kolak Performance. He's based in Scottsdale AZ and he can fix you up with a tailpipe for a very good price. He's very well known in the JU forum and his customer service is excellent. Tell him Dino referred you.
 
I picked up a dynomax tailpipe and muffler for $105 good muffler save it for later
 
Thanks for all the replies - I'll be looking into those soon.

So what's the verdict on replacing the stock headpipe with a 2-1/2" piece -- connected to the stock manifold? Noticeable power gain?
 
shouldn't be much difference if your bottleneck is the stock manifold not much else will matter. Don't waste your money. Save up for a header and knock two birds with one header. My pacesetter came with a downpipe now i'm going to try to sell my brand new OEM downpipe. Good luck.
pacesetter only cost me like 225
 
The stock exhaust manifold is not as restrictive as you might think, but the pinched front downpipe definitely is. If you don't want to spend the bucks on a header, a 2.5" mandrel-bent downpipe would be a very good mod. The problem is, the stock manifold is crack-prone so you might decide to replace it with a header anyway.
 
Dr. Dyno said:
Shoot an e-mail to either [email protected] or [email protected]
The guy behind those addresses is Nick Ianuzzi and he runs his own company called Kolak Performance. He's based in Scottsdale AZ and he can fix you up with a tailpipe for a very good price. He's very well known in the JU forum and his customer service is excellent. Tell him Dino referred you.
Click to expand...

I have Nick's tailpipe and he also sent a 2 1/2" Magnaflow cat and a 70 series Flowmaster. I don't notice anything different at low RPM but when I hit about 2200 rpm it really starts to pull. Makes passing on the freeway a lot nicer. When the exhaust is finished I'll replace the manifold with a good header and a new downpipe to try to get a little more in te lower RPMs.

BTW, Nick knows his stuff really well and is great to deal with. Shoot him an email, that's his primary contact and he's really good about getting back with you.
 
Dr. Dyno said:
The stock exhaust manifold is not as restrictive as you might think, but the pinched front downpipe definitely is. If you don't want to spend the bucks on a header, a 2.5" mandrel-bent downpipe would be a very good mod. The problem is, the stock manifold is crack-prone so you might decide to replace it with a header anyway.
Click to expand...
Sounds like it would be worth my while to replace the downpipe when I do the cat and cat-back. Just to hold me over until the warmer weather when I do the header & downpipe. It's Christmas time -- I *can't* spend the money on a header right now. I'll tear into the exhaust next week - thanks for all the info everybody.

Quick question on the stock downpipe: does it actually expand from 2-1/4" to 2-1/2", or is it just double-wall pipe before the cat [with a 2-1/4" I.D.] ?
 
not sure how mechanically inclined you are but I bought a bunch of mandrel bent pieces from Summitracing and cut and welded my own 2.5" downpipe. It made a big difference compared to the dent pipe.
 
FatXJ said:
not sure how mechanically inclined you are but I bought a bunch of mandrel bent pieces from Summitracing and cut and welded my own 2.5" downpipe. It made a big difference compared to the dent pipe.
Click to expand...
Really? -- Big difference attached to the stock manifold? If that's truly the case, I'll replace the headpipe with a custom 2.5" piece -- I'll get some mandrel bends for the 90-degree turns, and bend/weld the rest together from straight pipe.

Can anyone else vouch for a full 2-1/2" headpipe and exhaust connected to a stock manifold?
 
I had a 2.5" catback with a flowmaster 50 on it at the time so the only weak spot was the downpipe.
 
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