Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Duratec Performance who has aluminized pipes?

just wondering who has aluminized piping on their car(s). how long have you had 'em, and how are they holding up. my magnaflow mufflers are aluminized, and they're holding up fine...but they've been in NM and CO (in otherwords, DRY!) conditions.
thanks for the input

Um, don't we all have aluminized exhaust hardware by default right from the factory? I thought we did. Anyway, the only thing any exhaust system hates, except stainless steel ones, is short drives where they don't warm up enough to blow all the acidic moisture out of them, causing them to rot out from the inside.

Karl

Our factory exhaust system is stainless steel.

Aluminized steel exhaust ststems were common a few years ago. They do not hold up nearly as well as stainless. The main problem is not from road salt, but from acids from the exhaust combined with water from the exhaust, causing them to rust from the inside out. It can be ugly when it happens.

Oh, I thought only the tips were SS. Then again, just as soon as I posted that reply, I had second thoughts.

Karl

All Contour's have stainless steel exhausts, but they are 409 stainless. Yes, that is rust on your stainless exhaust. 409 just happens to get a little layer of cosmetic rust on it over time.

304 stainless is the expensive, potentially shiny stuff that everyone thinks of as generic stainless. For cost reasons, it is used very rarely on domestic OE exhausts.

aluminized stainless will hold up for a long time. My last system was custom done at a shop in georgia ( i live in michigan) and it lasted 3 winters of salt until I had it replaced with a larger diameter system 2"-->2.25". It was in perfect shape when taken off the car.

I expect 5 to 7 years from my system, with a little care and some paint. I touch up the black paint on the pipes every summer. The inside out will happen in the mufflers, most likely it won't happen on the pipes. Surface rust is your main enemey here.

Just more maintenace than a 409SS system.

When I had my 2.25 inch system done, I found out that the custom shop (R&D Exhaust in Billerica, MA) I was at used hot-rolled alluminized pipe. I am a mechanical engineer, so naturally I checked it out. Hot-rolled aluminized pipe last up to 5 years on MA State plow trucks and school buses....5 years of salty roads in rain, ice and snow.

Conventional Midas cold-rolled aluminized pipe will show rust on the weld seam w/in one winter.

That is why some custom shop jobs can last so long. It is a good idea that check with the shop first.

Two MN/ND winters and no rust anywhere. It will last the length of time I own the car for sure.

i'm just interested in hearing how long people have had the Al pipes and how they're holding up. kind of a "poll" if you will.
thanks for the info, keep it coming