Exhast - stainless, or mild?

[justin.schoeman]

I need to have an exhaust, and inlet manifold made up for my AeroVee. Just need to decide on stainless, or mild steel.

Stainless looks good, lasts forever, and costs double the price.

Mild develops surface rust quickly, but seems to last OK on the highveld.

The exhaust place recommended NOT to use stainless for the exhaust, as it may crack near the cylinders where the temps are very high (the exhaust bolts straight onto the head - no cast iron manifold first, like in most cars).

The exhausts Aero Conversions produce are all stainless, so they are probably happy with it...

Any advice, please?

[Morph]

My 912 exhaust is all stainless. The headers get to 800 deg C without any problems with cracking or anything else

[Biggles]

Mild steel with a nice aluminium/ chrome plating. Some nice finishes available now. Including ceramic someone mentioned the other day.

[Mc Guyver]

My 912 exhaust is all stainless. The headers get to 800 deg C without any problems with cracking or anything else

Airborne had major problems with stainless exhausts.
They had to replace mine after 40 hours with a mild steel ceramic coated and will not use stainless any more.
We have a guy who wipes his (the aircrafts )exhaust with a grease covered rag whilst hot and this does an excellent job of blackening the exhaust after about half a dozen applications and prevents corrosion.

[justin.schoeman]

Thanks guys. Somehow it always turns out like this - every option has its advantages. I think I will do some plated mild steel. Lighter, cheaper, and should last almost as long as stainless.

On a side note, it seems Mr de Graaf is away at the moment, and none of his staff want to commit to the job until he is back. Does anybody know of another place in Pretoria that can do a good job?