V-band or triangle flange?

[SwiftE30]

i want to have a section of my exhaust where i can install and remove sections of pipe that have a resonator, a cat, both, etc. etc. to have the ability to change my exhaust sound options.

This would entail having sections of pipe that have either a v-band clamp or triangle 3bolt flange welded at each end, and the piping that stays on car would have the necessary flanges too, allowing me to remove the section without removing my entire exhaust.

My question is, would you guys recommend using V-band clamps for the ends of the removable section, or should i use universal 3bolt triangle flanges.

[EthirtyIS]

V-band clamps are usually smaller, but more expensive. I have one on my exhaust, but I made it from stainless and used all stainless clamp and hardware. So far it's been about 5 months and no rust or issues taking it off. But this is a one-off peice, so no experience with the v-bands on the market. But I do have experience with the "triangle" flange. Usually use 3 bolts and nuts to hold em togeather, and those experiences always sucked. Any time you go in there you'll have to replace the hardware and gasket.
Good luck.

[valleymotorwerks]

My exhaust is all v-bands.. good ones are around $75 a piece. Remember that they rely on a machined surface to seal. They are more likely to leak compared to a flanged and gasketed connection. I chose V bands since money was not an issue, ease of swapping out cats to run leaded race fuel at the track was. With a flange use SS hardware and all you'll have to do is replace the gasket every so often when swapping sections but then again how often are you going to be doing that? The nature of the triangle flange dictates that you compromise something. If you want it close to the body you'll have a bolt low to the ground. Flip it 180 degrees and now the entire thing is lower. A v-band will run very close to the body and you can rotate the clamp anywhere you want without compromising fit. Look in the M3 forum for my exhaust thread you can see how it is supposed to be done.

[SwiftE30]

V-band clamps are usually smaller, but more expensive. I have one on my exhaust, but I made it from stainless and used all stainless clamp and hardware. So far it's been about 5 months and no rust or issues taking it off. But this is a one-off peice, so no experience with the v-bands on the market. But I do have experience with the "triangle" flange. Usually use 3 bolts and nuts to hold em togeather, and those experiences always sucked. Any time you go in there you'll have to replace the hardware and gasket.
Good luck.

thanks for the advice. the only thing im worried about with using v-band right now is they are aluminum and i have mild steel exhaust piping. This would be a pain to weld together, right? I dont think i'll be changing it that often, so a few extra gaskets would be alright to have on the shelf.

My exhaust is all v-bands.. good ones are around $75 a piece. Remember that they rely on a machined surface to seal. They are more likely to leak compared to a flanged and gasketed connection. I chose V bands since money was not an issue, ease of swapping out cats to run leaded race fuel at the track was. With a flange use SS hardware and all you'll have to do is replace the gasket every so often when swapping sections but then again how often are you going to be doing that? The nature of the triangle flange dictates that you compromise something. If you want it close to the body you'll have a bolt low to the ground. Flip it 180 degrees and now the entire thing is lower. A v-band will run very close to the body and you can rotate the clamp anywhere you want without compromising fit. Look in the M3 forum for my exhaust thread you can see how it is supposed to be done.

I [I]was[I] worried about the possibility of leaks with teh v-bands for exhaust especially. Money is definitely an issue at this point, so $75 a piece is a bit pricey. My car wont be that low where i seriously need to worry about scraping the exhaust but i think i can deal with a bolt hanging down a little low. i'll check out your thread for sure. Thanks for the suggestions. I think i'll be going with the triangle flanges. I dont see myself swapping the parts out that much, and i really dont want to have to deal with welding the v-bands. the steel three flange will be a lot easier, and cheaper.

thanks guys

[ISB E30]

Be sure to use hardy amounts of anti seize on the 3 bolt flange bolts. You'll save a lot of time and your knuckles that way.

Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk

[ak-]

thanks for the advice. the only thing im worried about with using v-band right now is they are aluminum and i have mild steel exhaust piping. This would be a pain to weld together, right? I dont think i'll be changing it that often, so a few extra gaskets would be alright to have on the shelf.




I [I]was[I] worried about the possibility of leaks with teh v-bands for exhaust especially. Money is definitely an issue at this point, so $75 a piece is a bit pricey. My car wont be that low where i seriously need to worry about scraping the exhaust but i think i can deal with a bolt hanging down a little low. i'll check out your thread for sure. Thanks for the suggestions. I think i'll be going with the triangle flanges. I dont see myself swapping the parts out that much, and i really dont want to have to deal with welding the v-bands. the steel three flange will be a lot easier, and cheaper.

thanks guys

Look around eBay. I would never pay $75 for a v-band. I think they are around $10 - $25 and seen them used on customer cars at a friend's shop.
Where my downpipe meets my exhaust is a v-band.

[blueapplesoda]

V-bands ftw. I use them on my all of my exhaust parts. They give you freedom to rotate parts if need be.