Costs for intercooler, down, and exhaust piping

[Hoffbrohaus]

I went to a guy in Phoenix that was recommended to me for custom fab work. This is what he quoted me, which seems rediculous

"Down pipe with recirc will be roughly $800-1000

2.5” intercooler piping with couplers and clamps and needed bungs will be roughly $800-1000

Exhaust will be roughly $1200-1500"

So $3500 just for piping? No way, I can't afford that. Thinking I'll just have to order aluminum pipes for the intercooler and join them with silicone couplers. Any advice on a downpipe with recirc? I'll look around for more quotes.

[E30SPDFRK]

I think those are totally fair prices for a shop that does good work. $1500 for an exhaust including materials seems too cheap even.

[e30m3s54turbo]

I learned how to do my own exhaust and piping. I had to buy a welder and tools make everything to fit. Or you going to spend a lot of money to have shop make things for your e30.

[Hoffbrohaus]

So I was thinking, can't I just run this downpipe? https://mint-performance.com/collect...turbo-downpipe
$450 instead of $800. I'll just have to run a dump tube or pay someone to weld in a 1.75" recirc pipe.

[e30m3s54turbo]

Yes.
450+ labor and parts.
I would say $125-200 bucks.

[varg]

Yeah it's ridiculous but only because the dollar is worth so little now. Fab work is $100/hr+, material for a stainless downpipe with wastegate tube will probably be $200, it's several bends, two flex joints, 4 flanges, an O2 sensor bung. This is why when I did my first turbo build (my old Volvo 240 13+ years ago) I bought a harbor freight fluxcore welder and some aluminized mandrel bends and pipe from summit or columbia river mandrel bends. I did this after paying a local exhaust shop over $100 to weld a crappy shallow S-bend in between a junkyard downpipe and an exhaust I scavenged off of a 240 turbo. When I upgraded the turbo and intercooler I built an entire aluminized turbo back 3" exhaust system for like $400 including the welder back then. Today that would probably be more like $600.

Stainless is a lot harder to work with and the welding equipment to do it is $1,000 minimum (2022 prices, when I bought my TIG welder, tank, consumables) plus lots of practice. Intercooler piping can usually be pieced together from silicone pieces, junkyard tubes, bends and stuff off of ebay, with zero welding involved. I did that with my E30 build. The pipe that goes from the throttle body silicone elbow to the bends under the frame up front is actually an unmodified Volvo 740 turbo charge pipe. You will not walk away from a shop with a complete exhaust system for under $1,000 these days, even in aluminized with crush bends.

[Hoffbrohaus]

a junkyard downpipe and an exhaust I scavenged off of a 240 turbo.

junkyard tubes, ...an unmodified Volvo 740 turbo charge pipe.

Now you are talking, I mean I save money and it's more fun. Based on your post it looks like if I can find a pull-a-part nearby with lot's of volvos I should find something. Maybe even some saabs :)