Any Interests in Titanium Exhaust?

[tahoeacr]

Ti isn't as expensive as some people think. I bought a cat back Ti exhaust for my Evo for $800. This was a almost straight shot. 4"x36" grade 2 Ti tubing can be had for $50+-. It's the bends that cost and are hard to make. We wouldn't need the best grade as there is no real sheer strength needed.

Not the cheap stuff but here is a supplier.

https://www.ticonindustries.com/products/3-titanium-straight-tube-1mm-039-wall-48-length

 

[TheCzar]

a Ti bumper on the other hand...now that would pique my interests

 

[TXRaptor]

Again, the argument of "it doesn't need weight savings because it is heavy" argument is super asinine to me....

How about if I say it this way, the ratio of weight savings vs the amount of money spent on Ti is not worth it on a non-sports car. If I wanted a super-light track vehicle, I would not have started with a Raptor in the first place.

He has since backed off on his $5K number, but it is still more than a SS system and almost 10x more than muffler replacement I added to mine.

 

[Alford78]

How about if I say it this way, the ratio of weight savings vs the amount of money spent on Ti is not worth it on a non-sports car. If I wanted a super-light track vehicle, I would not have started with a Raptor in the first place.

He has since backed off on his $5K number, but it is still more than a SS system and almost 10x more than muffler replacement I added to mine.

I have never stated a number. Wow. That’s why I have just about said screw it and if anyone wants one after the fact I will at least advertise for the shop where to go.

I said it will not be $5000 that it will definitely be under that. Will it be under $4000 I do not know yet. Will it be under $3000 I do not know yet. Will it be under $2500 I doubt it honestly lol.

I am adding weight to my truck through various upgrades and am “choosing” to try and keep my weight lower than OEM if possible. I don’t know how experienced any of you truly are with physics and racing but each 100-200lbs can definitely make a big difference how the vehicle performs. I’ve done many pulls in my GTR with and without various people in the car and with and without a Ti exhaust. Could I tell a difference sure.

Am I gonna be able to tell a difference when my truck is 300, 400, 500 pounds heavier than when it’s not. Heck yes I will be able to tell. I’m spending the money on carbon sides and fenders, lighter wheels, will dang sure take into account the tire weight when choose them, will try for Ti parts to replace other heavy stuff. The stuff isn’t that expensive. The R&D for making it sound good is the most expensive aspect. That alone will cost more than labor or materials so skids, bumpers, or anything else shouldn’t be an issue since jigs are already made for those products. Bending Ti and welding Ti is the only expensive parts really and can order it pre bent to spec if absolutely need to or can order the degree of bend needed and weld it.

Some just hear the word Ti and immediately think about exotic car prices for some reason. It basically just boils down to experience and if know or have a welder that can do the work without waste of materials and in a timely fashion. Sure he will get paid more than a standard welder but so what. If you all want to keep blowing this up out of proportion be my guest. I’ll return later when have good numbers and sound clip. I just thought this crowd that is willing to spend thousands on unneeded mods would possibly be interested in a system that will save some weight on these fat pig of trucks that we add even more weight to all the time. And for those that make the argument it isn’t necessary because it’s already heavy should really say that while looking in the mirror. That’s about as asinine as an obese person not worrying about gaining even more weight or like loosing “some” weight isn’t important.

 

[NORCAL SS]

Can they make a gold exhaust system? Or, at least gold plated? It may sell better and be more desirable than *** anium. Especially in UAE.

 

[TXRaptor]

I am adding weight to my truck through various upgrades and am “choosing” to try and keep my weight lower than OEM if possible. I don’t know how experienced any of you truly are with physics and racing but each 100-200lbs can definitely make a big difference how the vehicle performs. I’ve done many pulls in my GTR with and without various people in the car and with and without a Ti exhaust. Could I tell a difference sure.

Thank you for your detailed reply as it makes it clear you are passionate about saving weight. I was never disputing the lower weight of a Ti system, but rather the value to the average Raptor owner. When I spent months researching the mods for mine, the weight of my exhaust was never at the top of my list.

The MAIN thing most people care about with an aftermarket Gen 2 exhaust is the sound. If a Ti system could make our trucks sound like a V8, they would sell like hot cakes even at twice the cost of a SS system! The second thing people consider, with a much lower priority, is the performance. Since our trucks are restricted by the size of the turbos, a free-flowing exhaust adds little if any HP gains. If a Ti system added 40-50 HP, they would sell like hot cakes! (see the pattern)

The last thing I remotely considered was the weight. All other things being equal, if the TI system reduced the weight of our exhaust by some measurable amount and cost the same or very close to the same, people would buy them. (not like hot cakes, but they would get some sales based on the weight savings value alone) At $1K or $2K more, I think you will be hard-pressed to find many who saw enough value to make the purchase.

As you mentioned, the value proposition changes dramatically when you are talking about your experiences with the weight savings of a high-performance GTR. The cost can easily be justified to shave a few 10ths of a second off the track times of a fast, light car. If you have the money and can justify the cost for your Raptor, I say go for it!

I paid cash for my truck and all of my mods, so money was not an issue when I was making my decisions. In the end, I purchased a FlowMaster Flow FX replacement muffler for my truck for less than $500. It sounds much better than stock and is considerably lighter than the monster muffler Ford uses on our trucks. It ticked 2 out of the 3 boxes (none of them tick the performance box) so the value was there for me.

 

[Alford78]

Thank you for your detailed reply as it makes it clear you are passionate about saving weight. I was never disputing the lower weight of a Ti system, but rather the value to the average Raptor owner. When I spent months researching the mods for mine, the weight of my exhaust was never at the top of my list.

The MAIN thing most people care about with an aftermarket Gen 2 exhaust is the sound. If a Ti system could make our trucks sound like a V8, they would sell like hot cakes even at twice the cost of a SS system! The second thing people consider, with a much lower priority, is the performance. Since our trucks are restricted by the size of the turbos, a free-flowing exhaust adds little if any HP gains. If a Ti system added 40-50 HP, they would sell like hot cakes! (see the pattern)

The last thing I remotely considered was the weight. All other things being equal, if the TI system reduced the weight of our exhaust by some measurable amount and cost the same or very close to the same, people would buy them. (not like hot cakes, but they would get some sales based on the weight savings value alone) At $1K or $2K more, I think you will be hard-pressed to find many who saw enough value to make the purchase.

As you mentioned, the value proposition changes dramatically when you are talking about your experiences with the weight savings of a high-performance GTR. The cost can easily be justified to shave a few 10ths of a second off the track times of a fast, light car. If you have the money and can justify the cost for your Raptor, I say go for it!

I paid cash for my truck and all of my mods, so money was not an issue when I was making my decisions. In the end, I purchased a FlowMaster Flow FX replacement muffler for my truck for less than $500. It sounds much better than stock and is considerably lighter than the monster muffler Ford uses on our trucks. It ticked 2 out of the 3 boxes (none of them tick the performance box) so the value was there for me.

Not only passionate about saving weight but about performance hence my statement about large stock location turbos will also benefit......


Edit. Oh and the GTR is a ******** pig as well.....

 

[NORCAL SS]

Can they do *** anium turbos for efficiency?

 

[Badgertits]

Not uncommon to have TI exhaust on very high performance applications- Z06 Vettes sport a TI axleback from the factory. Street bike aftermarket exhaust options typically include TI. The weight savings is significant. For a comparison a stainless axle back on vette weighs around 45 lbs, the TI system is 26 lbs.

Akropovic is well known for their TI exhaust systems, the ones they make for corvette applications run around $4k, you better believe a TI system for a full size true dual exhaust setup like the Raptor would be a decent amount more given the extra material. Upside is fewer bends - TI doesn’t like to be bent, there are a few common alloys that work in exhaust applications but all have compromises- CP type “commercially pure” TI Alloy nearly 100% TI is easier to bend/form than some other versions, but is less resilient to extreme temps- Akro uses this type (grade commercial grade 2) on motorcycle header applications & I’m sure it’d be fine for catbacks but not great for headers or downpipes on a truck/car since they don’t get nearly as much cooling from the open air like in a street bike- there could be heat issues.

6-4 TI alloys (6% AL & 4%V) is a tougher TI Alloy more resident to extreme temps BUT is tougher to form/bend- the Alloy additions move the yield strength (when metal starts to bend) closer to its tensile strength (where metal will break) limit. So again- need to work Within TI’s mechanical limits to harness its strength/weight savings merits in auto applications. Because it needs vacuum welding & is difficult to work with also adds to the cost aside from the base material cost.

Best weight savings recipe for Raptor exhaust would probably be LT stainless headers/downpipes mated to TI exhaust straight back to the tips. I bet the whole setup would weigh 60% less than factory.

 

[Damien Macaluso]

I really like the innovation here, but it's really just aesthetic on a 5,500 lb truck. I'm about to spend $5K for a titanium exhaust on my 720 but I would not spend this on a $75K truck to save weight. I am however getting the Velocity AP valvetronic exhaust which is about $3k. I like the option to go loud or quiet with the push of a button, but this is just what I'm looking for. I'd really like to see a video of your exhaust once it's built and installed. Custom titanium exhausts are like functional art! No doubt you'll have the best looking exhaust on any Raptor.