titanium exhaust pros and cons...

[Matt Rowe]

Yes it Titanium exhaust is a thing. It's been a few years since I had to look into this but weight is lower than equivalent strength steel. Also heat transfer of Ti is lower than steel which should help keep more heat in the exhaust and therefore keep the velocity up for better flow/scavenging. Operating temperatures are slightly higher than stainless as well.

The real high end guys (F1 for example) were using high nickel alloys (such as the inconel referenced above). Or at least they were last decade when I talked to them, for all I know the new engine rules and turbos have forced a change to something even more exotic. My belief was the inconel was preferred over titanium due to durability issues but keep in mind those headers aren't much thicker than an index card.

[Knestis]

I have a titanium wedding ring, machined by an aerospace shop outside of Seattle from scrap left over from a NOAA ultra-deep submersible.

Ti tends to propagate cracks more easily that Fe alloys, so after some experimentation by F1 teams for suspension parts, it was rapidly phased out. However, its stability at high temperatures makes it pretty popular in high-heat applications like rocket or jet engine parts. We used to see pieces of thin-walled Ti tubing at Boeing's surplus store Kent, WA that looked about the right size for exhaust systems but when we went looking for advice about how to fabricate it, we got shut down. Assuming you can get the parts built, it seems like it would be awesome. It also doesn't rot like steel.

K

[pfcs]

a titanium header is a VERY good idea. If you can get one made, jump on this wonderful opportunity!!
If your exhaust system is not a suspension stop or gets whacked when you're off course, and you need to loose weight, then it's a good plan.
If you need to ballast, titanium exhaust would be a toss-up, but a very cool one!
(steel exh=low weight)

[JS154]

a titanium header is a VERY good idea. If you can get one made, jump on this wonderful opportunity!!
If your exhaust system is not a suspension stop or gets whacked when you're off course, and you need to loose weight, then it's a good plan.
If you need to ballast, titanium exhaust would be a toss-up, but a very cool one!
(steel exh=low weight)

not necessarily. high egt's can make ti headers brittle and they will fail quickly. better used for lower exhaust tubes, but the stuff is a real bitch to fabricate.

[pfcs]

I thought Ti headers were the tips!