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Custom exhaust
Posted: Sun May 31, 2026 9:15 am
by Black944 turbo
I have had a Lindsey 3inch for over 20 years and have never been satisfied with the fitment. I decided recently to teach myself to tig weld with the help and encouragement of a good friend. I just finished up my custom 304 ss custom exhaust. I started with a Fabspeed front section and welded in a v band for the high flow catalytic converter and then bought tubing from
Jmd tubes (fantastic quality), welded in a borla xr1 and a pypes tip. It fits so much better than before has an interesting sound . I will say the Lindsey sounded fantastic but hopefully I will get used to the sound of the new one. It’s much deeper sounding now. Overall it was a great project and I learned a lot.
Re: Custom exhaust
Posted: Sun May 31, 2026 10:01 am
by spacecad3t
I bet that feels super satisfying! We need a video!
When I was a more competent welder and had the space, I welded some stainless exhausts systems for my cars. I day dream of having the space to TIG again. I would love to have a side hustle that is suspension components, intakes, and exhaust runners.
Re: Custom exhaust
Posted: Sun May 31, 2026 10:01 am
by Tom
Black944 turbo wrote: Sun May 31, 2026 9:15 am
I have had a Lindsey 3inch for over 20 years and have never been satisfied with the fitment. I decided recently to teach myself to tig weld with the help and encouragement of a good friend. I just finished up my custom 304 ss custom exhaust. I started with a Fabspeed from section and welded in a v band for the high flow catalytic converter and then bought tubing from
Jmd tubes (fantastic quality), welded in a borla xr1 and a pypes tip. It fits so much better than before has an interesting sound . I will say the Lindsey sounded fantastic but hopefully I will get used to the sound of the new one. It’s much deeper sounding now. Overall it was a great project and I learned a lot.
Great work! And I agree about the fitment of most off-the-shelf 3" exhaust.
I think the internet does TIG welding a disservice -- all you see is perfect titanium welding art with exotic bluing effects, etc. and warnings about how hard it is. It's indeed hard to get to that level, but for everyday parts like these, with functional welds that don't get 10k likes online, TIG welding is an invaluable skill to learn and not nearly as hard as advertised -- especially now that you can buy decent welders for peanuts! I got a Miller Diversion when they first came out, which is basically preset and fixed in beginner mode, and it's still a more capable machine than I'll ever use. And it let's me do stuff like
this.
Re: Custom exhaust
Posted: Sun May 31, 2026 11:39 am
by Black944 turbo
Tom wrote: Sun May 31, 2026 10:01 am
Black944 turbo wrote: Sun May 31, 2026 9:15 am
I have had a Lindsey 3inch for over 20 years and have never been satisfied with the fitment. I decided recently to teach myself to tig weld with the help and encouragement of a good friend. I just finished up my custom 304 ss custom exhaust. I started with a Fabspeed from section and welded in a v band for the high flow catalytic converter and then bought tubing from
Jmd tubes (fantastic quality), welded in a borla xr1 and a pypes tip. It fits so much better than before has an interesting sound . I will say the Lindsey sounded fantastic but hopefully I will get used to the sound of the new one. It’s much deeper sounding now. Overall it was a great project and I learned a lot.
Great work! And I agree about the fitment of most off-the-shelf 3" exhaust.
I think the internet does TIG welding a disservice -- all you see is perfect titanium welding art with exotic bluing effects, etc. and warnings about how hard it is. It's indeed hard to get to that level, but for everyday parts like these, with functional welds that don't get 10k likes online, TIG welding is an invaluable skill to learn and not nearly as hard as advertised -- especially now that you can buy decent welders for peanuts! I got a Miller Diversion when they first came out, which is basically preset and fixed in beginner mode, and it's still a more capable machine than I'll ever use. And it let's me do stuff like
this.
Thanks so much for the encouragement, I am still very much a beginner but the modern machines make it a ton easier. I would love to one day be able to produce the beautiful welds seen online but frankly a good strong bong with no little to no sugaring is good enough for me.
I too would love to be able to get to the point of having a side gig doing something like this but I’ll take it as a new skill-hobby.
It is also very nice knowing that I can make an exhaust that fits well and should last an awful long time.
Re: Custom exhaust
Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2026 11:06 am
by jeyjey
Well done!
I'm also a (barely passable) hobby TIGist, but I managed to convert my original struts to replaceable Bilstein cartridges:
- struts.jpg (518.18 KiB) Viewed 71 times
An auto-dimming helmet was the key for me. I never got the hang of flipping a standard helmet down without moving your hands.
Re: Custom exhaust
Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2026 1:18 pm
by Black944 turbo
The strut conversion looks great. I am a huge fan of the auto dimming helmet. As you said, so
Much better than the old fashion helmets that I used 30+ years ago.