[MustangJon255]

So I'm pretty sure I'm gonna buy the gibson mufflers for my car...but they come "Aluminized" and "Stainless". Obviously I know what stainless is, but WTF is "Aluminized"???

(aluminized is cheaper by almost $100!)

[HMUSN]

1. Aluminum alloys are about half the weight of steel, however they are only about one third as stiff. This mean that a thin walled aluminum tube won't be very strong. One may end up lighter with a thinner-wall stainless than an aluminum tube with enough thickness to be strong enough. Alternatively one may be stuck using additional hangers, supports, or brakets to keep the weakened aluminum tube in place and in one piece.

2. All the properties of aluminum alloys (corrosion resistance, fatigue, stiffness) all get worse with temperature. As I'm sure most of us have witnessed, an aluminum can will burn in a campfire. I think most of our exahust gases can get as hot as a campfire.

Summary: Do I think that if someone built an aluminum exhaust it would work (for a while), yes. Do I think one would save weight? Maybe, but not nearly as much as the densities of steel and aluminum suggest. Do I think the exhaust would last very long? Heck no!

Just another two cents.

[06RedfireGT]

Go with either Bassani, Borla, or Magnapacks. IMO they are the best sounding exhausts for the S197s.

[MaverickMLFD371]

if your going to get an exhaust, always go stainless, they will last the life of the car! by 40,000 miles, you'll have holes, rust holes and rust spots all over your exhaust with aluminized.