Need Exhaust Bracket Photo

Does anyone have a picture of a cracked exhaust bracket handy? I know I've seen one in a previous thread and I've searched, but there are soooo many. (Plus I'm lazy.)

Thanks.

 

Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Here you go. From my F430 driver side. Replaced with Fabspeed

 

Hi Phil,

Here's mine.
No longer an issue as I installed Kline Innovation exhaust. Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Dan, your break is just like mine. Are these brackets all failing around the same area?

 

Based on other cars I've seen and posts Ive read here the answer is yes.


Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

These brackets hold the exhaust system rigid and unable to expand with heat causing them and the headers to fail. These brackets don't exist on the 360 which has a far bigger/heavier muffler. I removed my broken brackets and binned them. The car does not need them. The top "bowspring" mount allows expansion and contraction. The lower brackets do not.

 

We have a great solution to replacing the factory brackets that are failure prone due to the factory using so many welds. We waterjet our replacement brackets on our FLOW 5 axis waterjet, then bend them in one piece on our Bystronic 150 ton CNC Press Brake; there are no welds on our bracket replacement that could fail.

Here's the product page if you have any questions/
http://www.fabspeed.com/ferrari-f430-exhaust-muffler-replacement-support-bracket-kit/
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

The Fabspeed brackets were also an easy DIY job. I didn't even need to jack up the car. Just remove the diffuser and it's all pretty easy to access and change.

 

$600?????? for some bent metal cut to shape??...........no thanks.

 

For another $2k you can get a OEM sport exhaust and the exhaust expansion problem is resolved.

 

I don't think the Challenge Stradale exhaust uses them. I know it doesn't use the bow bracket.

 

The OEM brackets break because the system needs to move, due to expansion. Using more sturdy/rigid brackets would seem to only move the stresses to something else in the exhaust system, be it the muffler or exhaust manifolds...no?

 

Changing the subject a little; has anyone ever tried an expansion joint in the exhaust to allow for thermal expansion?


Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Joints similar to this are used in jet aircraft engine bleed air systems for wing anti-icing.

 

I'm not sure what industry you are in, or what you do for a living, but I assure you there is a LOT more than "cuttin' some metal and bendin' her 'til she fits". Even a bracket as simple and cheap looking as this one may be, a lot of work is done by many extremely talented and qualified people. Your original comparison is tantamount to saying "a dentist charging $100 for a simple tooth cleaning?? HIGHWAY ROBBERY! $1000-$1500 for a crown that takes just an hour!?!?! THIEVERY". All the while ignoring the fact that the dentist, like us, have hundreds upon hundreds of thousands (or millions) of dollars in equipment and qualified employees to run said equipment; all of the aforementioned are FAR from inexpensive.

Since sharing is caring, and to help make everyone a little more informed on this subject, here is a quick rundown on how a "super simple" product like these bracket sets are made. It starts in the front office; the sales, marketing, and R&D teams sit down with ownership and come up with a list of products they want to discuss offering. Once we narrow down the options and opinions, and eliminate the ideas that don't make sense, we are left with a list of products to manufacture that as a collective, we think the market will want or need. The sales team gets to their phones calling our network of friends and clients to find the test cars that the new products are going to be made for.

Once the vehicles are sourced, they're either driven or trailered to our 34,000 sq/ft HQ outside Philadelphia Pennsylvania (from literally all over the country). Once the car arrives and the check in procedure is complete (and depending on the part(s) we are developing), we strap the car down on our DynoJet 424xLC2 ( to get baseline HP and TQ readings). For something like the brackets being discussed here, this step is of course not necessary; to keep things simple, I will focus on the bracket design & manufacturing process rather than that of an exhaust system.

For a product like the muffler support brackets... Once the R&D vehicle is in house, one of our engineers (all whom have various certifications, qualifications, and degrees) digitally recreate the product (in many instances using our ROMER CMM 7 Axis digitizing arm [a $35,000 tool] or our Romer Absolutearm [$40,000] to get a fully manipulable, 3d digital model, using either probe measuring or laser scanning; capturing up to 752,000 points per second). From there, either a rapid prototype is printed on our 3d printer (for something like a merge collector, flange, tip, etc.) but in the case of these brackets, the go right from being digitized, to the waterjet,

The domestically sourced raw 304 stainless stock metal that is trucked in weekly and inspected for imperfections is taken to our FLOW 5 axis 6'x12' waterjet (a $350,000 machine) where our certified operator takes the converted DXF or ORD file and starts cutting. This professional is dedicated to keeping the machine running smoothly 12-18 hours a day. In addition to the massive cost of purchasing and maintain this machine, it is constantly being fed garnet (the cutting abrasive), and costs in the $40-50/ hours to just run (without taking into account the human operator). From the waterjet, the flat piece of stainless goes to our Bystronic 150ton 8-axis CNC Press Brake (another incredible machine that was in the $340,000 range), that also has its own dedicated, certified operator. This fine piece of equipment (and its operator) give you the finished piece of "Bent metal", without using a single weld.

The final stage is to laser engrave the company logo as well as any pertinent info onto the product using our CNC Laser engraver. Then off to final quality inspection and packaging. Had this been a thread about a merge collector, or flange, you'd have learned all about our CNC Vertical Machining Center (HAAS VF2) and our CNC Turning Center (HAAS ST-20), both 6 figure machines, plus the machinists to run them. Lastly, the heart of the company; Our Unison Breeze CNC Mandrel Bender. This is the same defense grade bender that Lockheed Martin, Boeing, etc. use. The rough cost was $500,000 plus an additional $150,000 in tooling. All of this isn't to sound obnoxious talking about how much our equipment costs, rather it's to demonstrate that we take what we do very seriously, put our money where our mouth is, and in order to offer pieces like this without outsourcing a singe step, make big investments, but also price our product accordingly.

Please let me know if you have any questions, and here is a bit more info: http://www.fabspeed.com/who-we-are/ I have been with Joe since we were in a little residential neighborhood, and watching the company grow and expand is truly incredible.


- David Rossi

 

Give me and all of us a break. R&D??? lol.
You copied the OEM brackets.....cut and bent some mild steel. The clamp part of the fitment is probably sourced out..pretty sure not made in house.
I also found the dentist comparison funny as well.

Look, it's your business and you can charge what you like but I know that the profit margin is high with this one.

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Funny how Ferrari would never admit anything was wrong with the 430's exhaust.
Yet the very next model, the 458, has these right by the headers.