Originally Posted by Sidez
Maybe It is not real aluminum just like various Chrome parts for our cars such as Chrome Grill and Chrome Windscreen offered by CTD-Germany are not real chrome... But the choice I had at the muffler store was between two materials one which was refered to as aluminum and one which was refered to as steel.. the aluminum one was significantly cheaper as it welded much quick to the existing pipes, but with consequences of unreliability.. that is as far as I know.. the person doing the welding suggested I use "aluminum as it will very likely last a few years untill I sell the car" I told him I have no plans of selling the vehicle.. he than suggested I invest a couple pennies in the "steel as it will outlast the vehicle"..
I have no extensive knowledge of either of these products, but it appears you do, but this information I wrote is that of my expereince at my time in the exhaust shop so take it for what it is worth... I don't know if what was refered to as Aluminum is acctually aluminized steel, or anything else, but I do know that it was much cheaper than the product refered to as "steel"
No worries, I wasn't directing my explanation to you, just providing info. to those who may get bogus info. from the shops and others. Again, that shop was full of it, if they were talking about aluminum. Trust me, if aluminum was a viable material for exhausts, I'm sure many race teams would be using it to save weight. Aluminum is almost 50% lighter than steel. YOU CANNOT WELD STEEL TO ALUMINUM without a transition piece or specialized filler alloys (expensive).