Stainless or Aluminized?

[JH96GT]

I'm gonna go w/ the Dynomax SuperTurbo Cat-back kit. I just can't decide if I want stainless or aluminzed exhaust tips. The largest factor is pricing. I can get the aluminized kit for roughly $125 w/ rebate, where the stainless is kit is gonna gost me about $275-$300 w/ rebate.

The car is a garage queen, and I don't want to drop a lot of $$$ - but I don't want it to look like total azz either. Can the aluminized be polished out and protected? I know the stainless will look better....but is it really worth it over the aluminzed?

Thanks gang.

 

[RatStang]

View attachment 221342


Go with the stainless. Wipe em off with wet rag and 5 minutes with a can of Mothers and they always look like new.

 

[NIKwoaC]

When I was young and dumb and full of... -well, not money- I went for the aluminized tails to save a few bucks. It is a decision I completely regret, because now they look like ass. Even new, they don't look as good as stainless. I'm happy with the functionality of my exhaust, so I don't feel the need to replace it right now, but in the future I'm sure I'll be scrapping it in favor of the stainless.

 

[1987LXragtop]

Stainless. Yeah the dollar factors in but what will you like in 6 months faded aluminized or shiny stainless?

 

[skunk21]

I vote stainless for the obvious reasons.

 

[MustangLX-5.0]

Stainless FTW.

On a budget when one of my U pipes over the axle got a rust hole in it (factory crap) , instead of replacing just that section, I ended up replacing the whole pipe from the muffler back with alumnized pipe. That was 4 years ago. Now it looks like ****! You can't polish it. If you try, it will fade very fast and start rusting right away. Needless to say, those spots are now big rust spots and the rest of the pipe is starting to rust. Yes, stainless can rust, but hardly. If you clean up stainless once, it will stay that way for a long time. Even the low grade stainless. Pay the extra $$$ and you'll be glad you did years later.

Alumnized is only good for mid-pipes because it gets hot enough to keep most of the corrosion off. It is also good if you have that rear main oil leak that is so common with the 5.0. Getting burnt oil all over a stainless pipe aint pretty

 

[NIKwoaC]

Stainless FTW.

On a budget when one of my U pipes over the axle got a rust hole in it (factory crap) , instead of replacing just that section, I ended up replacing the whole pipe from the muffler back with alumnized pipe. That was 4 years ago. Now it looks like ****! You can't polish it. If you try, it will fade very fast and start rusting right away. Needless to say, those spots are now big rust spots and the rest of the pipe is starting to rust. Yes, stainless can rust, but hardly. If you clean up stainless once, it will stay that way for a long time. Even the low grade stainless. Pay the extra $$$ and you'll be glad you did years later.

Alumnized is only good for mid-pipes because it gets hot enough to keep most of the corrosion off. It is also good if you have that rear main oil leak that is so common with the 5.0. Getting burnt oil all over a stainless pipe aint pretty

Heat accelerates corrosion.

 

[ill advised]

Stainless all the way. The tailpipes on my '90 are from the same Dynomax cat-back I originally bought 15 years ago. They still clean up great.