SXTH Charge Pipe Failure on the Trail

[Bronze.trd24]

I was out wheeling when I heard a loud pop. The check engine light came on, and the truck instantly lost about half its power. I pulled over, popped the hood, and found that the SXTH charge pipe had blown completely off the turbo.

Luckily, I had a tool roll with me. I got the charge pipe back onto the turbo, but the hose clamp had stripped and wouldn't tighten enough to hold boost.

I limped the truck down the mountain until I found a gas station that had a replacement clamp.

Having something like this happen miles from the nearest town was enough for me. Whether it was the clamp, the design, or a combination of both, I've lost confidence in the setup. I don't want to risk dealing with this again on the trail, so I'll be switching to a different setup.

If you're running an aftermarket charge pipe, what setup do you have? Have you had any issues?

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[OminousSkitter]

I read this Banks response to SXTH ad just a couple days ago. I have no experience with @Banks Power , but reading that and your story leads me to their products.

 

[Will721]

Coming a bit from the diesel world, I can say that banks reply is not wrong on a few points for sure. I also feel I should note, I'm not affiliated nor have I bought any of their products.

But the main point that applies here is the lack of flex it looks like the sxth would allow. Which would also explain why yours failed off road. Under load at max boost, its an expansion force. On the highway you won't experience much flex as you are accelerating smoothly on even ground, so only that expansive force would apply there. If you installed the tubes properly that might explain why they did not pop off on the street.

When offroad, the load on the engine is much more varied. Shock loads are much harsher and more common. If you had the hood off you would see the engine rocking and pivoting back and forth as you come over a rock or while the wheels hop as it fights for traction. Its actually quite violent. It very well could be there isn't enough flex in the those tiny joints to move with the engine and it literally pulled itself apart.

I can't say if the banks would make more or less power with their design, but just at a glance it does look much more durable in that instance. Oem diesel couplers are much larger and closer to the banks design. The majority of aftermarket ones are too.


A side note, this is why you should always have tools and some spare parts when venturing off the beaten path. Especially when you're by yourself. He'll I even bring a basic crash bag just going out of town. Any speed shop worth its salt should have good boost rated clamps, regular hose clamps should be treated as temporary emergency use only and replaced just like a 50mi spare.

 

[aquaman67]

As this is my first turbo engine why are we changing these pipes in the first place? What wrong with the OEM pipes? I’m all for upgrading if there is something better. I have Eibach ProTruck Sport shocks on my ‘26 SR5 for example

 

[FinallyErik]

This is why if you are going to stray from OEM for whatever reason, you should be buying from an experienced manufacturer ie banks or Berger. I would be asking for my money back at a minimum from SXTH.

 

[Will721]

As this is my first turbo engine why are we changing these pipes in the first place? What wrong with the OEM pipes? I’m all for upgrading if there is something better. I have Eibach ProTruck Sport shocks on my ‘26 SR5 for example

Depends on the manufacturer. Bigger diameters for more flow, stronger materials to hold more boost.

The name of the game is more oxygen. The more you can get in the motor, the more fuel you can spray and the more power you make. All an engine is, is an air pump at the end of the day. Also, the cooler the air the more dense it is and therefore more oxygen. So, proper cold air intakes make the air cooler. Larger intercoolers do the same. Larger turbos pump more air. Different tuning and things like blow off valve adjustments increase the pressure of the air forced in. Boost tubes are just plumbing for that air, the less restrictive and stronger the better. The exhaust off course at some point needs to be less restrictive to get the spent air out of course, which is why performance exhausts, and high flow cats are a thing. Its all just to move more air and therefore more oxygen to make:

Oem is going to make a good working reliable part that is cost effective. Aftermarket sets their price so they can make a better part.

 

[ridetime]

Why risk reliability and possibly even warranty denial chasing 15-20 ft lbs of torque that you probably can't even feel? I guess the urge to (fuk with the knobs) is too strong for some to resist.

 

[Sagebrush]

Why risk reliability and possibly even warranty denial chasing 15-20 ft lbs of torque that you probably can't even feel?

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Slappy]

Why risk reliability and possibly even warranty denial chasing 15-20 ft lbs of torque that you probably can't even feel? I guess the urge to (fuk with the knobs) is too strong for some to resist.

tinkeritis is related to Darwin Syndrome ya know 🫤

 

[Bronze.trd24]

View attachment 51691

I read this Banks response to SXTH ad just a couple days ago. I have no experience with @Banks Power , but reading that and your story leads me to their products.

I was unaware thanks for sharing this!
I was looking at swapping to banks really disappointed with my current setup.

 

[Viper_00]

I’ve been using the AFE Power charge pipes now for +/- 9k miles. No issues. Knock on wood

 

[JayTech]

I read this Banks response to SXTH ad just a couple days ago. I have no experience with @Banks Power , but reading that and your story leads me to their products.

I have nothing negative to say about Banks and the parts they engineer but, there really isn't anything wrong with Sxth parts either. What Sxth needs to do is just update their clamps to a superior style clamp that doesn't risk loosening/backing off or stripping. Worm gear clamps are garbage and should never be used in anything under pressure. I can back that claim with all my years in the trade, repairing cars and building a weekend track toy that was pushing 400hp. T bolt clamps are far superior in strength and typically do not back off/loosen.

 

[Banks Power]

I read this Banks response to SXTH ad just a couple days ago. I have no experience with @Banks Power , but reading that and your story leads me to their products.

I have nothing negative to say about Banks and the parts they engineer but, there really isn't anything wrong with Sxth parts either. What Sxth needs to do is just update their clamps to a superior style clamp that doesn't risk loosening/backing off or stripping. Worm gear clamps are garbage and should never be used in anything under pressure. I can back that claim with all my years in the trade, repairing cars and building a weekend track toy that was pushing 400hp. T bolt clamps are far superior in strength and typically do not back off/loosen.

Having experience with race cars, we expect you'll agree that a lack of compliance will result in boost tubes blowing off or ripping off intercooler mounts. SXTH advertises "short" couplers. In contrast, we've engineered couplers and constant tension T-bolt clamps that allow for ample compliance while withstanding 4X more boost than the Tacoma's turbo is capable of producing.

 

[OminousSkitter]

I have nothing negative to say about Banks and the parts they engineer but, there really isn't anything wrong with Sxth parts either. What Sxth needs to do is just update their clamps to a superior style clamp that doesn't risk loosening/backing off or stripping. Worm gear clamps are garbage and should never be used in anything under pressure. I can back that claim with all my years in the trade, repairing cars and building a weekend track toy that was pushing 400hp. T bolt clamps are far superior in strength and typically do not back off/loosen.

Which is a fair take. That is one of the things Banks called out on the SXTH design, and that's what failed in the original trail report. It's a cheap fix if you already own the SXTH.

However, given this is an exact failure mode Banks pointed out, it makes me wonder if the larger design criticisms that it's too rigid / the rubber couplers are too short (especially for offroad conditions where there are more and larger vibrations) or their choice of aluminum for a pressure pipe potentially deforming if you add enough clamping force to prevent the clamps from blowing off.

I'm an engineer, and I appreciate reading the reason behind an engineer's design choices.

 

[JayTech]

Which is a fair take. That is one of the things Banks called out on the SXTH design, and that's what failed in the original trail report. It's a cheap fix if you already own the SXTH.

However, given this is an exact failure mode Banks pointed out, it makes me wonder if the larger design criticisms that it's too rigid / the rubber couplers are too short (especially for offroad conditions where there are more and larger vibrations) or their choice of aluminum for a pressure pipe potentially deforming if you add enough clamping force to prevent the clamps from blowing off.

I'm an engineer, and I appreciate reading the reason behind an engineer's design choices.

Seeing I was pushing 30+ psi through my Civic, and the charge pipes were all aluminum with silicon couplers, I’d say the likelihood of deforming parts is very low. I’ve never had that issue or seen it. I also doubt that under the loads we put these trucks through, the couplers being too short would cause any real problems. The only issue I see is the worm gear clamp. With a proper high quality clamp, you don’t have to tighten the living hell out of them to keep the hoses attached. If you are tightening a clamp enough to deform the aluminum pipe, you are tightening it too much. I had my intercooler on my civic for almost 4 years and had zero failures or clamping issues.

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