Do regular shops do mandrel bending? Or is it just a manufacturer kind of thing?

And to guys like XtremeRS who are using a 1G SMIC, how much did your piping cost and did you just get it done at a local muffler shop?

Did you get yours mandrel bent?

If not then did you lose even more boost pressure than you usually would through mandrel bent IC piping?

Some shops do it, some dont.
alot of people have been buying pipe from jcwhitney.com they have alot of mandrel bends, U's, straight pipe,etc.. plenty to get IC piping done.

Finding a place with a true "mandrel" bender will be very hard to find. I found one guy that has one, but it could only bend up to 1.75" or something like that. Race car builders, like dirt track cars, ect, use mandrel benders to make their roll cages and frames, so check that out. I used press bent piping, 2" from turbo to IC, 2" from IC out, then retained part of HRC's piping going to the TB where it goes to 2.5". I have mine pieces together, using 4" long sections of raidiator hose, and clamps. Works great. Press bent piping will be fine, it only flows slightly less than mandrel. You can get the pieces from JC whitney, ect.., but it takes some cutting and possibly welding to make all the bends right. I had a muffler shop do mine, as the place is right across the street from my work, and traded some labor plus 40 bucks for the work that was done for my piping, so i got the hook up there. Call around and find a good muffler shop, stick to the smaller shops, and not places like Midas, as the smaller ones will be more willing to help you. The guy using the bender has to have some skills to make it fit right IMO.

*Most* places won't be able to do true mandrel (same diameter throughout the bend) bends, simply because the equipment required for it can cost into the tens of thousands of dollars. Big manufacturers like apex or greddy can afford it - most place you or i may frequent can't.