Our review of the all new Dominator steel tuned pipe from Insane Boats...
Insane Boats are world renowned for their record setting boat hulls but that's
not all... Insane Boats now fabricate and sell an all new tuned pipe that is
drawing a lot of attention. The Dominator tuned pipe is an all-steel pipe and
is a "no band" design, which means the converging and diverging cones
are welded together with no flat mid-section. These types of pipes are often
referred to as "RPM" pipes because of the fact that typically they
offer best power at a higher RPM range. Unfortunately this is usually at the
cost of a narrower power band (which is where the band pipes got their
popularity, offering a broader power band). The difference with the Dominator
pipe is the fact that the diverging cone (the cone that starts at the header
and gets progressively bigger) is actually longer than the typical diverging
cone and is made of two different angle cones. Designing the pipe this way
allows for the use of a shorter header for the same overall pipe length. This
design seems to have given the Dominator pipe a better midrange than the
typical "no band" pipe.
The cones of the pipe are rolled thus the weld along the length of the cones.
The pipe features an internal stinger design, which has proven to be
beneficial not only for performance but also for bringing the noise level down
to within legal limits of major sanctioning organizations so no external
muffler is required in most cases. If you wish to make the pipe even quieter
however, the use of a stinger muffler is possible as the stinger extends far
enough outside of the pipe to do so.
The pipe has a built in drain hole at the stinger end, which is a nice feature
as the internal stinger pipes can be very difficult to drain should water get
inside them after a dunk. Without the drain hole, the only efficient way to get
water out of an internal stinger pipe is to remove it from the header to empty
it. Whit this drain hole in place you simply have to hold your boat nose up and
let the water drain out!
The pipe is also ceramic coated. This not only protects the pipe against
corrosion and keeps it looking great, it also help keep in the heat and as tuned
pipe theory dictates, the hotter you keep the exhaust gases, the more power
you can produce.
The Dominator tuned pipe is available in different configurations:
- pipe with clamp
- pipe with clamp and header
(90, 100, and 105 degrees available)
- pipe with clamp, header and
no-leak water flange
The pipe I received for testing was the first configuration.
I supplied the header and flange. I would however recommend using 
the no-leak water flanges. I tested the pipe on a tried and tested setup. I
removed the steel band pipe that was on the boat and installed the new
Dominator pipe. I had to use a shorter header to get the pipe at 11.5 inches
from center of exhaust port to center of pipe (what I refer to the center of
the pipe is the point where the diverging and converging cones meet at the
weld). The pipe performed very well and an increase of approximately
300-400 RPM was noted. I also noted very good throttle response and a
surprisingly good mid-range. Although I did not take any actual readings, the
noise level was also quite reasonable.
The Dominator pipe I tested does not allow for the header to slip inside the
pipe, it actually only slides into the clamping part of the pipe and stops.
This means that you cannot leave the header longer inside the pipe while
testing, you have to be careful cutting your header to the proper length when
you start...as with any pipe you are better to start a little long and trim it
down in small increments as you test. When you reach the point where no more
gains in performance are noted you can only slip it back a little bit on the
header (if you went a bit too short) and still maintain a good seal.
There are slight changes being done to the Dominator pipes and new versions
will allow for the header to slide into the pipe.
Final thoughts...
This is a very good tuned pipe from Insane Boats. It makes very good power at
both mid and high rpm ranges. The fact that it doesn't require the use of a
muffler is an added bonus. If you are looking to squeeze out every bit of power
from your setup, this pipe is a solid contender!
For use in boats with hatch covers, I would recommend making sure you supply
adequate ventilation in the hull as steel tuned pipes generate a lot of
heat and it is always best to keep the air to the engine as cool as possible.
Proper ventilation of your hull will ensure a fresh air supply to your engine and evacuation of the hot air generated by the engine and tuned pipe.
Happy boating!
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Click HERE to buy the Dominator tuned pipe on the Insane Boats website:
