I have heard of people buying the bends for a custom fmic and using hoses and hose clamps to do the piping. How hard is this and is it a good idea or no?

 

It sounds like a nasty way to do an intercooler to me. It could be done but the problem with hoses is they flex ( expand & contract) under boost/vacuum and this will cause power loss due and boost lag. Most likely you would have hoses coming loose all the time too, not to mention it would be Ugly. But don't let me discourage anyone from trying it.

 

I used 2.5" mandrel bends.
I buy 45, 90, and 180 degree bends, and also a few feet of 2.5" straight pipe. Just cut here and there, use silicon transition hoses and couplings. Make sure you get good hose clamps and most important, hump hoses.
Hump hoses let the piping flex so you dont rip things apart when the motor shakes....

Paint or polish the piping and you get a nice FMIC piping setup.

I get my stuff from:
http://www.roadraceengineering.com/h...eekerparts.htm

PEACE.