What is Tube and How is it Different from Pipe?
Tube size material is measured by the actual outside diameter (OD) and wall thickness, while Nominal Pipe Size (NPS) is an industry designation that does not reference the actual measured size of the material. This difference can sometimes be confusing, even for experienced fabricators. It is important to note that tube size material is not compatible with pipe size material. Although "pipe" and "tube" are sometimes used interchangeably to describe straight lengths of material (e.g. exhaust "piping"), the industry standard term for this material is "tube"."
Note: Please ensure that this tube size material meets the requirements of your project. It is the customer's responsibility to verify the compatibility of the items in their shopping cart. Ace Race Parts cannot be held responsible for orders with mismatched or incompatible products.
A table comparing nominal pipe size and tube size can be found below:
| Nominal Pipe Size |
Pipe OD |
Tube Size |
Tube OD |
| 1-1/2" |
1.900" |
1.500" |
1.500" |
| 2" |
2.375" |
2.000" |
2.000" |
| 2-1/2" |
2.875" |
2.500" |
2.500" |
| 3" |
3.500" |
3.000" |
3.000" |
| 3-1/2" |
4.000" |
3.500" |
3.500" |
| 4" |
4.500" |
4.000" |
4.000" |
This table shows the corresponding nominal pipe size and tube size for each of the given measurements, ranging from 1-1/2" to 4". The tube size is measured by the actual outside diameter (OD) and may differ from the nominal pipe size, which is an industry designation that does not reference the actual measured size of the material.
