No stainless doesn't get brittle. Actually Ti becomes more brittle than SS over the same period of time. Plus, the thickness of the header tubes and flanges absorb the heat much better than thinner material. FYI, most exhaust systems on bikes are made from thinwall SS, and all stock brake rotors are made of ss, which gets much hotter than a turbo header. This new header is made of 3/32" wall tubing and 1/4" flanges which is extremly thick compared to most stock headers. I believe this header weighs in around 7-8lbs.