Few questions to start;
How concerned are you about this code being portable?
How are you measuring the speed of execution, and will I be able to benchmark how well my code runs versus the original?
Do you have any numbers for how it performs currently? (e.g. best/worst/97th percentile)
Can I get a look at the code before deciding to do it or not? To see if there's something I haven't noticed yet.
I'm pretty sure I can speed up your code. 6 months of my degree course was focused on algorithms.
Also, as a Linux user, I am very familiar with pipes, and performance issues caused by them. It's actually a thing I have to deal with in my day to day life.
Feel free to message me, no matter how trivial you might think it is.