I might have the hang of this, if I could just get it to post in the thread!

 

that is nice but is it actually the exact shape,not that it matters because the shape has nothing to do with it functioning.
This also appears to have the flimsy filler neck which if it does, is this unit prone to cap leaks as well as the pettit one.

 

Enhanced RX4UR7 pic

 

flimsy? eh, thi sis aluminum, havent had a single leak yet


u must host teh pic to get it to post lieki did

 

thank you go racer,i was pulling what little hair I have left out trying to do that

Chad

 

haha east coast? im right above you.

 

How much did that cost?

 

Someone wrote tripoint's is the same as pettit, it's not true. Tripoint uses stock size caps, not like Pettit.

 

That was me. They look they same. If Tri-Point's doesn't have the pressure release cap then Pettit's is better but that polished one looks the best.

 

The shape does serve a purpose. The idea behind the shape is to maximize the area of the fluid surface so it makes it easier for bubbles to escape. Is this a huge deal? IMHO no, but the reason you don't see Pettit using that shape is it'll cost a fortune to make an aluminum mold in that shape versus a simple can.

 

kwok, if that was the case, they could make a simple square right? I still don't know for sure about the shape having anything to do with it. But a square has more SA than a circle, yes. But what about the skinny bottom part of the OEM? The ASI and Pettit ones are fat the whole way. Even though they are circular, as opposed to square. It would seem to me that there's actually more surface area in those.

 

where can I get the oem shaped AST? I want it!

 

very well said,the bottom line in the end it's up to you, they all work great when you get them. But I drive my car everyday and have for over five years.I've had three aftermarket ones (2-pettit and now 1-asi)the first one pettit warrantied for me the second you see in the comparison pics above,they both failed to seal even w/a new cap over time because of the flimsy constructionof the filler neck. BILLET LAST FOREVER and to buy the same upgrade twice sucks!

 

Well it is almost a square. Its skinny on the bottom so it won't block the IC too much, then it expands into a flat squarish piece at the top so you have the advantages of both a slim profile in the area where it blocks the IC, yet the advantages of a large surface area for bubbles to escape. Maybe look at the design from the opposite view, why cast a more complex shape than necessary? Its more expensive (slightly), and more work, so there must be a reason.

 

There _are_ cast aluminium versions of the stock AST. I think Cork-sport and jt-import have them - and you can get one for dirt cheep at
http://www.fc-datalogit.co.nz/ast.html

The shape is supposed to promote air sepeartion, and if you have the PFS IC, you need the stock shape to fit it where PFS put the mounting tab.

I had a tri-point AST before I went with teh delete kit. I found it to be different frpm Pettit in that it was black anodized.

I found that I needed to replace the caps more often than I did with the the stock AST to keep them from dribbling a little bit - why? - I don't know. Maybe something to do with the way the filler neck was built, as some mentioned above.

 

Doesnt Mazdaspeed make an oem looking one? how much does it cost?

 

Go with the M2 AST elimination kit.

 

The only Mazdaspeed AST I have seen is the one that JT-Imports offers. It costs $330 and looks like the ASI except it has more metal, so it prolly weighs a bit more and is obviously not worth that much money. Corksport doesn't show a pic of theirs, but it's $221. I'd go with the ASI b/c it looks better and performs well, but if you can find a deal on the OEM shape one, it might work too. I dunno, this is the first time I've heard of a stock shape aluminum AST. Just don't do the elimination.

 

ok cool. I was planning on the ASI one so thanks for all your help.

Hey look my 100th post

 

The one Kahren posted is made by a FORUM Member (spooledUP7) it is made from a Heavy Guage Aircraft Aluminum Extrusion w/ a BILLET neck - I have one also (personally installed by the maker ) and belive me it is MUCH STRONGER than ANY of the round tincan ASTs on the market.

Do a search on for posts by spooledUP7 & AST, there have been at least 2 group buys in the past and he probably could be convinced to do another run.

AST Mounted in my FD3S

 

Definately go with the pettit. If it was a waste of space to have an AST it would have probably been eliminated from the stock system and never included to begin with. Plus it kinda gives it a nice look too, not chromed/polished but it looks cool I guess.

 

I have the one on the right.

Is the one on the left a Pettit also? the neck looks machined. Is this an improved model?

 

No, I think the one on the left is the ASI unit. They're saying is has less tendency for the cap to leak over time b/c the neck on the pettit isn't as strong as the billet on the right. Stupid me and my Pettit owning self... next they'll tell me the Fluidyne rediator is a POS, and redline MTL is REALLY BAD fro the maual tranny. Sigh...

 

did u buy the pettit? who else had the pettit leak on them?

 

Redline MTL is bad for the tranny. Its too thin and research by PFS has revealed it causes the bearings to wear prematurely. It'll make the car shift smoother but at a cost. I talked to another rotary mechanic about this because I am getting some light bearing noise and he confirmed that if I have problems with the synchros MTL will help, but in my case with bearing noise it would make it worse. Some people even go as far as saying not to use ANY synthetic in the tranny, but MTL is noticeably thinner than regular synthetics, he poured some out and the stuff is just a few notches thicker than water.