I have been browsing for awhile at manifolds wondering what to do for my single turbo build. In a booming economy where my stocks wouldn't have fallen 20% I would probably buy a "kit" from a vendor and call it a day, but these days with the economic climate I feel for myself some penny pinching is in order.

I have been looking at various manifolds, the first is the Greddy.



It seems really nice in my eyes (maybe no so much in those of people who know more). The supports on not only the turbine tubing but also the support for the manifold I think to be the results of trial and error manifold fabrication.

The next is the OBX




Is it just me or does this look like a carbon copy of the Greddy except without the supports? For myself I was looking at this thinking why not buy this manifold for 165$ vs 1,200$ for the Greddy and just have these supports fabbed on locally, surely won't cost me 1,000$ to have that done now will it?

Lastly, a no name one which seems to be copied by a few places.



The only thing I like about this one is that they give measurements for the flanges and tubing and according to what I have read these flanges are supposed to be nice and thick and meet the 1/2 thickness engine flange requirement. What would seem to be fun on this one is that the wastegate doesn't have a flange on it which would be ideal for me as I wanted to run a Vband wastegate which would mean modification of the previous manifolds.

So my questions to you are what suggestions/experience do you have with any of the previously mentioned products?

(I did not include the more popular Ebay manifold because of the flange design which doesn't meet up with any of the turbine flanges I have looked at).

 

The OBX-R manifold in my personal opinion, it's junk. I've had 3 of them, and all 3 of them warped. On both the engine flange and the turbine flange. Also, others have said they had problems with them cracking. Then you have other people that use them and report absolutely no problems at all. I guess it's just a matter of if you get lucky and get a "good" one.

EDIT: Best bet if you're wanting a not to expensive alternative is one of the cast manifolds. Under $300 shipped and you don't have to worry about them warping.

 

If penny pinching is in order I really wouldn't do a single conversion. I thought personally it was going to take about 5 years for our economy to have a "comback." It's actually looking up for us right now but it's all arguable. I would save my money because your financial security is always more valuable than a car. BUT! If you're not going to listen and are set on going single I have some advice.

First figure what turbo you're going to use. Many manifold and turbo combinations don't work. After that you can go "cheap" and get a manifold off ebay. As long as it has thicker flanges I and is an equal length manifold I would buy it. After making your purchase bring it right to someone to be re-enforced. I've personally welded a dozen of ebay manifolds and none of them have cracked! The material is actually pretty good stuff. They just honestly don't provide the proper support for expansion. If you want to get one and send it over to me I'll be more than happy to do the welding.

 

I should have said I am going to be looking towards something with a T4 flange, I am still undecided on the turbine however. It is hard to get measures from these people on tubing lengths.

I realize the single turbo swap isn't considered a cheap modification and when I said penny pinching I meant saving money where possible ergo manifold and turbo (BB versus non).

Also, I wonder would ceramic coating make it warp more or less, warping is caused by the metals absorbing heat correct? If so does ceramic coating prevent heat absorb or does it just deflect the heat?

I may have to take you up on the offer mono, can you tell me what those bolt shaped things are on the Greddy?

 

i have the greddy one and couldnt be happier...wouldnt go for the chinese junk

 

i got hks cast mani t4 flange 200 + 3% paypal shipped.

 

the OBX manifold looks like it was based off my Feed manifold (which was braced by a previous owner)

 

I think they are for egt probes.

I agree with FrankV702, Look into the HKS cast manifold I think it goes for ~$350. I never ran it, but it looks beefy as hell. Priced good with a well known name also.

I might have missed it, but you have an FD correct?

Found it: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HKS-T...Q5fAccessories

 

Bolt shaped things are for heat shield if memory serves, been awhile since I've seen one installed.

 

Do not use the OBX manifold. We have had issues mounting the turbo as it hits the LIM with this manifold. If you want an ebay style then go with the SS Autochrome. The turbo fits with no modificaitons.
We have used the ebay style for many years and very few issues. I have had cars in our shop with every manifold on the market and even the expensive HKS and Greddy had cracks that had to be welded. HKS does not make wastegates anymore that fit their cast manifolds.
You can also look at it like this. For the price of a $1200 Greddy you can purchase 6 of the SS Autochrome manfiolds. So what if it cracks 20k miles down the road, just buy another. The odds are its going to out live your car anyway.

 

Interesting. I like that advise coming from someone that has delt with a large number of these manifolds. Have you seen the fc manifolds last any longer or shorter than the fd or is it usually about the same?

 

FC or FD, I have a used turblown FC manifold forsale

 

Thank you for the replies everyone they are very useful. I have an FD, I do not want to get a cast manifold because I don't want to use an HKS Wastegate or SS Autow/e wastegate and because of the terrible flow of cast components vs tubular ones.

Anyone have any response for my ceramic coating question?

I think the things are as Zero R said on the Greddy are for a heatsheild, if they were EGT probes they wouldn't be at such varying distances and so far from the engine flange.

Jason correct me if I am wrong but isn't the whole point of wanting a good manifold so that you will not have an exhaust leak and it won't crack? I thought that if the manifold cracks that means that I will be seeing boost creep which we all know leads to a new engine? Also won't the difference in flanges lead to an exhaust leak between the turbine flange and the turbine itself?

 

I would rather spend the money upfront and not have to do a R & R 6 times. As stated though I would buy the SS Autochrome and have it braced. Also, ceramic coating would help it not crack (not absorb heat) but only if it were ceramic coated on the inside. Coating it on the outside only helps to keep the heat from being radiated into the engine bay. The tabs on the one manifold are NOT egt! They are mounting tabs for a heat shield. EGT bungs should be the same distance from the rotor housing on each runner to rely on the readings.

 

I havent dealt with the FC manifolds much so I cant really comment on the reliability of them.

 

My point is that all manifolds will eventually crack and leak. A crack in the manifold isnt going to cause much boost creep and you will notice the leak beforehand.
I have had customers with the ebay style manifold that have 30k miles on it with no problems. The average RX-7 owner puts probably 5k miles a year on their car. So you get 6-7 years out of the ebay manifold and the odds are you will sell the car before then anyway. I just dont see the need to spend $1k+ on a manifold when its not needed. Just my opinion.

 

What if your making 460 rwHP without auxilary injection on pump?

thewird

 

Then you will need a new engine before a manifold.

 

Interesting, we will see...

thewird

 

Then you buy the $300 cast manifold!

 

The flip side of 6 to 1 is I have had three guys this year alone who actually track their cars at NASA, SCCA, and CTCC who had their ebay manifolds fail within a few races. None will need to worry about buying another one again. You potentially have a nice car, why put cheap stuff on it. I am in no way saying Jason's points aren't valid either, he has a solid point, it's a way of poor mans financing sort of. People see value in different ways.


~S~

 

I agree if the car is tracked a lot then one of the more expensive manifolds would hold up better to constant extreme heat.

 

One pic a thousand words

 

what does that pic have to do with this thread?

 

Even with ceramic coating and additional bracing?

The car is nice and I don't think I am cheap just when I see such discrepancies in prices it makes me think. I wouldnt do the same for ignition or fuel delivery components....

As for the picture I am happy he didnt write a thousand words to tell us about tinfoil.