another ebay manifold;

[chickentendah]

EDIT: THIS THREAD IS NOT ABOUT SSAUTOCHROME MANIFOLDS

For $200 USD, I can't help but get a little curious. These manifolds are constructed of "SS321 grade steel" (instead of "SUS304").

Anyhow, have any of you guys had the opportunity to use these "salavat_a" manifolds?

source:http://salavat.homemail.com.au....html

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...WA:IT

So I did a bit more reading on stainless steel grades. One of the typical applications of 321 includes "Aircraft exhaust manifolds" while for 304 it includes "Food processing equipment".

[RMiller]

Yeah and some auctions say "321" in the title and then say they're made of 304. What's up with that? Somepeople like the manifolds, others don't.

[tazjig]

I have one, haven't been running it that long though, maybe a month and it has bee fine for me so far, although its a little early to tell. The only downside is the colour change, which i expected, but if i were to do it again i would get it ceramic coated, then it will never turn that bronze colour.

[ItzGenX]

At least it isn't rust colored . I believe SSA sells the SS321 also. They call it "Super". Basically, 321 is a higher grade of stainless. SUS304 is your regular grade that goes around. HKS uses SUS304 for their 900 dollar manifold (it cracks too). 321 should resist cracking more then 304, but the problem lies in the welding. The cracks usually happen on the welds at the head flange or at the collector. You can have the manifold made of unobtanium and still crack if chitty welds are on it.

[Beemen550]

does anyone have pics of a cracked ssautchrome manifold, i would just like to see where they crack at, and where u could put extra welds to maybe prevent it

[chickentendah]

I have one, haven't been running it that long though, maybe a month and it has bee fine for me so far, although its a little early to tell. The only downside is the colour change, which i expected, but if i were to do it again i would get it ceramic coated, then it will never turn that bronze colour.

tazjig, could you please comment more on the mechanical quality of the item? I know it's too early to say anything about reliability such as cracking, but what did you observe about:

- the quality of the welds- the thickness of the piping- the craftsmenship of whatever is INSIDE the manifold such as the passageways- the flanges (are they actually made of stainless steel?)- the installation and if it was really direct bolt-on

Thanks in advance.

[nissanrcer240]

I have the ssauto manifold, probably for about 6 months now. I have no complaints at all, it looks really good on and off the car. I definetly would recomend it, only complaint I have is the turbo elbow from ssauto wouldnt clear the steering colum so I have to bang the turbo elbow in a little bit to make it work and the o2 sensor flange was too big, I had to get a smaller one welded inside of it to use my o2 sensor

[chickentendah]

I have the ssauto manifold, probably for about 6 months now. I have no complaints at all, it looks really good on and off the car. I definetly would recomend it, only complaint I have is the turbo elbow from ssauto wouldnt clear the steering colum so I have to bang the turbo elbow in a little bit to make it work and the o2 sensor flange was too big, I had to get a smaller one welded inside of it to use my o2 sensor

This thread is about the "salavat_a" eBay SS321 grade manifold by the way. However, thanks for the side comment on ssautochrome.

[tazjig]

The fitment wasn't too bad, i had to grind a little out of the bellhousing on the transmission, but no bid deal at all, 2 min work. The quality of the manifold looked great, everything was ground smooth on the collecter end and at the head side, even the thickness of the runners is good, thicker than what i was expecting, not sure of exact thickness. Also they come with the support bracket, which in my opinion would help a nice bit. I would definately reccomend them, besides if it cracks you can still buy another for the price of an HKS unit.

[tazjig]

..

[tazjig]

notice the colour change.

[chickentendah]

Thanks a bunch tazjig.

[ETTInnov04]

I'm running the SSAutochrome manifold about 4 months now, no problems. Although I did buy the manifold and the dual chamber elbow at the same time. Had to bang it in as well. But the the parts are what you can expect for $200. Mine still had some weld slag inside the manifold hso I had to take a dremel and clean it up a bit, it bothers me. Also had to do it on a set of headers for a friends honda. But compared to everything else out there You can't beat it for $200.

[Nicksemianiw]

I have the SSAutoChrome manifold too, I acctually have the "Super" turbo manifold apparently it is 3.2 mm thick instead of 2.9. Although with the SSAutoChrome turbo manifold hoses get in the way and you cant have the stock hotpipe with one or it would melt it, i just put myne on right before winter so i only got to use it for a day or so.I had a ***** of a time getting the manifold on with it on it changed the placment of the turbo so the down pipe dident want to alighen up. But yea it does change a weird colour. and also notice the SSautoChrome Manifold has those same "braces for extra durability" as the one your getting. It might be a knock off or might be a ssautochrome manifold being sold as somthing elce but it wont make a differance. Hey does anyone know about SSAutoChrome's return thinggy they say if it ever cracks they will replace it Has anyone tryed to before? just thought i would share some info.

Nick

Modified by Nicksemianiw at 6:18 AM 2/14/2005
Modified by Nicksemianiw at 6:21 AM 2/14/2005

[ETTInnov04]

Yea I forgot about the downpipe issue. I had to make a new bracket for the downpipe(where it connects to the transmission). But the manifold made the car sound alot more aggressive. I wouldn't get your hopes up about that return policy. When I tried to contact them about the fitment issue they tried to prove there was nothing wrong, until I sent pictures and then they stopped replying to my e-mails. So i would assume you would get the same reply when trying to get your manifold replaced.

[Nicksemianiw]

Yeah i have herd storys about it, i guess their comapny is bulls**t, makes me mad

[chickentendah]

guys! i appreciate the replies but please read the thread carefully. we're NOT talking about the ssautochrome manifold....

[Onizuka]

I got mine on ebay a long time back before ssautochrome (and now this other company and several others) started ripping this design. Its still running in one peice. Too bad that company was put out of buisness by SSautochrome.

Oh yeah, SSautochrome AKA OBX is the worst damn company on the face of the earth. Not only is their crap made in china but they dont actually design any of thier products, they just steal from the companies that actually do the research.

EDIT: sorry for the rant, forgot this thread wasnt about bashing ssautochrome

[Onizuka]

As for the bracing, unless your going to weld a brace from the exaust flange to the turbo flange I dont see how its going to help much.

When my manifold cracks (which it will eventually), im sticking with the stock cast iron manifold. Nothing else is more reliable and it flows pretty good too.

[f150intally]

i hate to tell you but they are all the same manis just rebranded. even the one in this thread is the same mani as the ssauto.

my understanding is that these manifolds have a tendency to break due to improper bracing and lack of exhaust hangers etc. especially the one connecting the downpipe to the transmission cross member.

all stainless steel manis will change to the bronze color. that is the characteristics of stainless steel. no matter what mani you buy, if it is stainless it will change.

[Nicksemianiw]

Did that bust ur turbo? like any metal pices go into the turbo?

[ETTInnov04]

Well rumor has it all of those manifolds off of ebay that look like the ssautochrome one ARE the same. They're out of either taiwan or china, I forget. Unless your paying upwords of $400 I would believe you are getting a taiwan Manifold. But I'm reading a lot here lately that it's just the design of the manifold that sucks. Even the DC sports manifold is supposed to have a short life expectancy. As for the manifold you started the post about there's a 99% chance it's the same as the SSautochrome manifold and the reason we got hung up on SSA was because most of us have bought it through them. So what were saying here could probably be used for that manifold as well. Any idea if a top mount manifold would be any better?

**BTW-"J-Spec Tuner" how long did it take for your manifold to end up like that?**

[Onizuka]

Not mine, Its MovingViolation's. His cracked pretty quick (months). He patched it, then it fell apart completely soon after.

The design is definatly better now, but I still wouldnt buy ssautochrome because they are the slime of the automotive industry, right next to APC. Just ask anyone in the sentra community about SSautochrome's FWD SR header that is a EXACT ripoff of the one Hotshot DEVELOPED.

[noodl35]

I was wondering, did you guys install that extra brace SSA gives you with their manifold. I didn't cuz i was just thinking that it will crack due to it not expanding from the brace. I would also suggest putting a flex pipe in the downpipe to help the manifold not crack.

[spider_slayer]

a friend of mine bought a set of headers from SSa for his probe and after about 5 months it now has a hole in it.....he is basically running open headers, no exaust is coming out of the exaust......horriable horriable company......