ebay cast iron manifold??

[ka-t4u]

hey all am just wondering what your opinions/ points of views are on these manifolds, am not looking to make huge numbers as i will not be tuning(am using an fmu), so i'll probably stay around 5-7 psi, so all the flow characteristics and other aspects of the thing shouldn't matter too much(i think/believe) correct me if am wrong.

am just looking for opinions and see if anybody thinks it would be worth the try,or if any of you have first hand experience it would be great, it looks pretty solid, the only thing that has me doubting about it is the fact that the inlet ports are round and the exhaust ports on the head are square...., so maybe port it out and make them square(if there is enough material of course) or leave them like that, would there be a benefit from round ports??

well thanks for the time and sorry for writing so much and maybe boring you, any help or input will be greatly appreciated.

[motoman399]

well that is a copy of the treadstone (i think thats how you spell it) and also the rev hard. i own the rev hard and its a good manifold. but like you said the ports are round. mine also had a very rough casting inside of it and didnt have a good looking flow path around the flanges. so i ported the hell out of it and then went back and polished the inside of it. also if you put a regular t3 or t4 flanged turbo on it, it will sit really close to the bmc. i use an on center t4 and it moves it away about an inch or so.

i vote yes get it and give it a try. post pics and results if you do. good luck

[ka-t4u]

thanks for the input, mind to enlighten me with what an on center turbo is?? does that mean the most of it sits close to the valve cover instead of leaning out towards the strut tower?? idk if that even makes sense lol, kind of like if the snail was crawling away from the engine not towards it? did that sound better lol?

so there should be enough material for me and my dremel to have some fun huh? how should i go about doing this? just port the hell out of it or is there any specific way to do it? am guessing not since anyways i would want the air to make its way into the turbo as fast as it can right??

anyone else got any more input on this? and thanks motoman!

[motoman399]

click this for an on center turbine housing.

http://www.vmsperformance.com/catalog/i ... -large.jpg

that moves the turbo closer to the valve cover. and i just smoothed out the runners and made less sharp edges and gasket matched mine. i dont know how much material there is with the ebay ones. like i said i have a RevHard...

your welcome lol

[GEO]

STEP AWAY.... Please don't go the cheap route. I don't want to see your threads about your manifold cracking.

[ka-t4u]

GEO this would be the only cheap piece in my whole setup and that is the only reason why i want a cast iron one, have you had one of them crack on you? any previous experience?

[WDRacing]

Cast iron manifolds are tanks and won't crack. This manifold limits your turbo options and IMHO isn't worth using. The cheapest manifold I would use is the JGS, which is an excellent manifold and not that cheap...lol.

[ka-t4u]

yey i got wd in here lol, why would it limit my turbo options....? i thought it was kind of neat that it supports t3 or t4 turbos.... confused.....lol

yeah i know about the jgs mani and i love it specially where it locates the turbo, but i wanna go boost asap and am trying to keep the budget as low as possible... i would try to get one in the future if this one fails me but am just really anxious for boost lol

[WDRacing]

You can only use On-Center turbo's with that manifold or you'll have clearance issues with the master cylinder. On-Center is the shape of the exhaust housing, not a lot of options where on-center is concerned. I'm not sure the T3/TO4 will fit either, although I'm not 100%

On-Center



Tangential vs On-Center



I'm always gonna be here

[GEO]

Cast iron manifolds are tanks and won't crack. This manifold limits your turbo options and IMHO isn't worth using. The cheapest manifold I would use is the JGS, which is an excellent manifold and not that cheap...lol.

lol ebay "cast iron"

No, to answer your question, KAT4u, I have an equal length custom manifold.

[ka-t4u]

so clearance is th issue tangential huh? first time i hear that term, always learn something new! so what would be my next best bet on a cheap manifold?? the stainless steel equal length one from ebay?? or more clearance issues too??

and also how does the oiling system work on an on-center turbocharger?? if the manifold is right under it...

[WDRacing]

There's just a slight bend in the return line, needs some heat wrap on it. I don't recommend any of the cheapy manifolds.

[ka-t4u]

i saw that coming, i always try to respect those with more experience than me, and honestly i wasn't expecting anyone to recomend them, i probably wouldn't recomend it either, lets be real you are paying a hundred and something dollars for an exhaust manifold,lol, but i am still actually looking for experience with any of the manifolds on ebay.... maybe am just being dumb... anyways out of all the quality manifolds in the market jgs is the cheapest one right??

[motoman399]

talk to spooled240, he is running one of the cast manifolds with a tangential turbo. he does have clearance problems but made it work out.

[ka-t4u]

ok i'll try to get a hold of him, i am really thinking about just going with the tubular one.... does that one give more clearance or is it about the same?? also i was thinking, what if i flip the manifold and turn it into a bottom mount setup??

[WDRacing]

I doubt the turbo will fit between the manifold and the motor mount.

[ka-t4u]

good point... i tried...lol

[kentuckyslider]

Turbo options are limited but with a PT&E SC61 with a T4 .68ar on center hot side it would be a beast. Especially with a built motor and some cams. http://www.ka-t.org/anthony_p.php

Here is the turbo of choice for the KA...

http://www.extremepsi.com/store/custome ... 508&page=1

They have smaller options but this is a good choice if you want to make good power on stock internals for a while.

[zerepdivad]

I have the "classic" stainless tubular top mount t3/t4 manifold on my car for about 2 1/2 years now and haven't had any problems with it.
But unlike most people who get that manifold i have a flex piece in my down pipe to take the stress off of it. It sits very close to my bmc but i wrapped the reservoir in heat wrap, and made a shield for it and have had no issues whatsoever. If that one is truly cast then i don't see issues besides where the turbo will end up sitting. I've tracked mine, and tooken it to the drag strip a few times as well and haven't had issues with brake fluid boiling or melting the bmc.

[ka-t4u]

thanks for your input zerepdivad i figured i would just go with one of those since a lot of people have run them successfully and it probably will give me more room than the cast one, sutpid question where did you put your flex pipe?? before the cat?? right after the turbo?? where it goes down??

[zerepdivad]

The flexpipe is about a foot down the downpipe.

[ka-t4u]

ok my question literally was stupid lol, what i mean to ask was is it positioned vertically? and also which kind of flex pipe? diameter? where to get it from?

[biggie]

My SSAC top mount mani is the same way. Flex pipe before the cat (about 1/2 way between turbo and cat). Also cut the runners separately and plained that surface to reduce binding.

[biggie]

ok my question literally was stupid lol, what i mean to ask was is it positioned vertically? and also which kind of flex pipe? diameter? where to get it from?

Sounds like his is vertical.

I got mine off ebay, just 3" diameter to match my DP.

[ka-t4u]

i know i was also assuming his is vertical because he said is about a foot down, yours looks pretty short, is that all that is needed?? i thought it would need a longer one to allow for more flex, but i may be wrong, oh and also what do you mean you cut the runners and plained them?? like you cut the flanges off the manifold??

[biggie]

i know i was also assuming his is vertical because he said is about a foot down, yours looks pretty short, is that all that is needed?? i thought it would need a longer one to allow for more flex, but i may be wrong, oh and also what do you mean you cut the runners and plained them?? like you cut the flanges off the manifold??

I knew that all my transmission/motor mounts are polly filled so won't move much, that's why I went with a short flex pipe section.

The flange that bolts to the exhaust on the head, I had a machine shope cut down inbetween each of the runners to where that flange is 4 separate flanges, then plained that down to where they are all even (when you cut them they all move slightly).

[ka-t4u]

oohhh i see... how much did that run you?? it would be some nice extra assurance!

[biggie]

oohhh i see... how much did that run you?? it would be some nice extra assurance!

For the cut and plain? I think it was $60-80, just depends on how much time it takes them to do it.

[ka-t4u]

thats pretty cheap! how long has it held on??

[biggie]

I've only been boosted about 1,500 miles. But friend did the same and had no issues for over 2 yrs, he just removed to go bottom mount.