SS Autochrome back w/a vengance...

[float_6969]

They're baaaaaacccckkk.....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...02226

Still wish they were equal length, but for that starting price, you can't complain too much.

[PacManVR4]

Dont worry about that theres a Nice HKS ic on there too...lol

[PacManVR4]

BTW floater we still on for our date next week lol

[Myetball]

Damn...beat me to it. Just got emailed that auction from ebay.

[Trigger]

oh nice...top mount t3 coming soon they said

[iliketocrash]

I'll buy it!

[float_6969]

gotta be better than stock! Hey Pac Man, I though we were keeping our "rendevous" on the DL?!?!? JK! Heheheh

[Dori Dori]

Except that they are notorious for breaking/cracking and ruining turbos in the SR world.

[Notchbackca]

not to mention thier CA design had no actuall thought put into it, they either need equal length or have 2 and 3 the same length and 1 and 4 the same length, but that design is atrocious

[float_6969]

Hmmm, good to know. I don't like the design at all, but I didn't know the SR guys were having problems with them. I wouldn't buy one, just because if I'm going to get a turbo mani, I want it to be equal length.

[Dori Dori]

All the cheap ebay manifolds tend to crack. Really, it seems like it's luck of the draw for how long they last though. Sometimes they take a while to crack, other times not. The bad thing isn't that you lost x dollars on a manifold...you could just get another cheap-o. What's bad is when people's turbos get ruined from metal peices flying into the turbo!

[Notchbackca]

the real problem is its made from stainless, you want a mild steel manifold. if the metal is softer it can withstand the strain from tempurature changes better

from a metalurgy point of view... the harder a metal is the more brittle it is

[NeedCAforS13]

pauls ssautochrome SR manifold recently broke completly off... big chunks of it fell off, but luckily somehow avoided destroying that bada$$ gt25r I think I'll stick with the stock mani for now:)

Sean

[Yellow4g63]

the real problem is its made from stainless, you want a mild steel manifold. if the metal is softer it can withstand the strain from tempurature changes better

from a metalurgy point of view... the harder a metal is the more brittle it is

Nope it's not that it's made out of Stainless steel why it cracks. if it were made out of mild steel it would still crack. The Matiral is just too think to support the weight of the turbo while on the car. Thicker gauge matiral and it will last longer stainless or Mild. Stainless has better heat properties than Mild steel.

[float_6969]

And I'm officially out of your leauge now...

[Myetball]

Matiral=MaterialMild=Milled (Mild is like un-spicey hot sauce)

My Brazilian turbo motor has a bracket that connects the turbo to the block. If SSA headers crack from hanging all that weight maybe fabricating a bracket to hold the turbo up would extend the life of the manifold.

[Yellow4g63]

Matiral=MaterialMild=Milled (Mild is like un-spicey hot sauce)

My Brazilian turbo motor has a bracket that connects the turbo to the block. If SSA headers crack from hanging all that weight maybe fabricating a bracket to hold the turbo up would extend the life of the manifold.

The manifold has to expand and contract when it heats up and cools down. A bracket will not help. The "Material" is just too thin. Hey it's cheap so even if it dose crack you can buy another one till that one cracks.

[CA19DET]

they already have a bracket for the SR guys to hold the weight, it bolts to the head,, and they still crack... the tend to crack at the collector, i think the welkds are just poooo, and they strart a crack there, and the heat is like a plasma torch and cuts the SS like butter..

[Dori Dori]

It's hard in general to build a strong SS tubular manifold for a I4 that won't crack...that's why the good ones are usually very expensive. I4's are very unbalanced motors and vibrate a lot, which causes excess stress on the manifold. The CA has an advantage over the SR though being that it has lower displacement...the lower the displacement, the less vibration, so maybe it'll last longer on a CA. Either way, I'd say stick to your cast iron manifolds and spend the $300 (or however much they end up costing) on some other worthwhile mods.

[nab911]

The problem with just getting the mani again after it cracks caus its cheap is... do you really wanna replace a manifold every couple of months??

[Nathan]

Nope it's not that it's made out of Stainless steel why it cracks. if it were made out of mild steel it would still crack. Stainless has better heat properties than Mild steel.

Care to substantiate this? EVERYTHING I know about exhaust manifolds, systems, and steel in general says that mild steel expands less from heat and takes cycling better. Believe it or not, heat cycles can actually make stainless more prone to corrosion. Of course mild steel transfers more heat than stainless, but it also deals with it a bit better. It is my opinion that a well designed manifold made of the right kind of either mild OR stainless steel can be made that wont crack. The problem is that then you end up paying 1200 bucks for a stainless one if thats what you want You absolutely have to use thicker gauge tubing if you dont want cracking problems, especially with stainless.

[Dori Dori]

The problem with just getting the mani again after it cracks caus its cheap is... do you really wanna replace a manifold every couple of months??

Not only that but the broken manifold peices can damage your turbo...this could really mess your day if you're running an expensive turbo.

[Myetball]

Considering the SSAC manifolds have a reputation of cracking, I wouldn't waste my money. I for one don't have $300-400 to thow down the toilet. More like $700-1,000 if a cracked manifold tears up a turbo. Better to get one made by dee's fabricator and pay more. This sounds like one of those cases where you get what you pay for.

[Yellow4g63]

Care to substantiate this? EVERYTHING I know about exhaust manifolds, systems, and steel in general says that mild steel expands less from heat and takes cycling better. Believe it or not, heat cycles can actually make stainless more prone to corrosion. Of course mild steel transfers more heat than stainless, but it also deals with it a bit better. It is my opinion that a well designed manifold made of the right kind of either mild OR stainless steel can be made that wont crack. The problem is that then you end up paying 1200 bucks for a stainless one if thats what you want You absolutely have to use thicker gauge tubing if you dont want cracking problems, especially with stainless.

I'll try. It goes something like this. Stainless steel has a higher nickel content than mild steel. The Higher the nickel the stronger and more heat it can take.

[Nathan]

Yeah, but the issue isn't so much a maximum heat issue...you'll melt the aluminum of the head and the pistons long before you'll significantly weaken the mild OR stainless steel. I'm more concerned by how the metals take heat cycling and how they deal with thermal expansion. My understanding is that stainless expands the most and also, the cycling is one of the contributors to cracked manifolds. All I'm really saying is that the SS autochrome mani's are awful thin and something made out of 8 ga. or schedule 40 thickness metal (stainless OR mild) will most likely last a very long time in comparison and might very well be worth it. Not trying to start an argument here

[float_6969]

Sweet pete, I started a quaint little war here! Keep the info coming guys, just keep it nice info. I don't like deleteing/editing posts...

[Yellow4g63]

Yeah, but the issue isn't so much a maximum heat issue...you'll melt the aluminum of the head and the pistons long before you'll significantly weaken the mild OR stainless steel. I'm more concerned by how the metals take heat cycling and how they deal with thermal expansion. My understanding is that stainless expands the most and also, the cycling is one of the contributors to cracked manifolds. All I'm really saying is that the SS autochrome mani's are awful thin and something made out of 8 ga. or schedule 40 thickness metal (stainless OR mild) will most likely last a very long time in comparison and might very well be worth it. Not trying to start an argument here

I know just giving an explanition for other people to understand. I ask my friend all the time about the stainless vs mild. I take his word for it cause of the experince he has.

[quest]

well, something took out movingviolations' turbo... saw him asking for a new turbo on freshalloy to replace the damaged gt25.

around here we make headers from sch40 els, mig or stick welded and don't have any kinda issues with 'em. I always add a brace to support the wt, and a flex to isolate exhaust system vibration. I'm sure it help the head/mani studs too. Pair cyls 1/4 & 2/3 and keep runners short and bends to a min

[NeedCAforS13]

yeah, he told me at the meet its not spooling properly now. that sucks:(

Sean

[Notchbackca]

yellow 4g... strength of a metal has nothing to do with how it can handle heat cylcing, and that post shows about no understanding whatso ever of metalurgy or physics by your friend

tensil strength has never been and never will be the issue, a mild steel manifold can support your turbo just fine, if it was the issue everyone would be running around with tungsten manifolds, but that would most likely crack in 15 minutes, because tungsten may have the highest tensil strength of any metal but its also the most brittle metal

its just not cut and dry stronger is better, if your are building a frame that supports weight and never changes temp thats one thing, but being able to expand and contract without cracking is a WAY different ball game