cracked ebay manifold
#62
Supporting Vendor
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Lake Forest, CA
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Ebay manifolds are garbage. If you want something reliable look at fm, begi, absurtflow, or other of our vendors here on the forum. From memory those 3 are the common biggies.
There was a diy thread few days ago that was also very good guide.
https://www.miataturbo.net/diy-turbo...anifold-66261/
There was a diy thread few days ago that was also very good guide.
https://www.miataturbo.net/diy-turbo...anifold-66261/
#63
Here's what I came up with option-wise:
Buy an FM/Begi manifold and use a flange adapter to convert from T2/25 to Mitsu 7cm, or cut off the flange, weld on the correct one, and hope/pray that welding to the cast mani would hold. Then I'm only left with remaking the dp to fit. I didn't like either of those options.
Pay someone (Artech for 1.6) to fab a whole new mani/dp setup, or attempt to do it myself. Don't want the downtime associated with either, the cost of a custom piece, or the fail of my own rushed attempt.
So I went the direction of buying a relatively inexpensive complete mani/turbo/dp combo that will keep my car on the road indefinitely. Then I have all the time in the world to refine my welding skills and remake my 16g mani/dp. Then resell the interim turbo setup to recoup that money.
#65
I'm actually a bit surprised that given it seems this is not a one-off issue, none of the manufacturers/suppliers - even the ones that specifically service this community, have come up with a reasonable price replacement for what seems a popular setup - I'm facing (it seems) around $600-$800 to get a mani (or more for mani and dp) fabricated locally, because none of the off the shelf options match the current placement of mani-turbo-dp, and no-one locally has gone down the same route I have.
You guys in the US seem very lucky to have so many more miata-turbo resources - here we have very few.
You guys in the US seem very lucky to have so many more miata-turbo resources - here we have very few.
#66
Former Vendor
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Sunnyvale, CA
Posts: 15,442
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Building and marketing a quality replacement manifold specifically for a market of people who were too cheap to buy a quality manifold in the first place is not a sound business decision.
#67
Show me where I could have purchased a high quality, commercially-made manifold for my 16g two years ago and I'll go back in time and buy it. I still don't understand why there's no good manifold on the market, for either 1.6 or 1.8, that works with a Mitsu footprint. It's not for a lack of interest, evidenced by the number of shitty eBay manifolds for that application that are sold.
#70
Show me where I could have purchased a high quality, commercially-made manifold for my 16g two years ago and I'll go back in time and buy it. I still don't understand why there's no good manifold on the market, for either 1.6 or 1.8, that works with a Mitsu footprint. It's not for a lack of interest, evidenced by the number of shitty eBay manifolds for that application that are sold.
#71
If begi or fm or whatever dropped their prices by 100 bucks per part, people would still buy ebay and cry about it.
#72
I made my 1st manifold myself. Spent about 300-350 in materials, but more importantly, a TON of hours working on it and making sure it fits and works and all that jazz.
Now consider someone that wants to make a profit off this: how much more would they need to charge for it to be worth it?
Suddenly, 600-700 for a mani really isn't unreasonable at all. Hell, the only reason begi and fm can sell their logs for 300-400 is because they made a metric shitton of them and are making more money off quantity all total, and not each unit specifically. I bet their profit is no more than 10-20% or something silly like that.
Quality costs money. The only way to get cheap products that are GOOD is when you find someone that doesn't value their time or makes eleventy billion of something.
Now consider someone that wants to make a profit off this: how much more would they need to charge for it to be worth it?
Suddenly, 600-700 for a mani really isn't unreasonable at all. Hell, the only reason begi and fm can sell their logs for 300-400 is because they made a metric shitton of them and are making more money off quantity all total, and not each unit specifically. I bet their profit is no more than 10-20% or something silly like that.
Quality costs money. The only way to get cheap products that are GOOD is when you find someone that doesn't value their time or makes eleventy billion of something.
#77
If you think the market is there and no one has jumped on it then this would be your chance to do just that. Even if you can't fabricate you could partner with and make some money. If you aren't willing to take that risk or put in the effort then you must not be too confident that there is money to be made.
But I still don't have startup money, so yeah, not gonna happen.