Exhaust manifold thoughts
 

So from doing some searches, the steel tubular turbo manifolds sold on flea-bay are pure junk. So what are your thoughts on a cast iron flea-bay manifold? Doomed from the start?

http://trendgears.com/ebay/TacoTacoN...F-Miata164.jpg

Search for post by bryantaylor. He's running that manifold. He bought it when it first came out to test it. It's been working fine for him. I'd buy it if I had a 1.6. But it's more expensive now. Used to be like 110 shipped.

Yeah bryantaylor says good things about it...
Probably the best low dollar option out there.

Thanks, did a search of the user name and found him, maybe he will chime in with a current status of the manifold :D

yeah, that sucks

what makes the flea bay tubular manifolds crap but the diy tubular manifolds better?

metal quality and thickness

I bought the cheap manifold and it would not even bolt up correctly. I had to drill the holes a little bigger to fit the studs because the were not drilled in the right spots, they were just off enough to not fit.

yeah megan isnt perfect but for the 300 bucks mine ran me for the mani and DP its worth it.

IMO, the BEGi manifold is the way to go. I think $400-$500 is completely reasonable for a quality manifold, especially from a company that has been so active and helpful in the Miata field for many years. They are always in touch with the community and seem quite readily available to help out wherever need be.

http://memimage.cardomain.com/ride_i...0139_large.jpg

my stainless log is available. I just finished welding a crack between 2-3 behind the turbo flange. this time I welded it inside too. shoot me a pm if interested.

Wow, why the two oil drains?

one is for the breather tank. empties itself!:giggle:

Thanks for the offer but I bought a Bell manifold a week ago. After a lot of reading, and that I need to be CARB legal the Bell was the best choice. :D

I think you need the whole kit to comply with the CARB requirements. The manifold itself with a DIY turbo kit may still give you problems when it comes time to smog you car :( The test only guys are even tougher and may not do it with or without the CARB decal. The smog law is so silly sometimes, CA is way out of hand. but it did clean-up the air a bit. Plus the state needs more of your money.

um...doesn't that defeat the purpose?

I am not too worried I am following the CARB rulling pretty close to the letter. And luckly most smog stations do not know how to identify all the parts. So it is very doable. :D

http://arb.ca.gov/msprog/aftermkt/devices/eo/D-349.pdf

how so?

Man, I'm so relieved I dont live in California. What a retard clusterfuck.

Anyways, your welds dont exactly look perfect, but whoop de do--I couldnt do any better anyways. They do their job well and it looks like you have a good piece there Demetri.

Holy warped head flange

Yeah, isnt that crazy? I'm surprised that more people dont cut slots to allow for warpage after the whole GReddy manifold deal.

Still, it bows the opposite direction of what Corky said in his book..though the direction I would expect based off of the localization of the heat from the turbo.

the welding...

he's right. i worked backwards, welding from the head flange to the t2 flange and it warped. i had it machined down and used the manifold for a couple of years but it developed a crack between 2 and 3 behind the turbo. i had not welded inside the tube where it cracked.

the repair warped it again. exhaust heat wont warp it. welding will but, considering it was the first one I TIG welded, it was ok to use. what can i say :noob: mistake. i'm not a pro weldor. just needs a 20$ planing.

anyway, I'm selling it cheap so back to the OP subject, shall we? :)