Anybody have any experience with this eBay manifold?
05-09-2008, 10:20 AM
#1
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Anybody have any experience with this eBay manifold?
Looks pretty but considerably different from BEGi. Just wondering about compatibility, quality, etc.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Turbo...m330233294251&
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Turbo...m330233294251&
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05-09-2008, 11:03 AM
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well, there's a lot of similarity to be sure (and please pardon my ignorance, I'm new to turbos...) but the BEGi has 2 outputs and a bung or connector of some sort. Are these wastegate or EGR related perhaps?
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05-09-2008, 11:24 AM
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they added an EGR outlet and wastegate outlet....those are trival, and not always on every manifold...delete them from the picture and there are identical....why? because an ex-employee sold the design to Chinaman. stealing the images from their site is just a double blow and false advertising..
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05-09-2008, 12:24 PM
#6
haha i do alot that manifold sucks *** like you wouldn't believe it. I had to reweld and re-reinforce that and it still cracked..i can make you one that it's undistructable for a fair price https://www.miataturbo.net/forum/showthread.php?t=20270
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05-09-2008, 02:24 PM
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Good to know it sucks. Thanks for savin' my cash! I'm not really ready for it yet anyhow but thought if it had a good rep it'd be a steal to just buy and have when the time comes.
So far Corky's S4 seems like the nicest thing out there for the money.
So far Corky's S4 seems like the nicest thing out there for the money.
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05-09-2008, 02:27 PM
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This manifold is actually what started me into the whole "I'm gonna put a turbo on my miata" craze. Except mine came with the turbo and turbine outlet elbow for $599. The turbo was a garrett replica from China and none of the fittings fit anything. I actually put JB weld on the threads of everything and screwed them in so they would not move or leak, cause they were some kinda pipe thread that only someone who climbs a tree and picks bananas for breakfast would know about. Then I had to weld a fitting on the manifold for the EGR. It took my like 2 months of making flanges and welding and fabricating parts to make everything fit right, but I finally got everything together and it ran. It actually made good power, and my turbo was at 8psi. It was all fun and games for about 30 miles, then the manifold started to leak; so I knew it was cheap garbage and drove it anyway till it got worse and worse. Then one day at around 200 miles, my turbo decided that the ball bearings needed to fly apart because they were built by a 7 year old boy from some 3rd world country out of recycled aluminum cans and BB's from his Red Ryder BB gun. The shaft moved, and the turbine wheel dug into the turbine housing...beyond rebuild or repair. That was a fun drive home, it looked like I filled my gastank with Diesel by mistake and drove my car, and it sounded like a roots blower because of the wheel grinding against the housing. Then I ripped everything off that weekend and noticed the manifold had cracks on every cylinder right where it comes off the head. I went to loosen the locknut on the fitting I made for the EGR and the whole fitting snapped right off the manifold. The grade of stainless steel it was made of was something I have never in my life seen. I might has well have been made of tissue paper. Everything was trash. I regret being a cheap-***, but now I know. Don't buy any manifold unless it is cast and looks like a thick log of metal. Don't buy any turbo unless it has a stamp on it that says "Garrett." If you're gonna put parts on your car, spend the money and buy quality ones, don't settle for cheap imitations, cause you'll regret it as I did.
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05-09-2008, 03:02 PM
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they added an EGR outlet and wastegate outlet....those are trival, and not always on every manifold...delete them from the picture and there are identical....why? because an ex-employee sold the design to Chinaman. stealing the images from their site is just a double blow and false advertising..
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05-09-2008, 03:07 PM
#11
I did notice that my SSA mani has some surface rust. Doesn't say much for the grade of stainless. I've been running a brace on mine since the install and haven't seen any major problems in 2k miles. But my brace keeps braking - and not at the welds. It breaks at the thinnest metal - first the square tube I used for the arm, then the lower flange that bolts to the motor mount adapter and now at the upper flange that mounts to the downpipe. So even if they don't break, the maintenance and bandaids are pain in the ***.
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05-09-2008, 04:34 PM
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This manifold is actually what started me into the whole "I'm gonna put a turbo on my miata" craze. Except mine came with the turbo and turbine outlet elbow for $599. The turbo was a garrett replica from China and none of the fittings fit anything. I actually put JB weld on the threads of everything and screwed them in so they would not move or leak, cause they were some kinda pipe thread that only someone who climbs a tree and picks bananas for breakfast would know about. Then I had to weld a fitting on the manifold for the EGR. It took my like 2 months of making flanges and welding and fabricating parts to make everything fit right, but I finally got everything together and it ran. It actually made good power, and my turbo was at 8psi. It was all fun and games for about 30 miles, then the manifold started to leak; so I knew it was cheap garbage and drove it anyway till it got worse and worse. Then one day at around 200 miles, my turbo decided that the ball bearings needed to fly apart because they were built by a 7 year old boy from some 3rd world country out of recycled aluminum cans and BB's from his Red Ryder BB gun. The shaft moved, and the turbine wheel dug into the turbine housing...beyond rebuild or repair. That was a fun drive home, it looked like I filled my gastank with Diesel by mistake and drove my car, and it sounded like a roots blower because of the wheel grinding against the housing. Then I ripped everything off that weekend and noticed the manifold had cracks on every cylinder right where it comes off the head. I went to loosen the locknut on the fitting I made for the EGR and the whole fitting snapped right off the manifold. The grade of stainless steel it was made of was something I have never in my life seen. I might has well have been made of tissue paper. Everything was trash. I regret being a cheap-***, but now I know. Don't buy any manifold unless it is cast and looks like a thick log of metal. Don't buy any turbo unless it has a stamp on it that says "Garrett." If you're gonna put parts on your car, spend the money and buy quality ones, don't settle for cheap imitations, cause you'll regret it as I did.
Im more interested if the downpipe fit. Did it connect directly to the cat?
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05-09-2008, 05:33 PM
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Hell no it didn't fit...the outlet for the turbine actually required me to cut it a little cause it was tight against the bellhousing of my trans. I actually cut my stock downpipe down and welded a flange on it so it would bolt up to my new turbine outlet. It'll work if you know how to cut / weld / bend pipe. I do, but it's much easier to call FM and order one, cause it's SS so it'll outlast your car, and you know it'll fit right with no problems.
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