Quote:
Originally Posted by Mikester
Those interested... Be advised that ANY typical, [non-cast] mandrel bent tubular turbine manifold has a service life due to design. If you visit the track regularly and get 4-5 good years out yours, you chose wisely. This is exactly why paying $500-600 or more for a tubular manifold is probably not the smartest choice for the average un-sponsored Joe like myself... because many tubular manifolds... even many of the 'brand name' products do not last that long before cracking. And those of you who don't use the support bracket that accompanies most standard SR tubulars will notice yours will crack even sooner yet.
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mandrel bent and cast weld els are two entirely different things.
You won't find a single "name brand made in USA manifold" that is mandrel bent
XS and ebay are currently the purveyors of mandrel bent manifolds
A Full Race or similar manifold will outlast a S-chassis.
Support brackets can cause their own failures. which is why you typically don't see hand built manifolds with bracketing.
That XS power manifold is actually mig welded. you can see it on the collector welds pretty easily. most chinese manifolds are migged and then passed over with a tig and a high chrome/nickel rod to looked tig. you can tell the tig cap pass was cold and high chrome rod since its held its color way better than the typical crap china 304 SS.
I'd probably eat my hat if that manifold was backpurged. the collector seems to be welded inside and out and the runner welds seem to have sugaring.
these two photos show the not so hidden MIG pretty well.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7373/...46cc51_c_d.jpg
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7350/...b5c00b_c_d.jpg
fabrication has come a long way since people came up with their opinions of hand built manifolds, mainly on the back of full race bringing everyone out of the dark ages. Cool that this is working out for you, but far from what you get from established companies.