whats the big difference besides the material? is there a big performance differene? i heard the stainless manifolds are more prone to cracking...

 

Cast manifolds in general do not flow as well as a well designed tubular stainless unit. Most cast place the turbo close to the engine with less then optimal bends (not so much the case with FD manifolds, but more so with FC) and bad merge angles, and short runners that are not equal. In general most cast aftermarket manifolds are bullet proof and last a very long time, but there not crack proof (look inside any stock manifold and you'll see tons of cracks) and are fairly cheap when compaired to a well engineered and built tubular manifold. Tubular manifolds in general flow better producing better spool AND more top end. If built well (thick walled tubing, thick flanges and good penetraited welds) a stainless tubular will last a long time. For specifics to good manifold designs use the search function as this has been disscussed in detail several times.

~Mike............

 

You could make a cast stainless manifold out of weld els

 

the HKS Cast manifolds still do a good job of putting out power.


also i think bracing helps on the tubular manifolds, like between the flanges, or ive seen from the turbo to intake manifold. so you have less weight on just the runners > exhaust flange. Don't want that 20lbs+ of turbo to be hung at just one point. distribute the weight.

 

very informative, thanks for your reply.