Got SS manifold Free
 

Hi everyone about a month ago I bought the 3 inch exhaust from SS auto crome. It was sent to me additionally for free. I think its for a t4 but its hard to say. Its the HKS style one. I know there have been a lot of debates and I have gotten one for free so I thought I would try to help everyone here that I can. Now is there a turbo and wastegate i can use with it that are not from XS power or whatever like would a real hks, tial, or pro gate work with this??? I dont want to spend any cash on something that is crap so I dont really want to buy one of their turbos or wg but i may just to help everyone here. I would like to see if the welds hold up and such. Looking in the inside the welds dont seem to have too much left over except right where the wastegate pipe is welded. SO Ill def have to grind it down a bit which is np just hopefully it keeps strength. I recentely was rear ended in my T2 and have frame damage. The person was uninsured and doesnt have any money so Im going to have to sue him. SO in the mean time im probably going to pick up a shell and while Im at it I figured Id give this thing a try...Anyone got a turbo :)

Wow, a free SSautochrome SS turbo exhaust manifold!
I dunno if that's something to be proud of. :(


-Ted

TED, I think the horse is dead :)

They're so bad they're giving them away! I would say from the experiences of others it will only bring you headaches.

There's not much arguement about SS manifolds. I found this on another forum I read, note the date:

Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 11:20:07 -1000 (HST)

The fabricator's name is Keith Miyashiro, owner of Awsome Fabrications, Custom Metal Works (808-351-9514)......he "reminded" me that neither the manifold he did for me, nor the one made by South Florida Performance were stainless steel....He also said that the reason he and SFP do not do ss is that it cracks too easily on rotaries in particular. He did not say he would refuse to do ss, only that he would never be able to confidently say that it would hold together very long.

Apparently rotary SS manifolds tend to crack even if they're not made by SSAutoChrome.

-jb (soon to be moderated)

Ted i know what you mean I just figured since I have it lying around Ill probably give it a try and once it cracks Ill run an hks or something else. What are the options for manifolds by themselves without buying full kits??

id say use it until it cracks, which it will, and while your waiting for it to go save up for a real cast hks manifold. just watch it though, see the flanges are mild steel and the tubing is stanless steel so the expanchion rates are different, so the welds between the flanges will crack first, most likely near the exhaust ports on your motor. but good buy, hope it works out in the end :)

where can you buy the cast hks ones???

If you got it for free, why not bring it somewhere to properly weld the seams so it won't crack...

I think the cracking has more to do with the expansion rates of the metals, then the quality of the welds. I'm sure some excellent welding with the right equipment could prolong the life, but it will likely still fail.

I think yoru right digitalsolo. If the expansion rates are much different between the two welding wont do much for it.

ok, so i know the manifolds are crap.......... what about their exhausts??? they seem to look nice, is that where it ends, or are they actually pretty good???

Free Autochrome Manifold? At least they could of given you something nice :(.

lol so does anyone know where to buy the hks manny???

im sure you'll be able to find one on ebay sooner or latter, but if you want a new one,

$340 for internal waist gate
http://www.hksusa.com/products/?id=657&rsku=3809
or
$400 for the external waist gate
http://www.hksusa.com/products/?id=657&rsku=3810

both are t04 flanges
dont ask why they have a picture of piston turbo man on there, but what ever, the 13bt turbo mans look just like the ss autocrome manifold, they just have something that it doesnt, quality :)

as to that, theres been a few posts on them here, most people say there nice with the exception of the silencer, its been talked about how it likes to rattle after 2,500 and sounds like shit, other then that its a nice exhaust, espically for the price. just keep in mind, as its been talked about too, its very very loud, with the silencer in or out.
i plan on buying one soon, if worst comes to worst (the only thing i worry about is the flanges and the pipe thinkness) its $200 iv lost, but if it works out then i have an extra 300-400 bux i can spend on something else.
also, i dont know about there exhausts but the turbo mans welds are supposed to be fairly crappy, so i plan on checking it and if need going though and strengthing the welds that need it.

Ive had the ss exhaust for a few months now. i didnt notice any rattling but of course I added every stock mount I could and replaced the turbo>dp gasket with an oem one. It is very loud but I like it. And for 200 bucks it was a good deal imo.

Same here
 

I'm in the same boat. For the money, you just cannot beat it.

Oh... by the way, the rattling that people are claiming, is NOT the silencer, if you notice, the exhaust comes out the drivers side. In order to do so, it has to come accross the middle of the car and the path is right by the sub mount. That rattling that people hear is the pipe tapping the mount. Clearance is close, if you do not replace the the rubber hangers with tight/new ones, the exhaust will move and tap the mount. Just as any other exhaust recommends new hangers or provides them for you that's all you have to do. I had the same problem and put it on a lift and saw what was happening. Fixed it for 10 bucks. It's not too loud either, quieter than my old Apexi N1.

Yeah ill never use silencers and never have on any of my cars. I guess since I used new hangers I dont hear that rattle either. hell everything on this car is a close fit. My rear shocks were badly worn out and I had all kinds of rattles from under my car. Installed some tokikos and it went away (and the car handles so much better.