VTteg

iTrader: (1)

I want to know what the experiences have been with SSautochrome turbo components, specifically thier B18 manifolds. Ive read in previous threads that with proper bracing and support they will not crack. I also want to know it they are AC and PS friendly and if i would have to remove one of the fans from my radiator.

I know a lot of haters will bitch about this company, but they seem to have a stranglehold on the ebay market, so now i want some first hand advise


Thanks.


Modified by 94SlowTec at 8:55 PM 8/19/2004

deeweewoo

I have a 95 Integra LS that I am currently putting a turbo on and I purchaced a ssautochrome manifold off ebay. It has its pros and cons: The radiator fan will have to be removed for installation but it will fit if you want to put it back on but it is a close fit. There is no problem clearing the PS pump but the AC is a really close fit between the downpipe and the back of the AC compressor. I had to refabricate my downpipe to make it fit. Also I had to move the AC line that runs along the top of the radiator but that wasnt that hard. I have pics I can send you if you give me your email. Overall I would say by getting this manifold you are asking for alot more work but you are also saving ALOT of money.

HomeBuilt

I have seen the manifold and was interested in checking one out...

From the recent pictures I have seen it seems like they slightly changed the manifold from the old one that everyone else got.

MY QUESTION IS....IF YOU ARE GOING WITH SUCH A CHEAP MANIFOLD WHAT TURBO WOULD YOU GO WITH THAT IS ALSO CHEAP?

Im not saying anything bad, just wondering because I can't think of any turbo that you could put up to that.

Like personally if they made it for the 14B or a T25 I would go for it but I can't think of anything really that would work well with it and be cheap also.

beepy

There really are a lot of posts covering this.

If you ignore the people who blame manifold failure on poor manufacturing, you'll see that the SSAC manifolds are fine. After reading a half dozen threads, I have come to the conclusion that failures are not only a result of improper bracing, but also from failure to use a flex joint in the exhaust!

Since the SSAC "kits" come with a downpipe that lacks a flex joint, it is no wonder how this happens.

Besides that, the manifolds have had boost creep issues when using 35mm wastegates. The 38mm wastegates, or porting of the wastegate port, seems to solve this problem in medium-to-low boost engines.

B18C4-T

My wastegate fell off 3 times in the first 2 months, I had insane boost creep. I had more problems in 2 months of running that mani than in a year with my drag mani. I took it off and threw it in the trash, worst waste of money I've spent on my car yet. Larry

DRIVENRacing

i didnt have a problem with cracking but one of the braces fell of and it creeps like crazy... i kreeped to 15 psi one time with 8 psi spring... sux.. if your on a budget go for it, but why not just get a log manifold that wont make any problems for same price??? or save up for a full race, crp turbo, hytech, or lovefab, 1fab as well awsome manifolds WELL worht the money..

CivicSiRracer69

My modded Mani There was alot of machining done as well, Cleaned up the Waste gate flange and re welded, Ported the **** out of the Turbo Flange and re welded the top of that as well, then had it Ceramic coated!

EM1 MIKE

I used one of their manifolds for 7 months. Never had any problems with it. It got the job done.

boosted92

Had one for less than a month on the wifes car. Build a downpipe with a flex joint. Wastegate fell off TWICE (literally off, it was hanging on by the vacuum hoses and the dump tube got jammed up somewhere) and all the runners began to crack. Why should I spend time and money welding up braces when I can go spend 400 bucks for a proven SFP manifold that won't crack, and that's exactly what I did. I threw it in the garbage because it wasn't worth dick.

AspectIndustries

Been running it over 3 months and counting. No problems yet! No Boost creeps ! Tubular equal length manifold~! Best bang for the buck ive ever spent!

I braced it and bored the hell out of the WG pipe and cleaned out the uneccesary runners inside the collector. Other then that, it works like a charm!

VTteg

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HomeBuilt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

MY QUESTION IS....IF YOU ARE GOING WITH SUCH A CHEAP MANIFOLD WHAT TURBO WOULD YOU GO WITH THAT IS ALSO CHEAP?

</TD></TR></TABLE>

I dont plan put bolt a cheap turbo onto this manifold. I was going to bolt on a garrett T3/T04E. But since i will be leaving for school in week, i will have time to work on the manifold. It seemed like a good deal if i put time into bracing it and porting out the WG.

From the sound of it, i have about a 75% chance of it cracking but i have contacted the company and on some of thier mani's, they now offer a warrenty against cracks.

Thanks for all the input fellas.

VTteg

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by deeweewoo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I I have pics I can send you if you give me your email. Overall I would say by getting this manifold you are asking for alot more work but you are also saving ALOT of money. </TD></TR></TABLE>


Hey deeweewoo, could you send those pics to scoffrin@coe.neu.edu. Thanks a lot.

-Trinitron-

My room mate (sorry if this is too distant of a testimonial) has been boosted for about 3 maybe 4 months. He had his SSAC manifold braced before installation, and has since been off 3 times to be RE-welded. And it's not because of the down pipe either, as he is running a VERY short open downpipe. Last week a chunk of the collector was sucked in the turbo and became lodged in the blades. It didn't hurt anything, but damn, it could have...

boosted92

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 94SlowTec &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I dont plan put bolt a cheap turbo onto this manifold. I was going to bolt on a garrett T3/T04E. But since i will be leaving for school in week, i will have time to work on the manifold. It seemed like a good deal if i put time into bracing it and porting out the WG.

From the sound of it, i have about a 75% chance of it cracking but i have contacted the company and on some of thier mani's, they now offer a warrenty against cracks.

Thanks for all the input fellas.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Who gives a **** about a warranty when you'd need to take it off every 2 weeks, have a 1-2 week downtime to get it back, and have it crack again in another 2 weeks? Go spend 300-400 dollars on a good manifold that will not crack, theres lots of stuff in the classifieds and that vendors are selling, why waste your time with cheap ****?

093turbo16

iTrader: (2)

Friend has one on his race car, got insane boost creep b/c the wastegate tubing was almost blocked off, he had to cut it off and port it out so it would work. Now it stays pretty constant.

deeweewoo

Yea I will send them as soon as i get a chance.

Ace.

Not to beat a dead horse, but in the grand scheme of things, once you get done with your 'backyard' R+D time to make braces then the money you spend on getting stuff cut off and ported and re welded and braces being welded....

It just doesn't pay...certainly itlooks nice but please go with somethign proven to work without extra engineering sort to say onyour part...


Remember this about OBX and SSAutochrome...they are certinaly the cheap alternative to other companies, but in the end game by purchasing the cheap stuff you in turn make the good stuff more expensive...think about it...you buy a cheap manifold and it cuts in on the profits that a good company could use....so since they loose that profit they in turn loose funidng for new designs of their own...which causes them to bump the price on their existing products to make new ones for you to buy....

IT's a neverending cycle...certinaly you'll always find people that have had good expereince with 'ebay' parts (even myself loved my ebay WAI midpipe)...but I knew that as soon as I could upgrade that I should or did....

Turbocivic94

I had one for a month and boost creeped out of hell, wg fell off, turbo flange cracked few times. I spent more money in rewelding than I could of bought a proven manifold. Now I have Lovefab (money spent right)

Slammd Sol

With a decent bracket setup that removes some of the turbo weight and prevents excessive vibration, this manifold is a great bang for its buck. I got mine for $70 shipped from the FI classifieds. Add in a bracket setup, port the WG hole and have a flex pipe in your exhaust and your good to go. Been running mine for about 2 months now with no probs.

Bracket:





Goes from bottom block bolt to the turbo. Uses washers to get the perfect amount of clearence to support just the right amount of weight.

0project dc2

iTrader: (1)

ive seen a few PERSONALLY that cracked, before and after, i told every one of em they would crack and within a month they came back n asked me to reweld or make them a new manifold.

Marauder

You are only as good as your weakest part!