ebay Turbo Manifold Question

thomjs1

Member
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2003 Mazdaspeed Protege
I was browsing eBay and saw this turbo manifold. Is this a direct fit for the MSP?

Aldo what is the quality compared to the stock cast one?
 
I have a real hard time believing anything like this on Ebay will fit without modification and last more than a month. But, if I was in need of a manifold, I would be seriously tempted to give it a try. If you go for it, certainly let everyone know how it works out.

The stock one is going to be a lot more durable than any tubular steel design. It is supporting a lot of weight, and I think that's why most of them crack. I would love to see a poll of how many people with cracked stock manifolds had an aftermarket DP.
 
jdwk, do you think there is anyway to support an aftermarket Dp to prevent the stocker from cracking?
 
jdwk, do you think there is anyway to support an aftermarket Dp to prevent the stocker from cracking?

I saw this and posted the other day. It's a Thunder V2 knock off. I'm ordering one next week because I'm in need of a replacement and have missed out on the last two in the FS section. I can weld, so if it begins to fail, I'll fortify it as much as possible. It's only $200 shipped, so I'm going for it.
 
I have a real hard time believing anything like this on Ebay will fit without modification and last more than a month. But, if I was in need of a manifold, I would be seriously tempted to give it a try. If you go for it, certainly let everyone know how it works out.

The stock one is going to be a lot more durable than any tubular steel design. It is supporting a lot of weight, and I think that's why most of them crack. I would love to see a poll of how many people with cracked stock manifolds had an aftermarket DP.
Every stock manifold I've seen, including mine, has had a factory down pipe...
 
And the problem with the factory manifold cracking is due to the fact it's cast iron and is subject to much more heat than other non-turbo cast manifolds.
 
ive had that exact manifold and it cracked on the inside where all 4 pipes meet and a huge hissing crack , i bought a mig welder and was able to correct the crack temporarily, the crack kept coming back and the p0171 was so annoying so i went back to the stock cast manifold and i am very pleased.
 
I saw this and posted the other day. It's a Thunder V2 knock off. I'm ordering one next week because I'm in need of a replacement and have missed out on the last two in the FS section. I can weld, so if it begins to fail, I'll fortify it as much as possible. It's only $200 shipped, so I'm going for it.

If its not too much trouble, could you make a thread with pics, and your opinion on the initial quality of it?
 
Do you know how to weld? No offense, but if you don't and you get it too hot when welding, it'll continue to crack. Is it the welds that are cracking or the piping/flange?
 
If its not too much trouble, could you make a thread with pics, and your opinion on the initial quality of it?

Yeah, most definitely. I had planned on it, because manifolds are scarce and we need another option, so I figured I'd let everyone know what's up with it.
 
Cast iron can certainly handle the heat, it actually expands much less than stainless steel. Nearly every stock manifold (exotics not included) I've ever seen regardless of aspiration is cast iron. The manifolds on the Corvette ZR1 are cast iron. GT500 also cast. Mits EVO. All produce much more horsepower and heat than we are capable of without major modification.

I believe the 70 pounds of turbo and exhaust hanging off of it in combination with the heat is the problem. How many cracked stock manifolds are out there? A lot, but the overall percentage is low. Now I don't know anyone who has run a thunder or similar tubular manifold that hasn't cracked for any significant amount of time, and lots of reports like yours with multiple cracks.

And there are plenty of people that have swapped down pipes without swapping the manifold. In fact, it is wise since the manifold gives very little performance benefit compared to the down pipe. However, no aftermarket down pipe has the bracket mount of the stock S pipe putting the entire weight of the turbo and exhaust on the manifold.

There are a couple advantages to SS tubular exhausts (weight and flow), but the real reason they exist is that you don't need a forge to make them. They can be welded up by any skilled fabricator with very little equipment expense.

Dr0, you could certainly weld up a bracket onto an aftermarket DP, but it would only be as strong as that weld and I think that would be the first thing to crack. I've spoke to Pope about this and we really couldn't come up with anything we thought would work. His idea was just to make the manifold as strong as possible. Only a handful of them got made before he realized he didn't have time to make them, so we'll have to see what happens with those guys.
 
While I agree, the cracks I've seen are all in the same place- between the 2 and 3 runners...
 
Can you take a picture of the crack? I'd like to see the exact shape and size as well as the location.
 
jdwk thanks for your insight... do you think running an aftermarket dp on the stock manifold would be a bad idea? id rather not make the mistake of cracking my manifold bc of the weight, and do you think welding in a suppot to the pope dp a bad idea?
 
I really don't have any proof that the weight is a major factor, but Callaway put that bracket there for a reason. Even if a poll clearly indicated the majority of cracked manifolds had aftermarket DP's, it could just be that most people with aftermarket DP's also run higher boost or piggybacks to lean out the mixture thus increasing exhaust temperature.

However, welding in a support certainly will not hurt anything other than maybe aesthetics, and if it breaks there you know your manifold will not be far behind.

If you or someone you know can weld, it would probably be a good idea. The annoying thing is you will have to install it, mark the location and angle, then remove it to weld on the bracket, but definitely worth it if it saves just one manifold.

For s**** and giggles I looked up the cost of a new OEM manifold and it is $1400. What a joke. What are they going to do with them?
 
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