Header or Manifold??? HELP

nfieldzy12

Member
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2003 Mazdaspeed Protege
So my manifold on my MSP is cracked and right now i just have it welded for a temporary fix. I am trying to decide whether to go with a header or a manifold for a replacement but i have heard that it isnt good to put a header on an MSP and just to go with a manifold? Can someone clear that up for me
 
Technically all a 'header' means is that its tubular in nature, not cast from a mold...You will run into guys that say 'turbo headers', which is just a tubular exhaust manifold for a turbocharged car...and even NA cars come with a manifold, not a true header...

so some users even on this board are running 'turbo headers', like the pope or defunct MAM units...and even tweety's pic of a turbo manifold; you could run into some old school guys that would refer to that as a header for a turbo...

but i do agree...just call it a manifold if speaking of a turbocharged car...avoids confusion...
 
Technically all a 'header' means is that its tubular in nature, not cast from a mold...You will run into guys that say 'turbo headers', which is just a tubular exhaust manifold for a turbocharged car...and even NA cars come with a manifold, not a true header...

so some users even on this board are running 'turbo headers', like the pope or defunct MAM units...and even tweety's pic of a turbo manifold; you could run into some old school guys that would refer to that as a header for a turbo...

but i do agree...just call it a manifold if speaking of a turbocharged car...avoids confusion...

Thank you! thats what i was confused about...so is there any manifold you would recommend replacing it with? I know these cars are notorious for cracking the manifold and i dont want it to happen again.
 
Read through some of the various MSP builds...there are different options, but parts for these cars seem to come and go regularly as far as availability...so your best bet for any aftermarket manifold replacements will most likely show up in the For Sale sections.

Also...as far as the stock manifolds...its actually not the manifold itself, but its Mazda not including a flex pipe in the stock exhaust system (its arguable that the stock cup joint is enough)...Cast iron doesn't bend, thats the problem...You can easily address exhaust rigidity problems with either having a flex pipe welded into the stock mid-pipe...or run stiffer engine mounts...or both...that will make it very unlikely that you'll crack another manifold with roughly stock output...the stock engine mounts allow you to rock the engine around with your bare hands, they're a joke...
 
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Technically all a 'header' means is that its tubular in nature, not cast from a mold...You will run into guys that say 'turbo headers', which is just a tubular exhaust manifold for a turbocharged car...and even NA cars come with a manifold, not a true header...

so some users even on this board are running 'turbo headers', like the pope or defunct MAM units...and even tweety's pic of a turbo manifold; you could run into some old school guys that would refer to that as a header for a turbo...

but i do agree...just call it a manifold if speaking of a turbocharged car...avoids confusion...

Always something to learn from you lol

Nfield- any manifold will crack over time. When you get a new one have it ceramic coated it will help it live a bit longer and look nicer
 

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