EBAY Turbo Manifold?? YOUR EXPIERENCE!!

[E30Idea]

So, with the expectation of your everyday r3v comments from the few people on here that are just mad at the world, I ask you this.

Has anyone had any expierence with the EBAY turbo manifolds? PLEASE... only respond if you have direct expierence with one on your car or if you have a close friend that has had a good or bad expierence. I am considering buying one. IF you have any good info please include the seller that you bought from. That would be a big help in getting something of quality ( if its out there ).

-Ryan

[backtrail69]

I had one but never on my car. The real downfall to these manifolds is they are relatively thin walled tubing. Most high end Manifolds are THICK tubing. This leads to cracking down the road. The other downfall is you have to modify it for an external WG and there really isn't a great way to do this. None of the options are optimal, since it wasn't originally designed for it.

Cliffnotes: Decent design, thin tubing, potential long term cracking and poor external WG options.

If you are doing a relatively inexpensive build with an internal WG and plan to maybe upgrade later it would be a good place to start. I ended up using a Jon Volk Adapter. It has worked great for me.

[Erick]

You'd also like to add that the manifold is thin walled 304SS. Great stuff for a N/A application, but for turbos? Not so much.

E30Idea, regarding your sig, check out:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=96596

[E30Idea]

Hey thanks allot guys. That is really good information. Is there another company out there that I can get a decent T/M from without spending $600 on like 666 fabs?

Also thanks for the lead on a SSK rwdrift, That is the route I think I am going to take. Thanks allot!.

-Ryan

[backtrail69]

IMHO the Volk adapter is the perfect manifold for 99% of setups. It is wonderful quality and flows very well. Matt325is made almost 400 whp on an adapter, I don't think the manifold is the restriction.

[E30Idea]

^^^^^^^^^where do I get one?

[AjRose]

You have a pm.

[backtrail69]

666fab.com

[Madhatter]

thats not true anymore guys. The new generation of ebay manifolds to come out of china arent thin walled anymore. 2.8mm is normal, with 3.0mm pretty common too. Thats plenty thick enough, especially if its been braced. Originally they were lucky to be 2mm, hence all the problems and bad feedback.

They are pretty popular with the japanese crowd down here, i know a few running the 2.8mm manifolds and they havent had any problems with cracks. One person didnt have a perfectly flat flange, but they resurfaced it with some cutting compound and a sheet of glass. Nice and flat now.

So yeah, if they are 2.8 or 3mm, go ahead i say, im going to buy one myself.

[E30Idea]

^^^^ That is great info, Thank You!

[smonkbmw]

i dunno, the guys over on the FI board of bimmerforums say there is no such thing as a good ebay turbo part. and those guys tend to know their shiz....

[backtrail69]

Ixer over on e30tech has found some of the WGs to be alright, but it is so iffy. I would rather guys get a TIAL and not worry.

[Madhatter]

Its metal guys. A lot of our metals already come from countries like china, they have a huge steel industry, at one point it exceeded the US. Their welds generally look pretty good and the joins and flanges look pretty clean, so they arent so bad anymore. If you get a bad one, send it back, a lot of them are offering warranties now.

[SamuraiSam]

I have personal experience. Stay away, seriously. I'm away on vacation right now, or I'd post pictures.

If you are even considering buying one of these huge piles of shit, find an empty pool and dive headfirst off the diving board. It will be far less painful then the aggravation that a piece of shit eBay manifold will cause you as it cracks, needs repair, cracks again, needs bracing, cracks again and breaks several other components in the engine bay, and is finally replaced with a quality part.

I have said it before and I will say it a thousand times.
If you can't afford to do it right the first time, you better be able to afford to do it right the second, third, or fourth time.

I have seen eBay turbos break, and ebay BOV's cause poor running/loss of power conditions, I have seen ebay manifolds crack. The quality of most of these parts looks awesome to the untrained eye, and anyone with experiance will throw it in the garbage where it belongs.

[Madhatter]

no mention how thick your manifold is i see.