524td vs. Ebay turbo manifold

[David Alejandro]

I bought a complete kit everything was good except the manifold it cracked on installation I swear

Pics of crack? imho, that is what a welder is for.... :D

[mikeedler]

Pics of crack? imho, that is what a welder is for.... :D

exactly!

I can weld anything that does crack with my welder. I have 2 324TD exhaust manifolds and still decided to go the ebay route. it looks way cooler- and with a few reinforcements works totally fine-- and I have yet to do anything to mine-- except drill it and add the wastegate tube to it. no problems.

[lifeiskaos]

666fab will flow better than 524td and is more durable than ebay manifold. used ones often go for about $250. they allow you to run just about any size turbo (you will be restricted to tiny turbo with the 524td manifold)

i had your mindset when i started my turbo m20. i thought i could use a cheap manifold, a turbo chip, with a total btudget of $1000. well a year and $3000 later, i finally finished my build with all quality parts and standalone engine management, then my piston rings took a shit.

moral of story:
1) triple your budget
2) tuning is the most important part of your build
3) dont turbo your only car

[yberther]

3) dont turbo your only car

that's good.

[lifeiskaos]

if you get a great tune and have a healthy engine and quality components, maybe i'd trust it as a DD, but aftermarket turbo systems are simply not as reliable. in any case, you need something to drive while you're doing the work. DIY turbo install can not be done in a weekend and you WILL have to make runs to local hardware stores or order some more parts etc. keep your options open. do a shit ton of research, save 3 times as much as you plan on spending so by the time you spend twice as much, you'll have some left over.