Have a look at these manifolds and tell me what you guy's think. Please speak freely and don't hold back any questions. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Yes they were jet-hot coated. These manifolds are hand made. I need some questions and feed back from you guys so I can complete my research and developement. I will be becoming a sponsor of the sight once I get any question ironed out. I want to be able to offer these manifolds at a fair price. In other words far below the Ferrari price tag. Please no questions about cost. THEY ARE NOT FOR SALE AT THIS TIME. Only when I become a sponsor will anything be sold. This is strictly for reasearch perposes at the moment. Rob if you feel this should not be placed on your board..please remove. These are in the prototype stage.
Q1 How does the sound compare to the factory originals? Q2 Is the heat generated less than the factory originals?
The entire header is made for 304 stainless. The ones pictured are the prototype manifold. All tubes are equal length as original..but will be fully mandrell bent..not peiced together like in the pic. I'm installing these units on a 355 I have at my disposal for this purpose. The flex peice is also stainless steel. That is a Canadian patented design. It will withstand super high heats. It is an expensive unit but worth the money. I have not yet been able to do any dyno runs. These are built as a stock replacment unit. I will in the future maybe offer a performance style header..but these must come before any performance stuff can be even thought of. I will be doing a dyno test on this car just for information purposes only. The reason for using the flex is to remove the stress that the original manifold has to put up with that cats and crossover pipe cause. IMHO their is not enough movment in the stock exhaust design to allow for engine flex..or for enigne mounts that get weak over time. All this can put undue stress on the manifolds.
Jet Hot coatings do dissipate heat better than stock. I had a few engine parts from a show car years ago coated. It does reduce under hood temps.
I will have the car up and running tomorrow (hopefully). The coating will definatly help with underhood temps. I'm going to be getting another 355 with the stock manifolds and take temp readings of the engine bay, with the hatch closed and compair the readings with the prototype units. The entire unit is 304 stainless. They are a bit heavier then the stock manifold most due to the better material we have made them from. I'm shooting for a lifetime garentee(or for as long as you own the car).
I might be a bit confused here?? but isn't the reason for ceramic or "Jet Hot" coatings to reduce absorbption and radiation and pass the heat on through the exhaust, not use it as a radiator to heat up the engine compartment?? Are the pipe diameters the same?? The bends and welds look good. Does the Bellows affect longevity or flow? Are there any interior construction or desing improvements to enhance flow? NICE looking work. best, chris
Tom They look good, like the big round air tubes .. the square one are prone for cracking as you know. In addition to sound and hp benefits the main question (for 355's) is how will they stand up against cracking.. So, if you want to market them, you will have to consider what kind of warranty you would be prepared to offer. Just something to consider.. Please continue to keep posting your test results...I know many 355 owners here would be interested.
I would have thought that mandrel bending would be much more expensive plus the differing wall thickness through the bends? I always fabricate the tubes from off shelf bends. I would suggest a waterjet type cutting for the flanges, they come out with a good ready to weld finish. What heat treat is used after fab? Was the ceramic in house? Unusual to see the runs in the finish. Brian
Are these the same manifolds I saw on e-bay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7926059100&category=33632
Yes those are the manifolds on ebay. My partner and I are using ebay as a market reasearch tool for the momment. We want to see if there is any real interest in this product.And if it is worth going into full production or make them on a build to order basis only. Brian S..... Mandrell bending is a bit more expensive but it will make the manifold a much better flowing unit then the protype unit showen. With the better quality stainless steel and it also being a thicker steel the bending, I feel will have a very minimal effect on the strength of the metal. All flangers will be water jet cut and be almost identical to the original units. The Jet coat on these manifolds was not done aswell as I had hopped. The company that did them for me has heard about it already..trust me the next ones will be beautiful. FL355...I'm shooting for a liftime warrenty on these headers. But for now they are still in the test stages. The car will be up and running tomorrow I hope. I will be driving the car and monitoring the under hood temps with an infarred thermomiter. Then it's off the the track for a few hot laps. I'm also going to be doing various stages of temperature runnings test. Such as short trips and starting and idleing and then shutting off again. Just to find out how well the pipes and welds will hold up to consatnt temperature changes. Please keep all the questions and comments comming..it's really a big help! Thank you guy's very much.
Don't forget to give us your feedback on the sound they make compared to the originals and/or tubi etc.
Looks good. I would assume if mandrel bent that the welds will be gone. Also all of the final welds should be ground smooth including the inside where it can be done. And my last comment is the flex joint. I have found in the past that this is the weak joint. I would suggest that you make this piece replaceable because it will break. Other than that its good to go.
