how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

well, many of you may see the ssautochrome (a.k.a. ssautoshit, ssaoutpoop, ssautocrap, ssautogenitalwarts, etc., etc.) manifolds and be thinking "that looks like a very nice piece, and very cheap as well, but everyone says they're crap :-\". well, consider this a full review/write up on the piece of ---- itself. you can pick up one of these mani's for about 175 which isn't a bad price for a nice looking, stainless, external wg flanged manifold. i bought one b/c my custom manifold didn't fit like it was suppose to, so i was in a bind and needed something quick and cheap. as soon as i got it, i slapped it on, it had two weak braces between the turbo flange and exhaust flange. well, one day when i was under the hood, i noticed that one of the braces had completely fallen off, oh well, no big deal, no problems as of yet. about 4 mos. down the road (yep, it lasted 4 mos. with no problems), i hear a rattling noise from under the hood, and getting very bad exhaust leak. i pop the hood expecting to find some loose bolts on the turbo, but to my surprise, the manifold was cracked on every runner (right on the welds where they met the flange), and in one spot on the collector, the rattling i was hearing was the remaining brace, one of the welds had come loose. my opinion is that it would never have cracked if the braces had not broken, i mean it had a full exhaust, turbo, and wg hanging off of it and reaching heats in excess of 1000°F. so to avoid this head ache, before you slap your ssautoshit mani on, go ahead and brace her up better and reinforce all the welds and it should never break.

this is the last remaining brace (i had already welded it back on and reinforced all the other welds before i decided to take pics)
http://www.we-todd-did-racing.com/we...MXk1NDE%3D.jpg


here, you can see that i had already reinforced the two middle runners, compare them to the two outside runners and tell me which one looks stronger.
http://www.we-todd-did-racing.com/we...MXk1NDE%3D.jpg


as you can see, i welded in another support (after i reinforced the existing one on the left, and then joined the two, i also welded in a support from the wg flange to turbo flange to support the wg), the steel bar can be had at lowes for about 5 bucks.
http://www.we-todd-did-racing.com/we...MXk1NDE%3D.jpg


here's a better shot of the wg brace
http://www.we-todd-did-racing.com/we...MXk1NDE%3D.jpg


if you take the time and spend a couple bucks to do this, your ssautoherpes mani should last just as long as any other manifol, it may not be quite as pretty now (although, i'm sure most of you can weld better than me, so maybe it will), but it will be worth the piece of mind.

btw, i'm holding the manifold with my feet b/c it's pretty ------ hot from welding it.

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

nice writeup buddy.. the damn thing has no more bling value tho

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

sure it does, it's only ugly from the bottom ;)

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

you should email the dick selling these on ebay this writeup.. let him know that his design is flawwed!

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

oh, i'm sure he knows, everybody on here use to send him hate mail telling him he was piece of ----, especially when he started selling his stuff under different names.

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

guy is raping the masses and making lots of money at it. How thin is that stainless steel anyways? I bet it's a really poor grade. I'm no expert in metalurgy (I should really take a class in it) but that thing just looks like ass.

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

it's not too heavy, but my honest opinion is that it will last as long as you want it to if you reinforce it. mine lasted 5 mos. no problems, then the shitty welds on the braces came off and in less than a day, it was cracked to ----.

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

and then you just mig welded mild steal to it?

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

damn straight.

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

and what did you use for shielding gas? 75 argon/25 co2? Did you crank the juice up all the way on the welder.. how many amps was the welder?

The point I'm getting at is I'm wondering how long it will hold since there are a shitload of variables involved here.

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

kevin, I backed your thread up a few times, sayin the same thing,(about bracing) when people would ask about the mani. i was telling people about your mani and how you braced it and it was ok with a few braces...

it seems as if its a great manifold if you just brace it.


I wouldn't mind buying one, and use it as a template, to make my own :P

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

jesus quadnie, it's just a damn ssautofuck mani, let's not get all technical, buy the mani, weld it up, boost the bitch, the end. lincoln electric 135 mig, .035 inner shielded wire, wire speed 5, heat setting c.

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

Nope, still ---- dude.. like I was saying, I doubt the schedule of the pipe is very decent and the grade of the SS I'm sure is poor


I would have to give this statement a big ---- THAT - why waste your money on that thing. It's easy enough to fab your own, the template will be in your head. The problem is, unless you are a master fabricator then you won't get that thing to spec.. you are better off starting from scratch.

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

well I would say at best your welds will get weathered with use/age.. oxidation will set in. At worst it will fall apart in another 5 months ;D

Only messing with you dude - please brush the sand out of your mangina

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

it is fairly thin, not sure of the exact grade, but my point is, it lasted that long with no problems until the braces gave out, therefore leading me to believe that as long as it is braced good, it will last. the day, i'll keep this thread updated to see just how long it last's but i'm sure it will be a while.

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

If you really want to ensure that this manifold will last, you're going to need to take some weight off the manifold and have a flex pipe in your exhaust right after the DP. I fabbed up a peice that goes from the bottom AC block bolt to the turbo. It's very effective in taking weight off the manifold.

Bracket:
http://www.slammdsol.com/new/DSC00001.JPG


http://www.slammdsol.com/new/DSC00008.JPG

Goes from bottom block bolt to the turbo. Uses washers to get the perfect amount of clearence to support just the right amount of weight.

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

very nice :D

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

how thick is the custom bracket... 1/4"?

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

Kevin, I think we forgot that quadnie is a "master fabracator" and everyone elses ideas are stupid and unless its his way, made to the specs he would make them at, welded the way he would, out of the materials he would use. ::)

by the way, I have never seen anything you fabricated. Ive been on this site pretty regularly for about the past 6 months, and have yet to see anything but a gun and criticism. -not even constructive criticism.

I think that kevin has made the point that the SSautomani is ok to use, if you modify it a little. nothing wrong with that. its a decent manifold at a good price, with its drawbacks. just like everythig else.

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

I like that bracket...

Did you make that or buy that?

nathan

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

he made it.

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

Kevin's manifold brings us back to the true meaning and idea behind homemadeturbo. that is doing things the CHEAP way :) good job man!

one little tip: The strongest shape in the world is a triangle. maybe you can use that to strengthen it more. if needed.

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

as many manifolds as that guy sells, you could sell those braces on ebay for 10 bucks each and people would buy them up, they know what they're getting in to when they buy one of his manifolds, i sure did.

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

damn! i wish i could weld! :'(

i'm thinking of buying the $199 manifold/downpipe kit... yay or nay?

anyone in socal area know how to weld? :P

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

Let's see, I wasn't claiming to be the "master fabricator" I was making the point that it's pretty damn hard to make a 1:1 duplicate of something if you don't have a machine to do it for you. I wouldn't be able to duplicate that piece of ----. My point was that the ss----- manifold is an overrated bling paperweight.


Funny, I've never posted any pics of my guns, nor would I. If you don't like my criticism then don't read my posts, definately don't try and call me and out be an ass. I've made plenty of ----, small engine manifolds and I've help to erect a few metal structures. Sorry I don't take pics of every single thing I do and I probably won't be doing much welding since I left my MIG back in arkansas. I'll be sure to document the next thing I do just to satisfy your complaints.

You must be blind in thinking that the manifold in question here is "decent". Why don't you just go out and buy one, you're right about at that knowledge level.

If anything I'm trying to pursuade people to NOT buy those pieces of ---- and to make their own. I would be happy to offer support to people trying to fab their own ----, I discourage people jumping on the bandwagon and buying something flashy and non functional. Even with the braces it's still a piece of ----. Kevin was in a bind and did what he had to do and is paying for it in the long run. Beater made a hell of a manifold, why don't people follow his lead instead?

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

nice work, but that manifold still sucks dick. The runners are tiny and the collector is ----. For the money you could get enough pipe and flanges to make like 4 manifolds, which is what you should go do now since you can obviously weld. ;)

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

quad, im not gonna try to argue with you on the internet, or try to get anyone on my bad side, but I think Kev has a really good point.

your post just proves my point. your right. we are wrong.

you are entitled to your opinions. i am entitled to mine.

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

Slammed nice way to pollish that turd! Best I've seen!

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

The only thing that I'm right about here is that that manifold is a piece of ---- no matter how many welds/braces you add to it.

I would much rather see people make their own manifolds then throw money towards that scammer. Would anyone like any welder recommondations? I would love to help anyone learn something new and not waste money on that thing.


I fear that this post will persuade people to buy those things.. what have you done Kevin!

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

The downpipe is a complete piece of ass. There's no fix for that one.

Good writeup, though! ---- it if it looks ugly, that's what heat wrap was invented for! :P

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

this is true, there is no fix for the down pipe, i don't even think you will be able to get it to work at all.

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

okay... i guess the ss crapifold is not an option for me

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

the manifold is okay, if you do the fixes projekteg showed us, but don't buy/use their downpipe. get some mandrel bends and make your own.

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

or exahust shop for some people who don't have that ability.. crush bends are better then nothing.

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

^^ true that.

I was making my own manni and DP, but then my friend offered to trade me my turbo and WG for the greddy manni, turbo, and DP from the b16 kit. I gladly accepted because that combo is AC friendly, and I plan to put my AC back in. Gotta stay cool in the summer 8)

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

does nobody listen? DON BRACE THE MANI. IT doesmnt allow for thermal expansion and contraction. Remove those bullshit braces and do it like slammd sol, BRACE THE TURBO

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

Or don't get that manifold in the first place ;)

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

true, true. but some ppl are hardheaded

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

I'd rather save a little longer and spend a little more money to buy a welder and supplies to make my own manifold. Not only do you get a welder you can use for other things, you get the satisfaction of knowing that you created a quality piece of equipment for your car...assuming you can weld halfway decent...and if not - practice.

My view personally does not change on the SSAuto stuff, your money is better spent elsewhere.

Re:how to brace your ss auto shit mani.
 

Yup, I learned the hard way. I'm sure that bracing does add better strength to the manifold, but Mine was braced the same way Projekteg's was and it just broke in other spots. I gave up on them. But hey, maybe other's will be more successful.