STR exhaust Manifold

[avants2turbo]

Guys,

can you tell me if this manifold is any better than the standard one on my ABY?

im doing a RS2 conversion, aiming for 350-380bhp will this manifold be upto the task?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/AUDI-...spagenameZWDVW

[CliveH]

I looked at this myself, for the same reason.

Looks pretty good in the pics and sounds OK, but why is it sooo cheap...?

[Knight Rider S4]

I looked at this myself, for the same reason.

Looks pretty good in the pics and sounds OK, but why is it sooo cheap...?

Was thinking the same thing...hoping someone here has one and say's there ok

[avants2turbo]

I did a seach on here (str manifold) , and found a thread, guys done a bit of a write up, pics of it when it arrived etc, hes fitted it, but doesnt comment on how it performs....

[A80Avant]

I think Bram had bought one and didnt like it all that much,plus he had to modify it for the wastegate to sit.If it were me i would look away.All 5 runners connecting into 1 bigger is not a good idea.Perhaps the OEM rs2 one could be better.Easily for 380hp.But if you end up getting the OEM,buy the RS2 EVO for the same money and you are good for 500hp!

[k.alle]

This manifold has been discussed over at nordicaudi, some guy in norway. I believe, is running that one and is well happy with it.

The debate about the design of the runners got pretty lively and I think the conclusion was that due to the 5 pot engine design and the way the gas pulses in such an engine it didn't really matter.
It got very very technical over there, but as I said he was happy with it and it had not cracked so that's what really matters I guess.

[A80Avant]

yes you are right.important for me is not to crack,at least soon,but as im not so technical myself,i would go for something that wouldnt need changing in the future.Problem was when i rebuilt my engine,that the EVO manifold wasnt ready yet....

[k.alle]

Yeah well, that's the tricky bit as I understand that most cast design EM's are prone to crack, that goes for RS2 OEM and I guess the EVO too.

Oh, I'm not _that_ technical as those guys were that I referred to, so I can't really add any insight in the discussion

[A80Avant]

the thing is that all manifolds crack,but if they do in 150.000Kms or 20.000Kms is what makes the difference.RS2 manifold on OEM map which is quite lean,it cracks after 120-150K kms and i suspect that the EVO would last as long.If you get a tubular manifold though,it will barely last 20-50K Kms because of it's thin structure and weldings.
I got a promice from my mechanic at some point that he could make a manifold for me,tubular,his design,out of thick metal tubing non stainless steel and it would last as much as 80K kms,or if it didnt he would fix it for free...Didnt believe him! haha,so im sticking to EVO for my next upgrade

[k.alle]

Yeah I get your point.
I guess there's very few people that wants to be guinea pigs with their beloved S2's.

Those STR manis is cheap as chips though, so if one isn't bothered with perhaps changing the EM a little sooner than expected then one should be OK i guess.

We could all sit here and debate about these things to eternity, but it's the IRL performance/durability that really counts IMHO.

[avants2turbo]

im quiet happy 2 buy and fit one, even if it only lasts 10k kms at that price im not fussed, my main concern was if it could handle 350 -380 bhp

[A80Avant]

well it all winds up to how people view it.I dont fancy replacing EM every 10-30K Kms with flanges,studs etc or trynig to figure out why my car is down on power when a small crack develops on the EM which is not visible,especially when i have to pay someone to do all that..

[Rusty]

At that price you could happily replace it every 20k and get about the same distance out of it before an OE RS2 one would crack as so many seem, to have done.

[avants2turbo]

At that price you could happily replace it every 20k and get about the same distance out of it before an OE RS2 one would crack as so many seem, to have done.

But is it going 2 be ok with 350+bhp?

[Rusty]

No idea, Jamo or TerryB usually know these things... there have been flow bench tests of lots of IMs and EMs but I can't remember if this one has been tested. Looks like a larger bore than OE but I suppose it's whether it's better than RS2, as asked above.