[Z U L8R]

i've been running an xs power manifold for 6 months making decent power, mine is wrapped with DEI heat wrap, i believe i used a roll and a half for my mani/turbo exhaust housing/downpipe. like they said get it wet first or you'll have itchy skin afterwords. plus it does take the manifold's shape better, and you won't get as much smoke at first when you first run your car.

ANY manifold can/will crack eventually, i'd rather crack a $200 manifold once a year than a $1000 manifold once every year and a half. it does hold in heat twice as long, but it DEFINATELY lowers engine bay heat and help with turbo efficiency. the better of the two is to get it heat coated, which does look better in my opinion, but if you need to get your car back together just heat wrap it. those metal zip ties are friggin expensive, i use metal wire/twine and make two hooks on each end, kind of like rapping your leg with ace bandage, and it works pretty well.


most people crack manifolds because 1. they have a big ass heavy turbo and they could really benefit from making a little support bracket (ps i don't have one) but most importantly 2. they don't have a flex pipe in their down pipe, which i've found is the biggest reason for blowing the manifold to turbo gaskets. i've never cracked a manifold and i've always used flex pipe in my down pipe. good luck
Dave

PS, people act like getting a hairline crack in a manifold is the worst thing on the planet....it's not the end of the world to take it off, get the crack welded, and come up with a way to prevent it in the future.