Manifold replacement

[Snake278]

Hi there, I suspect my manifolds to be cracked and I'm thinking of getting the engine out to fix a few things, so it may be time to changes the manifold, I have two option so far, and I want to do a ceramic coating on the new manifolds.

The question is: Are the ACT's Performance manifold worth the £400 difference with the standard ones ?
What are the pro(more torque ?)/cons (Spark plugs access/price) of both choice ?

Any help would be welcome

[gruffalo]

Snake278 said:

Hi there, I suspect my manifolds to be cracked and I'm thinking of getting the engine out to fix a few things, so it may be time to changes the manifold, I have two option so far, and I want to do a ceramic coating on the new manifolds.

The question is: Are the ACT's Performance manifold worth the £400 difference with the standard ones ?
What are the pro(more torque ?)/cons (Spark plugs access/price) of both choice ?

Any help would be welcome

I have the balanced headers from ACT, noticeable increase in torque and mid range power.

[Snake278]

Do you have access to the spark plug ?
Did you apply any coating ? (I heard they where glowing red at fast idle)

[gruffalo]

Regarding the spark plugs it is tight but yes you can get to them.

I have not had them coated yet but they are being done in the next couple of week to help keep the under bonnet temps down.

One good thing is that because they are in bits they are much easier to fit and remove if you need to inorder to gain access to bits.

One thing worthy of note is that mine are now several years old and are as good as new, no cracking of issues like that and they look good.

Are they worth the extra, I think so, I had them fitted and just forget about them.

[scotty_d]

Fitted my act ones recently, the rear 2 plugs are a little tricky to get at, I have a technique now so not too tricky.

No idea on performance changes yet, laid up till spring.

[Jhonno]

I have the ACT Performance manifolds.. Figured if I was spending £1k what's a bit more?!

The quality/fit of my manifolds wasn't up to the price, my primaries were poorly finished to the mounting flange and my collectors rattle on my gearbox, but Tim was in the process of 'discussing' this with the manufacturer.. So I believe this will have been resolved. As for performance.. A noticeable improvement in bottom and mid range on my 4.2. 4.2's respond better to them it seems.

Tim is also a top bloke to deal with..

[grovest]

I'm not sure if this is useful information but I had my original 4.5 manifolds welded and ceramic coated, inside and out, over three years ago and they are still good with no re-occurrence of cracking. Welding was £70 and coating £300, all plus VAT. Tom.

[Snake278]

grovest said:

I'm not sure if this is useful information but I had my original 4.5 manifolds welded and ceramic coated, inside and out, over three years ago and they are still good with no re-occurrence of cracking. Welding was £70 and coating £300, all plus VAT. Tom.

This could be a good option if my manifold are not cracked, but I can hear the pop and bang going from under the bonnet, so I think they are...
And I will have to do a remap since I fitted the short Induction so I may go for the balanced headers.

Anyway thanks everyone for your help.

[Byker28i]

I have the ACT manifolds and the 2.5" bore quiet exhaust system, 380bhp at the rolling road from my 4.2.

[Snake278]

Is CAMCOAT a good place for a ceramic coating ?
Is there any problem with coating, like transfering all the heat right under the gearbox etc... ?