Well, a couple of weeks ago i had the opportunity to pick up a MAM tubular manifold. I had the thunder manifold (no complaints at all), but i had always wanted the MAM one. Anyways, i spent the past few days on an awful journey to get this thing installed.
I honestly think this was the last manifold made by Beau. It was his going away gift to the protege community. Runner number 4 was incredibly close to the flange. Fortunately, this created problems for 3 of the mounting holes on the flange. I had to trim a stud and a nut down just to fill one of the holes in the flange. I had to grind down and cut a wrench in half just to gain access to these "hidden" bolts/nuts.
Having tons of experience with the protege aftermarket, i usually expect products less than perfect. However, it was down right poor the lack of attention and care Beau put into this manifold. This was one of those mods that made me want to just sell the damn car... or even drive it off a cliff.
Anyways, failure was not an option, so now i have a brand new ceramic coated MAM manifold hanging off my engine!
Here are some pictures of my manifold:
Notice the bottom bolt. And yes, it is almost touching the runner. And yes it was the source of great anger.
The manifold looks great, but notice how close the runners get to the flange.
I almost had to shave off part of the head. The fourth runner was within millimeters of not fitting.
Finally installed and it looks amazing IMHO.
Just for comparison, you can see how much these manifolds vary. I know each will be different, but notice how much the fourth runner changes. There is actually room to gain access to all of the bolts. And the runner is not about to hit the head.
This is Jurgs01's manifold:
This is 505zoom's manifold:
I am sure the performance aspect will outweigh the awful install experience... it better!!!
Just thought i would share with the community...
I honestly think this was the last manifold made by Beau. It was his going away gift to the protege community. Runner number 4 was incredibly close to the flange. Fortunately, this created problems for 3 of the mounting holes on the flange. I had to trim a stud and a nut down just to fill one of the holes in the flange. I had to grind down and cut a wrench in half just to gain access to these "hidden" bolts/nuts.
Having tons of experience with the protege aftermarket, i usually expect products less than perfect. However, it was down right poor the lack of attention and care Beau put into this manifold. This was one of those mods that made me want to just sell the damn car... or even drive it off a cliff.
Anyways, failure was not an option, so now i have a brand new ceramic coated MAM manifold hanging off my engine!
Here are some pictures of my manifold:
Notice the bottom bolt. And yes, it is almost touching the runner. And yes it was the source of great anger.
The manifold looks great, but notice how close the runners get to the flange.
I almost had to shave off part of the head. The fourth runner was within millimeters of not fitting.
Finally installed and it looks amazing IMHO.
Just for comparison, you can see how much these manifolds vary. I know each will be different, but notice how much the fourth runner changes. There is actually room to gain access to all of the bolts. And the runner is not about to hit the head.
This is Jurgs01's manifold:
This is 505zoom's manifold:
I am sure the performance aspect will outweigh the awful install experience... it better!!!
Just thought i would share with the community...
