OEM vs Tomei vs Cheap knockoff Manifold and dumps

[GTR_Russ]

Hey guys, I'm in the middle of a 7 year rebuild and thought it would be cool to compare different exhaust manifolds and dumps. I picked up some cheap Chinese knockoffs originally to replace my OEM ones but they were such garbage I went with Tomei. Turbos used for reference were Garret 2860-5's so I don't know how different they are from stock. Also the dumps are off a 1990 Nismo edition but I don't think they are different from non-nismo's. Anyways here are the side by side pictures:



Stock, Tomei, Obx? Turbo side




Downpipe side



Side view



Exhaust manifolds cylinder head side, Tomei on left



Manifolds Turbo side



OEM manifold to turbo fitment. Perfect as expected.



Cheap one. Fits like crap. No way to make it work without serious work.



Tomei one. Fits just as good as OEM.

So please learn from me, this is something I've noticed. You always get what you pay for!

[tryingtobebest]

Great comparison thread!!!
Please take a note people and refer to it when there will be questions about obx quality!

Good job man!))

[tryingtobebest]

The only thing I would ask OP is to try to keep alive this pics as much as you can, that this thread would be worth wile in 3-4 years and later!

[cobrAA]

Awsome thread there!

One thing tho, Tomei dump are as good as your downpipe is and your catback: People want to get 76mm dump pipe but the downpipe is then downsized to 70mm and finally the catback is downsized to 80mm.

If I'm not mistaken, to make the tomei dump worth it you need a 2x 3inch downpipe to 1x 4inch ( which honestly, havent found one brand who does it) and if you have angry cops in your city, I doubt they will appreciate your 4inch catback.

[Dragon Humper]

Awsome thread there!

One thing tho, Tomei dump are as good as your downpipe is and your catback: People want to get 76mm dump pipe but the downpipe is then downsized to 70mm and finally the catback is downsized to 80mm.

If I'm not mistaken, to make the tomei dump worth it you need a 2x 3inch downpipe to 1x 4inch ( which honestly, havent found one brand who does it) and if you have angry cops in your city, I doubt they will appreciate your 4inch catback.

I ran 4" wide open all summer, no cops even looked at me. It's not as loud as you think and I have a HUGE turbine housing making any exhaust on my car louder than most. A resenator and a muff and it would be quite livable.




Jon.

[GTR_Russ]

Also forgot to mention earlier but the way the cheap dumps are designed they make it next to impossible to bolt up properly to the turbine outlets. I tried just getting studs then using nuts. Still difficult. I'm so happy with the Tomei stuff. It comes with everything gaskets, heat wrap, tie straps... EVERYTHING! And it's soooo freaking nice too! Next I'm thinking of comparing a Greddy Intake manifold vs one of the cheap eBay ones... Dunno if the difference will be as bad.

[Bruizer]

Unlike the tomei or any other tubular manifold, the OEM cast won't crack.

Get them ported, save the $7-1000 for something else and you'll be fine. Lots of people running over 500whp with stock exhaust manifolds, dumps, downpipe, exhaust. If your simply looking to have a cool parts list or just spend money, get obvious thngs like shiny engine parts!

I had run tomei everything and other than shiny and expensive they were ok, I got rid of them.
If you want a bigger downpipe, I have a midori twin 80mm to a single 90mm, stainless. So twin 3-1/8 to a single 3-3/4 or something like that. Rated up to 1000hp

[Armanio]

Thank you very much for contributing. In a nutshell, Tomei is awesome as usual, chinese knock-offs fit like ass.

[kskyliner32]

my friend got cheap knockoff exhaust manifolds for his rb26 and they were the same way almost every nut or bolt would hit the piping and not fit right.