The fire ring (the circular metal seal between the turbine inlet and exhaust manifold) turned itself vertical while I was installing the manifold and I did not notice. After running for a few thousand miles, it is now melted, misshapen and useless. At least it didn't manage to get down to the turbine blades. Anyway, how necessary is this ring on a stock 14b? I have an FP manifold and am running 14psi of boost on an unmodified 14b.

You dont need it. Its just there to help line up turbo to manifold for stock. It has no business being there really. Youll be fine without it.

ya, its just a guide for the turbo to align with the header. you can port the turbo hot side to remove the seat for the guide. itll be better exhaust flow

If you're running a manifold that doesn't have the groove to hold the ring in place, you don't install the ring.

Despite what others have stated, it's actually there to keep from burning the gasket over long-term use and has nothing to do with alignment. I've actually seen turbos that had loose manifold-to-housing bolts yet they didn't leak at the joint thanks to the sealing ring being intact.

Thank god it didn't get down into the turbine- I've seen this happen on two 14B's, junking both turbos.

Thats good to know. It makes sense. I always figured it was for alignment. Guess I learned my lesson for the day

I initially thought it was for alignment, but that thing is too loose and obnoxious to install to have been intended as an alignment aide. Gasket protection would fit with the 'fire ring' name a little better. The FP manifold is nearly impossible to torque properly, so it would be nice to have that thing in there if its intended to help with sealing. I guess I'll leave it out until I manage to find a properly sized one. Is the 14b the 7cm ring?

It would be nice to port the inlet, but I use this car for SCCA Rallycross and the class I'm in does not allow any modifications to the turbo.

The 14b would be a 6CM ring. Perhaps you have a 7cm housing on your 14b? The ring should sit pretty snug in the groove if it is there.