[RESOLVED] pacesetter turbo manifold any good? (No.) [Merged 5-8]

[tsiawdspeed]

I was looking in a magazine and they said that Pacesetter made a header for the turbo. Does anyone know about the quality or performance of the header?

 

[RamenPride]

I had one on my GS-T and on the 1.8 that I owned previously. It fit great and wasn't too loud.

The welds and muffler got pretty rusty once the paint started coming off, and the tip got pretty rusty as well. The piping itself was aluminized. I sanded the paint off the muffler and repainted it with BBQ grill paint, but no matter what I did to the tip it would eventually start rusting again. Ironically after I took it off and left it sitting in my parents backyard (before they threw it away) it didn't completely rust away after 1 year, it looked the same as when I took it off....

anyway, it's on clearance at ptuning.com for $170 + $10 shipping, but it looks like there's only one left.

 

[91blackbird]

I have a pacesetter down pipe and their is some good quality in it.

 

[alexsmede]

Hey guys, what is your opinion on the pacesetter headers? How is the performance on them, and how do they compare.

Thanks
-Alex

 

[92awdgsx]

This has already been discussed many times. Do a search first next time.


http://dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89944&highlight=pacesetter+manifold

 

[Mitsu RacerX]

Has anybody heard good/bad things about the pacesetter turbo header?

 

[Quasimondo]

They're hit or miss. You'll either get a really quality one, or you'll get a piss poor one.

 

[OnMyWayTo12Secs]

I have a budddy that has had one for a long time, and you need to make sure you wrap it with heat tape, or whatever they call it, and make sure its braced, and then it will last a LONG TIME. For 160 bucks plus shipping from summitt, you cannot go wrong at all!

 

[2DaTrakNow]

I currently have a pacesetter header and i am ok with it. It was on the car when i bought it, and when i "sea-foamed" my engine, i had a small leak (pin hole sized) out of the top/middle of the collector. Its not a big deal, and is obviously typical on the welds on headers. Also...i had a nut come loose which cause a gap between the flange and the motor, so then my gasket blew...........and thats when i got pissed! I went to autozone to get a gasket, and i bought a really nice one (it had little metal rings around the exhaust ports) and looked great. Well......it wouldnt work with my pacesetter header becuase, you know how normally there is the flange which is flat on one side(where the gasket goes), then on the other side is obviously where the pipes for your exhaust come out? Well not this header. They acutally sent the pipes through the flange, and welded them on the back side where the gasket goes, which caused a very un-even surface. So i had to order the $10 paper gasket, and pay $12 for shipping and had to wait 6 days for it to get here(it came from arizona and i live in michigan).

I guess it wasnt a "HUGE" deal, but i just got aggravated because i went to autozone and bought a really nice looking gasket. Then had to bring it back. Then had to order a cheap paper gasket. For $160 it isnt bad....but add $40 onto that, and you could get a stainless steel one from ebay that looks alot better than the flat black pacesetter header.

Me personally would probably not buy one. I would consider a stainless steel one from ebay first. I mean, if i had a very very limited budget, and didnt care about the shine, then i would maybe consider buying another black pacesetter. I guess for the price, you cant beat it! In all honesty, i would rather pay the $160 for the pacesetter than $350 or $400 for a "higher level" one. Spend the extra $200 on something else!!!

I hope this helps!!!

 

[OnMyWayTo12Secs]

the pacesetter header comes in black, but within a couple weeks all the paint burns off anyway!

 

[somdturbo]

Keep in mind the header you purchase....its the cradle for your baby (your turbo). Would you want to have those welds break and run over your turbo... there are many post about ebay manifolds, pacesetter is in the same category if you ask me.

 

[OnMyWayTo12Secs]

As stated above, if you brace your manifold to support the weakened structure, then you will be fine. And that goes for every tubular manifold!

 

[84003TSI]

I bought one, and I was a moron. It was a complete waste of time. I ended up runnin it for about an hour before I realized I'd made a big mistake. I put the stock back on. Even cracked the stock was better. The pacesetter design is worthless, the flow was actually worse than stock, i had trouble building boost and it kept springing leaks around the flanges. I imagine this is due to needing th esurfaces re-machined. I checked em when I got it, and they seemed fine, but obviously I missed something, or it got warped in the install. That would be weak. Anyway, I'm taking the advise of most the guys on here and runnin the 2g mani as long as I have a turbo with a stock flange. Keep in mind the one statement that comes up over and over again when dealing with DSM's, you get what you pay for. If you love thecar, spend the cash on tried and true quality parts.

 

[scottsopko320]

i ran the header for about two weeks and it not only cracked but the flange connecting to the turbo actually fell of the mani after i took it off and set it on the ground.the same thing happend to two of my other fellow local dsm guys so id say dont get it if you want to. either get a sbr cast mani or save and get the dnp tubular.

 

[joeybags7112]

I am running the pacesetter header . I got mine powder caoted from them at the time i purshased it. I had to get a gasket from pacesetter, a copper one, $15 shipped and it has worked great. 3500 miles so far andso good. so if it is hit or miss i guess i hit a good one. But i'm happy with mine and it looks awesome.
Joe

 

[TSImonkey]

So i have an exhaust leak in my stock exhaust which gives me excuse to upgrade. I'm on a budget and not interested in any expensive brandname exhausts cause frankly i dont like how they all sound...lets face it, a four-banger will nvr sound like a 3liter v6...but anyway..

I was looking at performance replacement parts and one of 'em was the Pacesetter. Now i've done the searching and u all think the pacesetter headers are a p.o.s, but how bout the exhaust system in general? Keep in mind i'm not expecting to mod teh hell out of my car adn will be happy if i get an additional 50 hp added to the stock with my planned mods.

heres a link to a website that sells it, you guys think its worth buying it how its sold on this page, or should i just replace the exhaust with a stock system...although i htink the pacesetter is less expensive than the stock..which is odd...but what are ## opinions on this??

http://accessory.accessoriesgiant.c...8&modelid=95&year=1996&partid=83&brandid=2196

or same thing, different page:

http://www.1motormart.com/performan...ust_system&brand_name=pacesetter&make_code=EG

 

[blackbyrd]

Neither of those two systems say what size the pipe is. It's just a catback too, your exhaust leak might be in the cat or dp flex section.
If I were you I'd check out a local muffler/exhaust shop. Get 2.5-3"(depending on what mod's you plan on) mandrel bent. Should be around 150$

 

[95blackGsTurbo]

Pacesetter exhaust's are 2.33" Basically a stock replacement. Just thicker gauge piping. For that price you could get a Megan Racing or another eBay brand 3" exhaust. Lots of reviews on here of them, most positive.

 

[blackbyrd]

2.33 OD, or ID? Stocks 2.25. I'd recommend at least 2.5" even if your keeping it mainly stock.

 

[TSImonkey]

2.5 is what i had my mind set on, but the price of the pacesetter caught my eye haha. and as far the Megan exhaust, i do like those, heres a clip of one on a gst. i reckon it would sound the same on my tsi awd wouldnt it???

http://youtube.com/watch?v=QFl0tE_x--g

Do you guys think a 2.5" setup with cat and megan muffler sounds like a good option?

thnx for hanging on with me on this one, i know its a very over asked question :/

 

[blackbyrd]

Whats your future goals/mods for this car?
If your going to keep it fairly stock 2.5 will suffice. if you plan on upgrading the turbo and everything you might want 3.
Sounds like a goodsetup though.
You could look at in the future a high flow cat to bolt up there, or a straight pipe if you dont really care about the ozone.
good luck!

 

[TSImonkey]

my future mods hopefully will include:

5-spd manual swap
manual boost controller
and the necessary boost gauge
Air filter
hard air intake pipe
evo 9mr bov (recirculated)


+ some do it yourself mods aka "stage 0" mods i've read about on this site
all basically to improve airflow.

some of these mods include
removing restrictor from the boost solenoid (which i did but wont matter anymore after i get a MBC)
cleaning intercooler
removing airbaffle box by the stock intercooler and replacing it with a straight pipe(better airflow)
nd a few more things which ALL increase airflow.

am i on the right track????

thanks for the help guys, got some good feedback

 

[Boost Freak 3]

your on the right track for just starting up. I would recomend though to stay away from pace setter exhaust they fall apart from what ive heard. you can just take it to a shop and have them make you one or just look through the classified ads theres tons of different exhaust that you can pick up for cheap. i like RNRs exhaust I think it sounds and looks great but at the same time i would get it used because they take for ever to get to you. also the Apex exhaust is real nice and sounds good to. many people love that exhaust

 

[pur97tsifwd]

ok i have been looking for a good header or manifold and i found the out that sbr is now carring the pacesetter header in ceramic coated for a not bad price i think has anyone bought a ceramnic one and how well do they do and can you tell there is a gain in performance or turbo spool?

 

[jongreene]

Ceramic coating is really nice for keeping temps down, you probably won't see anything noticeable in terms of spool.

As far as pacesetter goes Ive only heard their stuff doesnt fit well.

 

[pur97tsifwd]

well i have read the review on the non ceramic and i have heard bad things sometimes you get a good one or a bad one the welds crack on them i was wondering if the ceramic ones were better quailty and helped against cracks?