[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?

 

[xioca]

For the price you would be much better to get a Evo III, which is much better quality, $100 cheeper, and will flow better than a pacesetter (most likely). Personaly I'd pick up a 2g manifold, which are extreamly cheap, and port it out. These cast manifolds will also allow you to retain a heatshield which is a good idea.

 

[dave99gst]

pacesetter is garbage imho -
EVO exhaust mani will prob be more then you will ever need

 

[HondaStylez]

For the price you would be much better to get a Evo III, which is much better quality, $100 cheeper, and will flow better than a pacesetter (most likely). .

Haha! As much of a pile as the pacesetter is, even a poorly designed tubular will outflow a stock cast manifold. It will make more power and spool faster... it will also crack in a week. That's the reason you don't want it.

 

[pur97tsifwd]

ok pacesetters are junk then i want a good manifold or header that is good for mitsu turbos that is not to much?

 

[HondaStylez]

What price range are you looking to be in? Most "good" manifolds are in the $500+ range. There's no such thing as good AND cheap when it comes to aftermarket parts, you get one or the other.

PM me if you don't mind spending that much.

 

[Andrew Dahms]

I have a pacesetter and had it armor coated after purchase. I used it for 2 weeks on my 1g talon with about 320awhp and 30lbs boost and it crack all the way around the weld on 1 tube. But it does fit very well.

 

[pur97tsifwd]

Ok for people that have bought a pacesetter header and braced them or supported them so they don`t fall apart how did you do this and if you brace them and heat tape them will they stand the test of time?

 

[lookinfor400hp]

First thing you need to do is grind the welds off the inside of the flange,reweld the outside the flange where there is a gap.Reweld the supprt that is there and you are good.
I did mine this way and it has been on for over two years without a problem.Also I would suggest ceramic coating it VS header wrap.

 

[Gs Dewd]

Also make sure you have the exhaust support on that goes from the engine to the down pipe. That support pretty much will hold the weight of the turbo assy.

 

[lookinfor400hp]

This is the best photo I can find so far to describe what I mean

When I finished it

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Two 1/2 years later

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Only faded a bit from using 1400 deg silver ceramic coating.1600 deg was only avalable in gunmetal at the time.

 

[tqmx1]

It's time for a EvoIII exhaust manafold. My GSX came with a Pasesetter header installed. The last few days I have heard a leak from around the exhaust/ turbo reagon. The way it sounded I thought it was a head to flange gasket. So this morning I yanked the header and the gasket looked fine then I took a closer look at the header and the #4 tube where it enters the collector was cracked wide open. I could get it welded but got tierd tinnie noise of the thing is starting to bug me.

Any CA. users want the CARB tag to make your header leagle?

 

[Indyxc]

That's pretty typical, with the tubular exhaust headers made by "no name people" that don't realize the necessity to property support the turbo, expansion difference between pipe and flange materials, and how to properly weld.

I'd dump it and go with a 2g manifold, evo manifold, or the new FP cast manifold.

 

[Batman™]

I never had a single problem out of my Pacesetter Manifold. It had two supports welded in. Thing was awesome when compared to any of the cast units out.

 

[RED TREAD 97]

I am looking in to buying a header from a GSX guy in know a few towns over. It's a tubeular header from Pacesetter, and he says it makes small gains and gives the exhaust a deeper tone. I'd hate to go through the trouble of swapping the thing if it makes the car feel slower or even effect my spool. I don't know if it would make much of a difference with a small 16g either. present time i have a 2.5" catback exhaust, hollow cat, and waiting on a backordered 3" MR downpipe.
So please drop some opinion, wisdom or a few laughs......thanks guys.

 

[ATLDSM96]

It should give you some power gains and shouldnt effect your spool time. but it might crack at some point or another, Tubular manifolds are known to do that. id say get it and take it to a exhaust shop and have them weld some support bracets on.

 

[RED TREAD 97]

I think I'll go with it....50 bucks and it's already heat wrapped.....Just might jump start me to spend the wedding money and get back to workon the car... thanks!!

 

[c4uldr0n]

IMO, I wouldn't buy a tubular header for a daily driver. The gains from a tubular can be rather good with a large turbo (in terms of spool and flow), but for a daily driver I doubt it would be worth the hassle.

-c4

 

[CTP]

Pacesetter sucks, but even a sucky tubular is better than the stock manifold. It'll spool faster and make more power, even on a 16g. For $50, who cares. If it breaks, throw it out.

 

[Boost92awd]

That heat wrap will cause it to crack alot faster than if it wasnt wrapped. Like said before pacesetter is not that good of a brand. If your looking for a good tubular manifold be looking to spend $400+ for a desent tubular manifold. I would just save yourself the hassle and just get a proted 2G or and evo III manifold. Those can be had for around a $100 used.

 

[99gst_racer]

I'd rather use a ported 2G manifold, than a Pacesetter.

You probably wouldn't notice any difference in performance with the pacesetter, but be prepared to remove it from the car to have it repaired every so often. More than likely, it will crack, and probably more than once. Especially being wrapped.

 

[RED TREAD 97]

seems like a strong vote against Pacesetter......I'll just save the money to get the OEM ported.....done it once and kept sherdding mani/turbo gasket. I'd rather pay to get it done right this time....thanks much guys

 

[Defiant]

Search this site for "Pacesetter". Or, search for "shit". You may find an odd co-incidence between the two results.

 

[JusMX141]

A wrapped Pacesetter on my buddy's 2G lasted only a few months before the #4 runner completely broke away from the collector. They're junk. Here are a few more reasons why:

- They're not even close to being equal-length tubes; not that our cars need that for optimum performance, but if you're spending the dough you might as well spend it on something that's actually well-built.
- They're uncoated (unless you pay more for a coated one) and will rust like a bi*** in any state other than Arizona.
- One of the two rear mounting holes in the collector flange is DAMN NEAR IMPOSSIBLE to get a bolt into, start the threads, and access it enough to get it tightened to spec.
- When my buddy's Pacesetter manifold failed in less than 3k miles total drivetime, Pacesetter wouldn't honor the warranty because it was wrapped.....yeah, like the wrapping is what made their crappy manifold break.


I know it sounds like a good deal at $50, but you'll just be changing it again in a year. A Pacesetter header is not going to make or break your setup....you'll most likely never see any additional power gains from using one.

You're better off paying someone (if you can't do it yourself) to port your stock 2G manifold's collector area, or if your manifold is cracked and you're looking for a replacement I have ported EvoIII manifold here at my shop that is in perfect shape. PM me if you're interested.

 

[Blindsey]

My buddy has had a pacesetter on his 1g fwd for almost 2 years now with no probs. i would say for 50 bucks go for it.

 

[CTP]

Can someone explain to me why tubular manifolds tend to crack when they're wrapped? Sorry to steal the thread.

Wrap holds heat in and makes the manifold hotter than it would be otherwise. This is obviously stressful on even well built manifolds, but the Pacesetter happens to be made out of mild steel, which is especially intolerate of heat. The Pacesetters will crack anyway, the extra heat just makes it happen faster. Not all tubulars crack from the extra heat, however. I've had mine double wrapped for a year without issue.