Top Mount Vs Low Mount

[SLYNE]

Did a search couldnt find nothing..

Please remove if in wrong place..

Just wanted to know other peoples experiences with top/low manifolds and what they would recommend.

Is a Top Mount manifold illegal?

[Baz]

Well technically, any aftermarket manifold is illegal as its a modification

However you will normally only get into trouble on what is mounted to the that manifold.

Most people from my experiences stick with the low mount manifolds on smaller, lower cost, normally interally gated turbo upgrades. Bolt on HKS and Trust turbos are good to low mount. Where people go to a high mount turbo is when the turbo becomes too small to fit in a low mount position and a gate is required. Plus it looks better in the engine bay as well.

My 2 cents

[adam-__-]

I would try and stay with a low mount if it's going to be a street driven car. It'll look more standard then a turbo staring at you when a cop pulls you over.

It really depends if the turbo will fit down low. Not sure on which one would perform better though.

[Al]

I would try and stay with a low mount if it's going to be a street driven car. It'll look more standard then a turbo staring at you when a cop pulls you over.

It really depends if the turbo will fit down low. Not sure on which one would perform better though.

Unless you get a HKS cast low mount manifold, it really doesn't matter.

Have you seen a custom made low mount manifold? You have these tubes curving up then down into a collector, It's just as "attention seeking" as a top mount and can in no way be mistaken for a "std manifold" Not having a go or anything, just stating that if you're worried about cops, defects, etc, neither is any good, just stick with the std manifold. At the same time, if you're modifying to the extent that you are considering a manifold, then there will be 100 other things for the cops to pick on, what's one more .

[adam-__-]

Unless you get a HKS cast low mount manifold, it really doesn't matter.

Have you seen a custom made low mount manifold? You have these tubes curving up then down into a collector, It's just as "attention seeking" as a top mount and can in no way be mistaken for a "std manifold" Not having a go or anything, just stating that if you're worried about cops, defects, etc, neither is any good, just stick with the std manifold. At the same time, if you're modifying to the extent that you are considering a manifold, then there will be 100 other things for the cops to pick on, what's one more .

Honestly, no, I haven't. I would've just assumed that it would be similar to the standard one, but higher flowing.

[Al]

They are basically like a top mount just flipped the other way.

6boost low mount

[SLYNE]

does one perform better then the other?

lag? heat? etc

[GTR-32U]

well if ya get one make sure to get a big heat shield made up from a metal fabricator.If done properly it can look close to standard and hide a lot of goodies as well as insulating heat....well its a thought

[Al]

The quality custom made manifolds, like 6boost, Extreme Turbo Manifolds (ETM), etc , have an option to ceramic coat it. This acts as a great insulator. You can also buy a turbo blanket, that covers the ext. housing.

For my set-up (high-mount) i have chosen to ceramic coat the manifold, get a heat shield custom fabricated by my mechanic and use thermal straps for the dump/down pipe. The heat shield will also cover the top part of the dump pipe, as i do not like the look of the thermal wrap.

[SLYNE]

Im going the top mount setup in my car

Will be using a Blanket for the turbo and a heat shield for the dump made up by a fabricator

The Thermal wrap is no good as Ive heard for everyday driving and most exhaust places/fabricators once they've made a dump will not warranty the product.

as for top mounts ive heard more lag then low mount is this true

[Al]

Im going the top mount setup in my car

Will be using a Blanket for the turbo and a heat shield for the dump made up by a fabricator

The Thermal wrap is no good as Ive heard for everyday driving and most exhaust places/fabricators once they've made a dump will not warranty the product.

as for top mounts ive heard more lag then low mount is this true

Thermal wrap does over time "crystallize" the metal, thus making it more prone to crack. I am not too fussed about that, as my car is not a daily and a dump/down pipe is easy and cheap to replace. I am more interested in keeping heat temps down and protecting the cabling, lines, etc in that area, that's why i am using the thermal wrap and a fabricated shield; ie: two layers of shielding.

Even though i have no proof, i would say that whoever told you top mounts are more laggy than bottom mounts are ill informed. Look at the 6boost "low-mount" manifold above, what makes that less laggy than a 6boost top-mount manifold?

They look very similar.

BTW what turbo will you be using?

[SLYNE]

i could of been ill informed thats just what i was told. Yes they do look very similar in design probably wont lag.. hope not

My car will be a daily, so need to protect the dump from cracking (if or when it ever does) and other aspects of the engine bay, a heat shield should be ok as im not running 1/4 times on the roads

I have a 500hp T04 that i will be using with other supporting mods.