Hi all,
I’m almost certain this has been discussed before but I’ll ask regardless, I’m thinking of a new manifold and remap, I’m happy to get a full decat manifold/ header, but there are a few manifolds one eBay that are similar to the oem one just without the decat, opposes to the branded ones being full headers. The price is a good 4 times higher, so would I get any gain in hp and such from fitting the cheaper one or is it not going to give me any improvements with a remap?
Anybody got one of the cheaper manifolds and have any experience?
I’ve no experience of such on the MX5’s so not really qualified to comment but here’s my take on it.
A remap on it’s own might give you about a 7% increase in power.
Would 7% make a noticable difference, maybe a little, but nothing that’s going to set your pants on fire.
Eat less pies, ditch the partner, and you’ve probably gained more power already.
Fitting a manifold on it’s own, in my previous experience may give some small gains.
But you’d be used to it within a few hundred yards, so in my opinion, is an expense wasted.
Doing the two together, might get you about a 10% increase.
I’m a tight fisted Yorkshireman, i’d look at the cost of a remap and manifold at somewhere around £400-£500, and consider that it was too much to spend for something that I’d be used to within a few miles.
I have nothing to prove, I don’t have to put mine alongside another MX5 and say ‘mines a tad faster than yours… see’
Combine the two with a cam swap, and now your’e talking, but alas the cost of that rises to a few thousand (if you had it done at a tuning shop).
£2k on a car that’s only worth about £4k (if i’m lucky), is far too much to spend. I’d never get my money back.
With a decat, you also run the risk of an MOT failure and OBD complications.
So that’s my opinion, i’m sure someone will be along to comment to the contrary.
Someone with actual experience on the MX5.
That’s exactly my worry with spending so much on a remap and header, when a new muffler may give the illusion of going the same speed
I would avoid any cheap custom exhaust parts, particularly a manifold. Go big or go home:)
It’s very doubtful that a cheap manifold would give you any power gains at all over standard, as exhaust design takes loads of expensive R&D. It would, however be more prone to failure and probably not fit as well as the standard part.
Check out the Racing Beat stuff if you want to go down that route, they seem to do it properly(I’m sure there are others), but It’s expensive!
I’ve just gone back to a standard exhaust with an induction kit, and happily give up the extra 2 or 3 horsepower my exhaust might have given me for the ability to rev the car much harder and enjoy the drive without drawing attention to myself:)