My Magnex downpipes have cracked, giving me a slight blow on the downpipes. Now, this gives me an excuse to get a TSR 4-branch manifold and downpipes to replace. Wanted to hear from anyone who's got one, and whether it makes a big difference or not? I've currently got a Brands-Hatch 2 litre 8v engine from TSR, and am looking for a bit of an improvement, and also to know roughly what the bhp might be, before and after the upgrade? Any experience greatly appreciated. Elijah Edited by: Elijah
The TSR 4 branch should give an improvent over the sh*tty Magnex solid downpipe (Had one before!) The reason the Magnex has cracked is because it doesnt have a flexi joint at the manifold flange like the original does...As the engine rocks back & forth with gearchanges & normal driving the brittle S/S eventually cracks... The 4 branch doesnt have provision for the engine movement either, so you will need a Vibratechnics front mount & new gearbox/rear mounts to prevent the same thing happening... So to solve the problem with a 4 branch & gain 5-10BHP (claimed) its gonna cost about 400. If you go to an O.E downpipe with new mounts (not vibratechnics front) should be about 175. Personally id ditch the Magnex altogether & go for a Jetex system on an original downpipe. Same price roughly as going for a 4 branch solution, but probably less hassle in the long run
I've already got uprated mounts, but have had a couple of problems where the gearbox bolts came out, and hence the engine was rocking dramatically! Crached one downpipe - replaced that, then the bolt came out again (slopily replaced at the garage!) Hence, although it didn't crack at that point the second point, I'm sure it weakened it. Isn't there quite a loss in power though going back to the standard, compared to the 4 branch? Elijah
I had a tsr manifold with my brands hatch motor. No complaints here other than the price. It made 132 bhp@ wheels at tsr with that set up a few years ago (3000 miles on the engine). If you do get one, it might be worth getting it heat wrapped first. They can be pretty loud to start with and do warm things up
The bhp quoted for cars is at the flywheel isn't it? What does that 132 bhp convert to? Do they automatically heat-wrap the downpipes, and how noisy is it really? Elijah
the noise isnt that bad its just a tiny sound because its stainless!they dont come heat wrapped but if your gonna wrap it then my advice is to wrap it b4 its on.im gonna wrap mine but its on the car now and lacks space to do a decent job.anything else you wanna ask?
Thanks for your patient help! I'll ask them about wrapping it, as I'm getting TSR to fit it. As long as it's not a "wake the neighbours in the morning" sort of loud, I'm not too bothered! Cheers, Elijah
trouble with wrapping the manifold is when it enters the unwrapped exhaust, the gas will cool rapidly and slow down. not good.
I had a TSR manifold on my 2.0 8V yes is does feel more responsive, however the TSR manifold is too loud, especialy cruising at 3000/4000 rpm. I replaced my TSR with a Supersprint same go much less noise....
I have one on my 91 8v GTI. I didn't really notice much of a power increase tbh. I wouldn't buy nother one if it failed, i would go back to standard and have it flowed.
My 4 branch was only loud on idle and when giving it some. It was the noise at idle, which made me get it wrapped. It made a considerable reduction in heat under the bonnet and made the manifold very quiet. You will need to remove it from the car to get it wrapped and the wrap itself isn't cheap! Deffo worth getting tsr to wrap it b4 fitting, i wish i had known b4 they fitted mine. They do get quieter with use, mine was significantly quieter after 10k miles than when it was new (not due to me going deaf, that was what the neighbours said). Graham at TSR said that my 132bhp @ wheels would be about 160bhp @ flywheel.
The TSR manifold is based on the Magnex manifold i believe. Well they look identical put it like that! I think my magnex one may be cracked coz when i go round tight left hand bends and apply the throttle it blows a bit some times Edited by: vealige
I was warned about cracking and fitted a vibratech front mount to help reduce engine movement. The manifold didn't crack even after a serious crash.
I've already got the vibratech mounts, which do seem very firm and should cope. I think mine only cracked because of the pivoting of the engine on the start/gear box - two of the big bolts which go through the engine mount, engine, and starter motor were missing, and then engine was rocking on reving. This happened to me twice, and I believe has been the main cause of both the downpipes cracking. Now that it's exceptionaly well done-up (bolts with multiple lock washers and nylock nuts!) it should be fine? I've talked to TSR today, and they're going to pre-wrap it for me - don't want a tiny sound, prefer the nice rumble I've got at the moment! Will post some BHP figures once I've got them. All being fitted on 23rd January! Hope it's worth it....if not, back to the drawing board when I get my next exhaust problem! By the way, does anyone else struggle with the exhaust knocked where it passes over the rear suspension arm? My exhaust seems slight too far back on the car, and hence is knocking, especially when loaded. I've padded the arm now with an exhaust rubber tapped on, but will ask TSR to sort it when they do the downpipes. Cheers, Elijah
The TSR 4-Branch is nothing like the Magnex (the magnex isnt even a 4 branch correct me if im wrong, its just a stainless version of the oe downpipe), i have a TSR manifold, yes they are expensive but i did notice quite a big bit of difference in performance especially mid range torque! i love it, have wrapped the half of it, need to do the rest because it can be noisy until its warmed up, If you already have a vibra technics front mount and have the money to spend on it then why not, i would! in fact i did! Edited by: oakgreen88
Hi, what's the performance with this conversion, how does it perform on the road, and does it maintain the same reliability as the standard 1.8?
Reliability is excellent, as reliable as the 1.8. Mine's an Audi block I believe, with a Pack C head on. The performance is excellent, comfortably up with the standard 16V, but more torque lower down. Don't know how much difference the 4 branch will be, but will let you know (going to try to get a pre and post bhp from TSR when they do it) It's quite an expensive conversion to do, but if you want low-down torque, and a great sound, it's worth it. Fortunately I bought the car already modded, so didn't have to catch the total cost! In terms of the Magnex - it's got a two-pipe downpipe, which joins to one where the corner is turned at the bottom of the engine bay. I think therefore it's a standard oe type design, whereas the 4 branch is 4 pipes straight down into 1 before then turning the corner??
