*****Attention Front Mount Turbo Header Builders*****

[mr happy]

I dont do a lot of posting on here , but I have read a lot and spent / wasted a lot of money over the years on high performance endeavours.
Im really not sure: how much a guy can expect from the people who are truly pioneers, in a sport that 10 short years ago, would not have dreamed of 300 RELIABLE ,TRAIL FRIENDLY HP.
Having stated that; I can also say that the professional people on here, that help ALL of us out, need to be cut a little slack. If the service is crap say so...... but be darn sure youre not in a glass house ,when you pick up the rocks to throw. I have dealt with many on this forum and am planning on a lot more this summer. Asking for a warrenty, on a special, high performance, hand built part ,with the builder sending it out to some unknown user on a high perf application ,with no Idea of the end use /state of tune it will see; may be stretching the peramiters of warrenty a bit far.
Having said that, I have one of Ted J s manifolds that was replaced in advance without me missing a day of riding and I sent him back the (old)manifold when I got his new one. The old manifold was still working fine, but I asked him if he would update and he did. The only cost to me was shipping and he sent the new manifold without payment on faith. If service like that is not good enough, stick with factory built units on an assembly line and forget about high performance. Ted is not the only guy like that on here: as most of you have dealt with the likes of Hurricane, Powderlites and Alpine. Service makes the company, just ask Bruce at PSI how he is doing these days.

Mike

Hey I understand what you’re saying here and agree with you to a point. One of the reasons for this post is to make it publicly clear that this in not cut and dry when there are problems. For all the new guys wanting to get into this boost stuff and trail ride, well I just don’t recommend going with a turbo at this point unless you’re ready to buy two headers and be prepared to change it half way through the season, send the old one back to get it welded up and then go through the same thing all over again. The other reason for this post is to see what suppliers would be brave enough to answer this post publically and state what they would be prepared to do should these parts fail. This will make things a little more black and white for everyone here. So in a nutshell, not one supplier has stated that they will replace a defective header, they will only repair and possibly modify by adding gussets and stuff.

To answer both this and your pm . To be clear.......I only purchased ONE manifold. Niether manifold has failed at all. The only reason I sent the manifold back to Ted was that he was Offering a free upgrade to the people he had sold this unit to. I noticed little differance in performance between the first and the second and had NO complaints to begin with. I am ruuning too small a turbo , too small an exhaust and do all the bad things that contribute to cracking headers. I have about 1600 miles of hard, very hot temps on the manifold and very bumpy terrain to where I ride in the coastal mountains. 300 hp gets chewed up pretty fast trying to go thru 4 feet of fresh snow up 40 degree slopes. I am sure if you were to make a dyno comparison ,the tube header would make more ultimate power. My sled is an 03 rx1 at 20lbs boost, which is probably about 4 lbs too much for the current set up I have, but still makes descent power. I believe that as the turbo game matures and people stop overheating the headers and manifolds by using the newer designs ,better tuning and bigger exhaust: this will soon be an issue of the past. As for the warrenty, I believe I covered that in the above post.

Mike

 

[Ted Jannetty]

not one supplier has stated that they will replace a defective header, they will only repair and possibly modify by adding gussets and stuff.

That is where in lies the problem, Define Defective.

Is it defective?
If your state of tune is way off, or your exhaust is too small or your running outside of the turbo efficiency range, too small an intercooler for the HP, clutched too heavy, etc. etc.

The manufactuer must know there was a problem in production that led to the failure, in that case I don't see where any manufacturer would Not replace no questions asked.

No matter what, it is up to the descression of the manufacturer after inspection of the failed product, read any Performance warrantee across all motorized industries.

In my case I traced back a problem with the first 4 manifolds made and offered replacements No questions asked.

Where these defective Yes.

I also updated several others free of charge when I found a better design.

Where they defective? NO.

Warrantee confidence builds over time, I have seen this in many industries, example I sell a fuel pump that came with a 1 year warrantee 8 years ago, as they proved to be reliable the manufacturer increase the warrantee several times as they improved on the design and they proved to be reliable, and now comes with a 6 year warrantee.

I think in this day and age our society wants everything to be someone elses fault regarless of the circumstances, that is why our court systems are so clogged up with lawsutes.

Ted.

 

[mtdream]

Northwest Turbos...cast Ductile Iron Header (or whatever it is called technically)...


insanely strong...

 

[BlueByYou2000]

Northwest Turbos...cast Ductile Iron Header (or whatever it is called technically)...


insanely strong...

WOW, a Cast header. Perfect. Do they make them in a a 4 cylinder version?

 

[Srxspec]

No 4 cylinder version available. If anyone wants to spend $10,000 to get the 4 cylinder mold made it can be done. This same header will be used on a kit for the 2010 Vector models as well.

 

[mbarryracing]

Any concern of the bolts pulling out of the aluminum cylinder head?

 

[tonykof]

I like the cast one

 

[mtdream]

Any concern of the bolts pulling out of the aluminum cylinder head?

no issues at all with the header mount and the aluminum pulling out...The header has been flow tested for UBER strength...and the multiple mount points on the engine make it very secure...I had some issues with the turbo connecting to the header, but that has been solved...

have many miles on this header, great kit!!!...and it does not hurt to have a custom tank made by Trail tank for this kit either...

 

[hlmrx1]

not one supplier has stated that they will replace a defective header, they will only repair and possibly modify by adding gussets and stuff.

That is where in lies the problem, Define Defective.

Is it defective?
If your state of tune is way off, or your exhaust is too small or your running outside of the turbo efficiency range, too small an intercooler for the HP, clutched too heavy, etc. etc.

The manufactuer must know there was a problem in production that led to the failure, in that case I don't see where any manufacturer would Not replace no questions asked.

No matter what, it is up to the descression of the manufacturer after inspection of the failed product, read any Performance warrantee across all motorized industries.

In my case I traced back a problem with the first 4 manifolds made and offered replacements No questions asked.

Where these defective Yes.

I also updated several others free of charge when I found a better design.

Where they defective? NO.

Warrantee confidence builds over time, I have seen this in many industries, example I sell a fuel pump that came with a 1 year warrantee 8 years ago, as they proved to be reliable the manufacturer increase the warrantee several times as they improved on the design and they proved to be reliable, and now comes with a 6 year warrantee.

I think in this day and age our society wants everything to be someone elses fault regarless of the circumstances, that is why our court systems are so clogged up with lawsutes.

Ted.

Your right Ted, defective=a grey area and hard to define I guess unless it’s obvious that it’s a flaw in the manufacturing process or material. If the whole build/install and tune is done by the kit builder then that should not come into play, yes there could be other factors and if it’s questionable based on these other factors, for reputations sake, maybe the customer should get the benefit of doubt. Each case has to assessed and treated separately.

I’ve basically received my answer, no one building these things will replace them with the exception of the ones you did Ted or no one else wants to admit it. I know that they do updates and re-welding. I guess my expectations are too high with these things, now who’s header or manifold to I purchase for a back so that I can keep running for a full season? That’s the question.

 

[hlmrx1]

Don't get me wrong, I love my turbo... But yeah, I've lost a lot of confidence in the "trailability" of a turbo setup - especially a front mount. I personally know of 5+ header failures in my area.. Just because they aren't mentioned on this forum doesn't mean they're aren't more..

My next setup... I may try a supercharger...

Agree, love the power. Everyone that I know has had failures other than the one, but then it doesn't have 500 miles on the header yet, and it's only lake running.

 

[Ted Jannetty]

I saw that Bountyhunter posted a real old picture of my manifolds here are some new pics of the updated manifold.

 

[BOUNTYHUNTER]

It's hard to tell but is the new one you make a little smaller or more streamlined.

TK's

 

[Ted Jannetty]

Probably just camera angle.

 

[GotJuice]

Ted and Dave

You guys make plenty of money on what you do and obviously are hugely knowledgeable , WHY is Northwest Turbo's the only one using the cast iron ductile header?????????????????????????????????
This is a simple kit, you can't tell me this person bit the bullet and spent hugh dollars for a mold then deosn't advertise or do no where near the business you two do...so give us the honest answer why don't you do the same?
This has been one of a couple key points holding me up on a turbo and many many other folks I talk with. There is a reason why every manufacturer runs cast iron it is simply the best for this type application. If one of you come out with a cast header I'll build my turbo then but until then it's just one of many issue with the current offerings for the ordinary Joe to not invest in a turbo set up. Don't get all bent out of shape , not trying to be sarcastic just honest and wondering the obvious question?

 

[rx1 fern]

i run a front mount powderlites kit on my rx1 that was installed by jim and bob @ bpe with no problems .it was installed four years ago and i only had one problem with it,my header cracked at the top where the turbo sits .i think it was the weight of the turbo that cracked it,as it didnt have the gussets for support on this header.it was one of daves fist turbo kits.daves new headers now come with the support on them now.this summer i will be changing my header to his new 4 to 1 header as they make more power and flow alot better i probably put another 1000 miles on my sled since dave repaired my header and it is still working .also dave repaired it at no charge to me ,that is what you call an honest business man .that is why i do my business with him.he also ported my wastegate and ceramic coated my 2560 turbo this winter and i bought a double down pipe of him also .a huge difference in performance .that is why i am buying a header off of him.he knows his stuff.i think lots of cracked headers are from not tuning the sled right.