E30 Zone

How many people would be interested in a ready made manifold for the m50 in a e30?

When inquiring about it to a company on ebay they said they would be interested in making them providing there is a reasonable number of people interested. However they would need a pattern manifold to do this.
This company make the e30 m20 manifolds for £209BIN on ebay so would seem they would make these at a very reasonable price.

Apoligies if this is the wrong place to post about it, or if it steps on anybodies toes but i found no other posts about readymade manifolds.

wish i looked at the site more before i posted...the company is hottuning and is in the traders section

an "off the shelf" manifold for the M50 engine in an E30 would be a welcome offering though to those who are doing this swap as it is the biggest pain in the arse of the conversion.

E30BeemerLad wrote:an "off the shelf" manifold for the M50 engine in an E30 would be a welcome offering though to those who are doing this swap as it is the biggest pain in the arse of the conversion.

+1 it's the one thing I'm still not happy with on mine

+2 just finished mine and far from happy with it

Yes,I would be interested in this as well,my welding is not a pretty sight...I would feel that 'sensible' money for a decent manifold is in the region of £400-500,any more than this and I would re-weld mine,again..

I think they'd do a roaring trade if they can come up with a true bolt-on manifold for m50 e30.

I'll take 2 if the price is right.....

daimlerman wrote:Yes,I would be interested in this as well,my welding is not a pretty sight...I would feel that 'sensible' money for a decent manifold is in the region of £400-500,any more than this and I would re-weld mine,again..

Judging by the fact their M20 6 branch is only £200 and their M50 is only £99.99 I would imagine they could do a very good price on it. I just wished they did an M30 E30 manifold.....

I have a hottuning manifold on my 2.7 that I am delighted with.Danthe examined it with great interest with a view to modding one to suit an M50 instalation,but the amount of work required and the space available makes it a non-starter unless you are a very skilled fabricator!! The real issue is quantity,if we good garrentee hottuning sales of several hundred manifolds I am sure they could get them made for a decent price.A zoner pointed me towards BTB for a custum manifold,but I lost interest when the fiquire of £1500 plus was mentioned!! The only other ready made one I have found is Fritzbits at some £750,and this would need modding to fit a standard E30 exhaust,or you buy their custum S/S exhaust at a further £1400.... hence my interest in this thread...

I found out since looking at yours Malcolm that the Hottuning M20 manifold wont fit with an E36 rack

DanThe wrote:I found out since looking at yours Malcolm that the Hottuning M20 manifold wont fit with an E36 rack

Not suprised,as it is a copy of the BTB...only way round it is to move the rack over,and re-weld the rack mounting tabs to suit.Not the sort of mod that I am capable of!!

I have recently installed hottuning with a e46 rack (similar to e36 but with higher gearing). I moved the engine over by 15mm and hammered a flat on the downpipe to clear the nut and bolt for the steering UJ.

Done basic testing and all is ok but will be watching the ghebo (sp).

Moving the engine was easy as i re-drilled the xmember on one side and lenthened my steel engine mounting bracket on the manifold side.

carannc wrote:I have recently installed hottuning with a e46 rack (similar to e36 but with higher gearing). I moved the engine over by 15mm and hammered a flat on the downpipe to clear the nut and bolt for the steering UJ.

Done basic testing and all is ok but will be watching the ghebo (sp).

Moving the engine was easy as i re-drilled the xmember on one side and lenthened my steel engine mounting bracket on the manifold side.

is this going to be the best news all year...standard e36 mani on an e30... got anymore details?

Mattp87 wrote:is this going to be the best news all year...standard e36 mani on an e30... got anymore details?

Erm...not quite!! You still need to link to the E30 exhaust,and as E30 is narrower than E36 the problem area is still getting the exhaust past the steering coupling.

Fritzs bits sell a manifold off the shelf, about £800 notes if i rember rightly, and is a very well made piece of kit.

daimlerman wrote:

Mattp87 wrote:is this going to be the best news all year...standard e36 mani on an e30... got anymore details?

Erm...not quite!! You still need to link to the E30 exhaust,and as E30 is narrower than E36 the problem area is still getting the exhaust past the steering coupling.

i found getting around the steering coupling quite easy but linking to the exising system from the downpipes being the tricky bit trying to keep it neat and tidy the only bit i'm unhappy with on my mf2 manifolds is the actual join of the down pipes and the exhaust system

1an wrote:Fritzs bits sell a manifold off the shelf, about £800 notes if i rember rightly, and is a very well made piece of kit.

daimlerman wrote:The only other ready made one I have found is Fritzbits at some £750,and this would need modding to fit a standard E30 exhaust,or you buy their custum S/S exhaust at a further £1400.... hence my interest in this thread...

If a manifold is going to be produced it needs to join up to a 3 piece system to be worth buying

my dad has it on his e30 and it joins up to the standard centre box, from what i understand,

DanThe wrote:

1an wrote:Fritzs bits sell a manifold off the shelf, about £800 notes if i rember rightly, and is a very well made piece of kit.

daimlerman wrote:The only other ready made one I have found is Fritzbits at some £750,and this would need modding to fit a standard E30 exhaust,or you buy their custum S/S exhaust at a further £1400.... hence my interest in this thread...

If a manifold is going to be produced it needs to join up to a 3 piece system to be worth buying

When I mentioned to the fella at Fritzbits that I had a new centre and rear section 'in stock' he mumbled something about the standard system being 'too small bore' for an M50... which I consider to be a load of rubbish... and that their S/S system was the only thing remotely suitable...I very much got the immpresion that he was attempting to sell me something that I did not need but he needed rid of... Despite some zoner's negative thoughts,I am impressed with my Hottuning M20 manifold,and I would be happy to buy from them again if they can come up with a suitable 'M50 into E30' product.

Mattp87 wrote:However they would need a pattern manifold to do this.

What so they can rip off another manifold just like they did with the M20 one by copying the BTB2?!

Hottuning have alot to answer for if all they do is rip off other peoples designs which have had time and money spent on them to get them right!

Dont hold out to much hope for it being any good if their rip off of the BTB2 is anything to go by!

The hottuning M20 manifold to the exhaust world what the BK rep is to the wheel world.....

....a piss poor imitation!

bss325i wrote:

Mattp87 wrote:However they would need a pattern manifold to do this.

What so they can rip off another manifold just like they did with the M20 one by copying the BTB2?!

Hottuning have alot to answer for if all they do is rip off other peoples designs which have had time and money spent on them to get them right!

Dont hold out to much hope for it being any good if their rip off of the BTB2 is anything to go by!

The hottuning M20 manifold to the exhaust world what the BK rep is to the wheel world.....

....a pee pee poor imitation!

Do you own shares in BTB? Or do you just hate the Belgian's ,you've got a fair old grudge against them . Here was me just reading some old post's about the btb2 and on two separate occasions people stated that the build quality (welding) of the btb was piss poor internally . Not something I'd like on a £600+ piece of stainless. And the hot tuning one wasn't as bad in comparison? I think if they start doing one for m50 conversions thats good news as It'll bring the cost of the conversion down nearer to that of a lovely looking btb2 and make the conversion a whole lot easier.

gcs325i wrote:

bss325i wrote:

Mattp87 wrote:However they would need a pattern manifold to do this.

What so they can rip off another manifold just like they did with the M20 one by copying the BTB2?!

Hottuning have alot to answer for if all they do is rip off other peoples designs which have had time and money spent on them to get them right!

Dont hold out to much hope for it being any good if their rip off of the BTB2 is anything to go by!

The hottuning M20 manifold to the exhaust world what the BK rep is to the wheel world.....

....a pee pee poor imitation!

Do you own shares in BTB? Or do you just hate the Belgian's ,you've got a fair old grudge against them . Here was me just reading some old post's about the btb2 and on two separate occasions people stated that the build quality (welding) of the btb was pee pee poor internally . Not something I'd like on a £600+ piece of stainless. And the hot tuning one wasn't as bad in comparison? I think if they start doing one for m50 conversions thats good news as It'll bring the cost of the conversion down nearer to that of a lovely looking btb2 and make the conversion a whole lot easier.

I'll tell you what it is. Lots of people kept banging on about how expensive the BTB2 was/is and why would anyone pay for it when they could have a HT mani for a 3rd of the cost?

The HT mani is a COPY, a rip off for f*cks sake! BTB went to all the trouble of developing a decent maifold that actually makes power and then some Belgian out fit decides to copy it (POORLY!) and undercut BTB.

Anyone who says the BTB is poor quality is talking bollocks, i've seen both side by side and the quality is like night and day.

Read through this thread for more info and PROVEN BEFORE AND AFTER RESULTS for both manifolds!

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... t=doubters

Someone has approached them to do an M50 manifold but they can only do it IF THEY HAVE ANOTHER TO COPY!!!!

Whats that advert?!!

"He's a knock off Nigel......"

bss325i wrote:

gcs325i wrote:

bss325i wrote: What so they can rip off another manifold just like they did with the M20 one by copying the BTB2?!

Hottuning have alot to answer for if all they do is rip off other peoples designs which have had time and money spent on them to get them right!

Dont hold out to much hope for it being any good if their rip off of the BTB2 is anything to go by!

The hottuning M20 manifold to the exhaust world what the BK rep is to the wheel world.....

....a pee pee poor imitation!

Do you own shares in BTB? Or do you just hate the Belgian's ,you've got a fair old grudge against them . Here was me just reading some old post's about the btb2 and on two separate occasions people stated that the build quality (welding) of the btb was pee pee poor internally . Not something I'd like on a £600+ piece of stainless. And the hot tuning one wasn't as bad in comparison? I think if they start doing one for m50 conversions thats good news as It'll bring the cost of the conversion down nearer to that of a lovely looking btb2 and make the conversion a whole lot easier.

I'll tell you what it is. Lots of people kept banging on about how expensive the BTB2 was/is and why would anyone pay for it when they could have a HT mani for a 3rd of the cost?

The HT mani is a COPY, a rip off for f*cks sake! BTB went to all the trouble of developing a decent maifold that actually makes power and then some Belgian out fit decides to copy it (POORLY!) and undercut BTB.

Anyone who says the BTB is poor quality is talking bollocks, i've seen both side by side and the quality is like night and day.

Read through this thread for more info and PROVEN BEFORE AND AFTER RESULTS for both manifolds!

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... t=doubters

Someone has approached them to do an M50 manifold but they can only do it IF THEY HAVE ANOTHER TO COPY!!!!

Whats that advert?!!

"He's a knock off Nigel......"

I've read it all before, and there is no doubt that the btb make a good 10hp and the HT 2hp. I'm sure it was a couple of folk who have seen both have commented on the welding but any way it is not like this "Copy" travesty is the first of its type to happen in the world of car parts design and manufacture. And surely wont be the last, it is just the way it goes. Any way as you've stated before you get what you pay for.

gcs325i wrote:

bss325i wrote:

gcs325i wrote: Do you own shares in BTB? Or do you just hate the Belgian's ,you've got a fair old grudge against them . Here was me just reading some old post's about the btb2 and on two separate occasions people stated that the build quality (welding) of the btb was pee pee poor internally . Not something I'd like on a £600+ piece of stainless. And the hot tuning one wasn't as bad in comparison? I think if they start doing one for m50 conversions thats good news as It'll bring the cost of the conversion down nearer to that of a lovely looking btb2 and make the conversion a whole lot easier.

I'll tell you what it is. Lots of people kept banging on about how expensive the BTB2 was/is and why would anyone pay for it when they could have a HT mani for a 3rd of the cost?

The HT mani is a COPY, a rip off for f*cks sake! BTB went to all the trouble of developing a decent maifold that actually makes power and then some Belgian out fit decides to copy it (POORLY!) and undercut BTB.

Anyone who says the BTB is poor quality is talking bollocks, i've seen both side by side and the quality is like night and day.

Read through this thread for more info and PROVEN BEFORE AND AFTER RESULTS for both manifolds!

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... t=doubters

Someone has approached them to do an M50 manifold but they can only do it IF THEY HAVE ANOTHER TO COPY!!!!

Whats that advert?!!

"He's a knock off Nigel......"

I've read it all before, and there is no doubt that the btb make a good 10hp and the HT 2hp. I'm sure it was a couple of folk who have seen both have commented on the welding but any way it is not like this "Copy" travesty is the first of its type to happen in the world of car parts design and manufacture. And surely wont be the last, it is just the way it goes. Any way as you've stated before you get what you pay for.

Very very true, hence my likening of the HT manifold to the BK alloy wheel.

bss325i wrote: The hottuning M20 manifold to the exhaust world what the BK rep is to the wheel world.....

....a pee pee poor imitation!

Come on Barry, its not like its going to throw you into a ditch is it

If BTB started selling the 6 branch at a more reasonable price im sure the likes of hottuning would be history

DanThe wrote:

bss325i wrote: The hottuning M20 manifold to the exhaust world what the BK rep is to the wheel world.....

....a pee pee poor imitation!

Come on Barry, its not like its going to throw you into a ditch is it

If BTB started selling the 6 branch at a more reasonable price im sure the likes of hottuning would be history

Ok ok, the BK comparision is a bit harsh! Horrid BK scrap!

Yes i agree the BTB" price isn't exactly cheap but in comparison to their M50/S50 manifolds its a bloody bargain!

Dont start me on those butt raping prices!

DanThe wrote:Dont start me on those butt raping prices!

I take it you forked out £££ for one then?

I don't believe he did.. Though he regularly reminds me I did..

Barry,climb down from that high horse of yours,do YOU think that I would have put £200 of my hard earned into something that does not work? I could not justify £650 on a BTB2,but was prepared to try £200,and I stand by my 'arse dyno' claim that my home brewed 2.7 runs better and uses less fuel(read runs more efficiently)with the hottuning manifold than it did before fitting.Pre fitting I was returning 31.5/33mpg,after fitting the Hottunning manifold this has improved to 34-37.5mpg.If you doubt my fiqures,check with those zoners we holidayed with in Scotland last April,they saw the OBC numbers.AND my car left the standard 325i's for dead climbing the mountains,I was not hanging around.... would suggest you join us next year and prove your claims.

bss325i wrote:
I take it you forked out £££ for one then?

God no, I just cant understand how they can charge £1k to 'modify' !!!! an S50 manifold, ok it took a load of time/money to develop it but why do people xx odd sales down the line have to keep paying for it? They obviously now have jigs for these so its not going to take one of their staff very long to modify the next set, 3 hours? 4 hours? How on earth can they justify £1k for that?

Barry, I know you like quality gear but I have to say the prices of the BTB fodder is absurd

daimlerman wrote:Barry,climb down from that high horse of yours,do YOU think that I would have put £200 of my hard earned into something that does not work? I could not justify £650 on a BTB2,but was prepared to try £200,and I stand by my 'arse dyno' claim that my home brewed 2.7 runs better and uses less fuel(read runs more efficiently)with the hottuning manifold than it did before fitting.Pre fitting I was returning 31.5/33mpg,after fitting the Hottunning manifold this has improved to 34-37.5mpg.If you doubt my fiqures,check with those zoners we holidayed with in Scotland last April,they saw the OBC numbers.AND my car left the standard 325i's for dead climbing the mountains,I was not hanging around.... would suggest you join us next year and prove your claims.

I've proved the Facts Malcom have you? No.

You forked out £200 because £650 was to expensive for you. How did you know the HT one worked?! No on had proven anything untill Simon posted his before and after results.

Of course your car should leave standard 325i's for dead, ITS A 2.7!!

I'm not on my high horse, i'm just coming back "all guns blazing" at all the people who slated the BTB2!

E30BeemerLad wrote:Barry, I know you like quality gear but I have to say the prices of the BTB fodder is absurd

I 100% aggree that BTB stuff is expensive but stuff that works usually is.