I'm usually a form follows function kinda guy. If there is no functional difference between the two, I'll take the cheaper one.

Having said that, if you decide to go with the sand cast one don't you EVER show us what an investment cast one looks like. After what I've seen on the earlier ones (even though they explode) this is frankly a huge disappointment:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1400727897

Switching to a sand-cast part enables us to spend a not-insignificant amount of money on ensuring that the surface finish is up to par and still substantially reduce the retail price point. It will be way nicer than BW's cast housings are.

I have a feeling even Hustlers anus on its worst day looks better than BWs current castings.

I'm in for cheap and functional its going to be covered in surface rust anyway.

+1

Cheap and functional, definitely.

part of the function crowd here. less money is more for other parts!

cheap & reliable plz!

If it is an exhaust manifold, it will look like it was sorry it was ever born after a few thousand miles anyway, so I see no reason to make it more expensive.

The BW sand cast turbine housing doesnt even look bad.

All depends on the quality of the sand cast/Foundry.

I've seen some very good ones; I've seen some awful ones. I'm partial to investment castings since the tolerances are tighter and the castings tend to be less porous on the surface. This said, exhaust manifolds get post machined so it's largely an aesthetic/cost issue.

-Zach

That was my own intuitive reaction.

Granted, you can investment-cast it out of unobtanium, and then polish it, and then apply an exotic coating to it, but at the end of the day, it's an exhaust manifold. It might be an extremely nice exhaust manifold, but you're still going to bolt a turbo to it, close the hood, and beat the shit out of it for the next few years, not buy it dinner, tell it that it looks positively radiant tonight, run your fingers through its auburn hair and make gentle, passionate love to it on 600-threadcount Egyptian cotton sheets with Al Green playing softly in the background as the flame from a single a cinnamon-scented candle casts passionate shadows against the velvet-draped wall.

This is the miata crowd. Was the choice ever going to be anything but the cheaper option? :dealwithit:

Assuming the function is the same, no and $0 respectively. If you can get equal performance from a sand cast, then I assume you have a post-process for the interior features. Sand cast makes more sense given the limited volumes of your target market. Investment casting makes sense in higher volumes and/or if you can achieve better consistency and performance. You are selling to cheap Miata owners, not the Porsche, BMW or Ferrari tax crowd ;) .

Stupid question:

I have no idea what sort of production volume is anticipated for each individual style of manifold, however I presume the production volume to be relatively low and centered around small batches.

Presupposing that the wax patterns were produced on-demand by a 3d printing process, would the decreased up-front tooling cost justify the increased per-unit cost to the point where something resembling cost parity is achieved?

You forgot synergy, leveraging and upflow.

What. Just. Happened.
:rofl::rofl::rofl:

I guess I fall somewhere in the middle.
For $50 extra, I'd buy the prettier piece.
For $150 extra, i'd rather coat the cheaper piece.

But I don't think my price scale is realistic.

I have extra dicks for sale if you want...would add value

I picture this exact scene, but with the go-kart radiator heating unit on the floor.

You don't know that :giggle:

I lol'd IRL :rofl: