Jump to content
sazabiskythe

DIY Tuning Development UEL Manifold review

Recommended Posts

Hi all,

I have decided to make this post as I'm not aware of many people who have gone down this route - hopefully will provide some help/feedback to anyone who has been considering this. I must stress that this is not a guide on how to install the manifold (how to do that is readily available online), I am just sharing my own experience.

I reached out to Mike from TD and ordered the Unequal Length manifold they offer to be shipped to me - it is well known that this manifold produces good results and is highly recommended by others online, but due to work commitments and location, it was not easy for me to commit to a journey to TD in Warrington. 

My first job was to get an additional gasket and a set of bolts as I did not choose to get an aftermarket overpipe, then I purchased some DEI titanium exhaust wrap and wrapped the "downpipe" section between the manifold and overpipe pieces.

 IMG_5650.thumb.JPG.f6035a03511200569077fa90844c121c.JPG

With the exhaust wrap applied, removing the OEM manifold was the next job. This was not as hard as anticipated - I bought this 3-IN-ONE Professional High Performance Penetrant Spray from Halfords and sprayed some on all the bolts. I left this to soak in a bit and unplugged the o2 sensors and the bolts came off without much struggle. IMG_5651.JPG.28e72518ae359d3c6043bc2eadd5ac2c.JPG

All in all, the whole DIY removal and installation took about 2 hours.

Thoughts so far?

Even without a remap (I am booked in to get this done at Abbey soon), the car feels noticeably more responsive. I feel a big improvement in torque around 3-4k RPM. I also love the exhaust note it makes (I am running this manifold with a HKS drop in air filter, Cobra resonated catback exhaust and stock overpipe/frontpipe). I am yet to get the CEL but it has only been a day and I'm sure this will come until I get the remap.

All in all I am very very pleased with the outcome and am looking forward to getting the remap. Will post some results as soon as I have them. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, sazabiskythe said:

Oh i forgot to add, does anyone know what this is below? It looks like it gets very close (almost touching) the downpipe section. Sits underneath the stock induction hose.

M74511952.jpg.213d3aa70e990969bb538f2e04c58d23.jpg

 

Have you tried rotating it?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
8 minutes ago, knightryder said:

Have you tried rotating it?

@knightryder I have, and it doesn't look like there is much room either way. I may look into one of the silicon hoses with a resonator + sound generator delete in the future. In the meantime @Rich, where did you buy those reflective heat pads from? I may have to do what you've done as even with the titanium exhaust wrap it feels quite hot.

58 minutes ago, Rich said:

I did mine DIY and put a little heatshield on that resonator box to avoid issues. If it melts it will really break the air/fuel mixture.

Pic here:

IMG_20180623_191053.jpg

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

For comparison this was mine with an Equal length FA20CLUB manifold at abbey, the rest stock apart from an air filter.

The torque on yours seems a lot smoother, and higher. I seem to have a bit more power.

I did the same as you, DIY fit. I tested with and without the bulb resonator and found the on-off throttle response was noticeably crisper with it fitted.

 

59383f0b3b6f2_DSC_02461.JPG.2538fea1853a04b5721d8fa15b03623b.JPG

59383f14517bb_DSC_02441.JPG.3a403ee41a04fdc2bc91ac24cf94d312.JPG

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, maurice said:

Chart line says that, but yellow figure is 181. I think the actual figure might be unreadable in the green box.

The figures on the Dynapack at the bottom of the screen are done by manually clicking a cursor where you want on the graph, not necessarily a point on the line ;) 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes it’s 181. Accidentally cropped too much. Here is a better picture which is rotated as well. I’m very happy with the results, very big improvement in everyday driving. Having had this setup for a few months now I am considering getting a different catback system though as I am finding the cobra resonated paired with this to be quite loud.

34AAD54B-E264-4FDA-9BF1-5BB26B48ED62.jpeg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
11 hours ago, maurice said:

Nice one. I could do with a cat back but always find something more "sensible" to spend my money on.

I have had similar thoughts, except I have a Milltek which will no doubt crack at some point and force the issue.

Come to think of it, I might have one of the longest lasting Millteks at this point.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×