SSautochrome Experience

ASSISTANCE Forced Induction
1

Been lurking for sometime now, Well I hope I can give back a little. Here goes… So in the fall I bought a G2 Integra for 700$ 415k…tired… old motor. I am new to FI, but not to Swaps. Done a few B16s into CRXs and a LS-Vtec into a Civic.

I got the brilliant idea to boost. So I read lots of forum postings (some good some bad) Surprising how much bad info there is out there. Through the help of people on the forums (bought my management from Xenocron). I am now starting my build.

The biggest issue was getting all the parts, getting a ‘kit’ was appealing to someone who was starting from scratch. Of course the cheapest kits out there is the XSpower or SSautochrome kits. All the info I could find on SSautochrome was usually bad reviews. Alot of people not talking first hand experience and usually leading back to the same posts of the same headers cracking and turbos splitting in half (!). Usually reports of bad Customer Service as well.

There is an current and on-going post on HMT that is interesting SSautochrome gave the moderator turbos and headers to try out. Last time I checked nothing major had happened and it was holding up to some abuse. I figured I would do some first hand testing and see for myself, and of course post my results back here. Put some Myth to rest. Now, I will keep you all posted on how long it lasts… LOL.

My experience with SSautochrome so far: Asked them a question through ebay, got ZERO response. Maybe they get alot of questions from Noobs and ignore some of them (not the best customer service plan…but whatever). So I bid and won a kit from them. Before I paid, I wanted to ask a question to see if I got a response, so at least they knew I was serious about giving them my money. Nothing.

I pushed on. I bought it anyway. Still no word from the company, BUT the kit was shipped the next day. WOW(??) I got the kit in a few days. To my surprise it was missing a BOV and had the wrong Turbo. I promptly emailed them back asking “What is going on with the wrong turbo and I am missing a BOV”.

To my Surprise, I got a response the next day, with a polite email that says sorrry, we owe you the BOV and “we are sure we shipped the right turbo” I insisted its the wrong turbo and sent pictures, they agreed. This took 2 days to sort out and all of a sudden, I get a shipping notice and my turbo and BOV are on their way. I am impressed… So far…

Although REALLY bad customer service before, the customer support after I bought has been great. I will let you know how the fitment is and how it all works. I have a feeling these kits are for people who can “make it work” if you know what I mean.

Sorry for the novel.

Cheers!
Nick

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Thank you.

Should be moved to product reviews I think.

Ps. Call them manifolds

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keep us posted. I am really looking forward for someone to make over 300whp to see if it holds up.

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Greatm hopefully it holds up. I heard good things about their manifolds as long as heyre braced properly. Any competent welder can brace it for you for little cost.

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at one point, i had an xs power manifold(Dsm flange) and xs power DA intercooler piping kit. The welds on both were superb, I never had a problem with either part.

i give em a B+ only because the finish on the mani tarnished/chipped easy.

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like everything.

[SIZE=7]u get what you pay for[/SIZE]

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Well, yes generally in life you get what you pay for I totally agree. But sometimes You a) can’t afford a ‘good’ kit or b) just dont feel the need for it.

I can buy a 99$ car stereo (which I have) or a $250 Stereo, the end result to me is the same. So why would I spend the extra $$ when I could put it to use somewhere else. Now you might have different taste and want to have crisp sound and you might buy the $250+ Unit. Good on ya! I however just want to hear the radio.

I dont need a flashy name on my kit, as long as it does what I want it to do. This whole experience is about trying it myself and giving out some info,with solid evidence, not just hear-say. I know alot of people are super interested in SSautochrome, but people are very quick to bash them. We already know this is the bottom end stuff, all I am going to do is see how “bad” it really is. Give my honest opinion as someone fresh and new to boost. (These are the types of people buying this product).

Now I plan on Welding a gusset on the manifold between the Flanges to strengthen it. Other than that I am going to put the kit together as it stands (I have a feeling I will have to make a few mods to make it fit right).

I plan on testing this kit to its maximum potential and run it for a while. I’ll keep updating this thread. I have picked up a spare B18b to build while I wait to blow the stock motor up :slight_smile: This SSautochrome stuff is going to be put to the test.

Just so we are clear here is a picture of the “kit” I bought. (Not exactly, cause I have a different manifold.)

Cheers!

aaaa19039.jpg

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Pre-Boost: I first got rid of that 415k old motor, Which I had fun blowing the head gasket before it went to engine heaven :slight_smile:

Fresh new Motor - Literally < 5k on it - Gotta see inside this motor. Never seen one so clean.

You can see the Battery has already been relocated, and if you look closely you can see my oil feed line. (supplied by SSAC).

I was going to make a webpage dedicated to the build, but I figure it serves more people being ‘saved’ in a searchable forum. If mods think this should be moved, let me know.

Any way to post more pictures than just ~500kbs?

DSC01688.JPG

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Go for it man. I honestly think you will be good. Thats a really small turbo and I doubt that weight will make the manifold crack. good like…

im interested

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it isnt the name that you pay for with turbos. The lowdown with ssac is that the manifolds crack–id say at least 70% of them do. Their turbos work about 70% of the time, 30% are lemons. blow off valves leak, i have one and it doesnt seal without teflon tape. Wastegates i dont know, some people say good, some people say it blew their motor.

with products thats quality is at the best marginal, i would rather spend an extra 400 and get all name brand parts that Have a warrenty and a good rep to begin with.

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i would go to the junkyard

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there wastegates are good. I ran there 38mm no problems.

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whats the deal with bashing this company? like no other company has ever had a problem.its a risk no matter what you buy. ive seen turbonetics and garrett have issues too

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I have been using there manifold and turbo for over a year and had no problem. The manifold was all ready braced when I purchased it. I also have pictures of a GSR swap Civic with the SSAC manifold and turbo pushing 514 whp.

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I think it just boils down to how a company is defined buy the quality of the products and services they sell. SSAC sells low quality products but it is offset by the cheap price. Unless you are new to this game everyone who orders SSAC products knows the gamble they are taking cuz that’s exactly what it is–a gamble.

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Heres what i think about them, I have a buddy who also went the “cheap” route he had zero problems with their products. as you can see I did the reason i put Cheap in "'s is because in the end u will regret purchasing the manifold. the thing ive come to realize is ur car is only as strong/reliable as its weakest link. this being my manifold.
I must say the wastegate, which i am running the 38mm “tial” ssac, is a great piece have not once spiked and its always been able to put up with a lot of abuse, these are the only ssac products I have on my vehicle but no longer do i rock their manifold I have upgraded to a bullet proof Cast-Iron blob…

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I thought I would give an ssac product a shot, so here is what I’m going to be rockin…

I got a really good deal on thm ($213 shipped for both), but it could use a little work. I’m going to brace it just to be safe. Otherwise it appears to be a fairly solid manifold and downpipe. For the price, you just can’t beat it.

I decided to go with name brand turbo and wastegate.

DSC01517 (Small).JPG

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MYTH BUSTERS :rofl:

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that manifold looks crazy.

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It does look crazy, Mine is a “Ram” style manifold. I plan on bracing it, although it seems really strong. Of course that isnt with a 25lb turbo and 5 lb wastegate + various other things hanging off it either…so only time will tell.

It would be nice for everyone to report their success or failure on this thread in the future. if you can remember to! First hand experience only!