Equal length headers?

["Jörgen Karlsson" <jurg@axs-memory.se>]

Has anyone heard of any equal lenght headers for the 10v, I know that equal
length headers don give the same benefits on a turbo engine as on a normally
aspirated engine.

The only real benefit I can see is that the total cross section of the all
runners will be a lot bigger than on an ordinary turbo manifold, where the
cross section of the collector must not be bigger than one of the runners if
you want to keep lag to a minimum. As you see on the original manifold this
is not built this way and we have also got a lot of lag on the 10v. Equal
length runners is of corse not a must when building headers, I haven't heard
anyone say that equal length gives ANY benefit  at all, over the shortest
possible path.

If I start this stupid project this is the preliminary plan:

The turbo will be relocated further back.

The downpipe will be replaced.

The cold side plumbing will also be replaced.

The largest problem I see is the wastegate, at first I was planning on a
short collector before turbo where the wastegate is placed, but a collector
is a nono is these apps. The other way to go is that each runner has a T in
them near the turbine that leads exhaust gases to the wastegate. The must
probably be installed near the turbine.

I really should replace the turbo with a Mitsubishi unit but my KKK K24 has
only got 1K miles on it, I didn't know that the 10v has separeat bolts for
the exhaust and intake manifolds by then. This is the reason that I even
consider making my own headers. A friend was willing to sell me his stock
Syclone turbo for almost nothing, but as it is a bit large for my car it
needs good headers to spool quick. And to fit :-)

Jörgen Karlsson
Gothenburg, Sweden
jurg@axs-memory.se
Audi 200 TQ -85