| They are designed to allow creep of the manifold. Note how slippery the surfaces are. I've built my own 321 tubular stainless manifolds and have cut the headflange between each of the ports specifically to allow the flanges to creep a little to allow for thermal expansion/contraction and not put all that stress on the pipes. I rolled 9000 miles the other day on them and they haven't failed. Others have not been so successful with this material, or even more exotic metals. I didn't torque the nuts down to OEM spec as I felt that would be too tight to allow the flanges to creep a little. I feared that I may blow out the gasket as a result, but they aren't leaking. Just my $.02, but the OEM gaskets WORK. Why try something else when there is already a proven solution

[ ashspecz.com ] [ agpowers@bellsouth.net ] Enthusiasts soon understand each other. --W. Irving. Are you an enthusiast? If you are out to describe the truth, leave elegance to the tailor. Albert Einstein
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