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performing the test to ensure that the valves were in identical position - sorry if it came off that way. All I am saying is in a general context, illustrating that adding unnecessary complexity to the test is something to be avoided. We are, afterall, wanting to know how the manifolds themselves flow. In the end, if one is aiming to optimize the performance of any head/valve/port/manifold combination, it would be advised to take all of these parts to a flowbench along with all the necessary porting equipment and take the time to optimize and match the flow across the board. For all intents and purposes, the differences in results shown between the AMS and MS manifolds is splitting hairs - in the hands of just about any individual - even those with only a few hours of internet searching about cylinder head porting/flow, etc, a flowbench and die grinder would allow for more appreciable gains with either of these two manifolds. It appears to me that the crowd here is split between those who just want to know which manifold is better and those who want quantifying evidence that AMS carbon-copied the MS manifolds. The evidence here does tend to reflect that AMS did do what they are being accused of but it certainly isn't solid proof. However, it would have been a far better approach if AMS sought after a design that didn't so closely match the MS manis.... I'm still waiting for someone to manufacture a cast-iron manifold with all seperate runners from the ports to the collector rather than the log-style design - analogous to the manifolds I built for my personal Z: 
I haven't flow tested my manifolds before but I would be willing to bet they have superior flow to the log-style design as well as offer more consistent flow from one runner to the next. Regardless of what my guts tell me, the design I fabricated was to try a different approach other than that of which had already been tried. Pentroof tubular w/equal length was already done, SZ inconel and greddy log-style tubular had been tried; it was time for something new and secondly, I knew better than to make an apparent 'knock-off' of some other design even though I never intend to manufacture this design for sale. If AMS were to have taken a similar philosopy in their design approach than that of just following an already existing design, AMS wouldn't have put themselves right into the line of fire. Whether or not they really carbon-copied the MS manifolds can't be proven, but we all know for certain that they did ask themselves the question: "should we make a set of cast iron manifolds that look like the MS manifolds or should we entertain a different design?" Unquestionably, the way they answered that was a huge mistake and was entirely avoidable. Those who are more interested in just knowing the flow performance for sake of making a decision on whether the lesser-expensive alternative offers same/similar/better than the counterpart are those we hear using words like "capitalism at its finest", etc etc. While competition is a good thing, that only holds true within the functional boundaries of the market in which you are observing. There is a very limited number of individuals/companies who are developing new products for the Z and it takes significant resources to do these things and continue developing new products. Developers dont make money when developing a product - it isn't until the product is sold that the investment begins to pay itself off. Once the break-point is reached, profits thereafter are typically used to develop the next product. Those of us who develop these new products aren't getting rich by any means - we typically spend far more time and resources than any "sane" business investor would entertain, but then again, those of us doing these things have our passionate appetites satisfied for making our Z a better car - a priceless "payoff" we enjoy for what we have personally invested. So when a company comes into this little niche market and offers what appears to be a carbon-copy of another product, what little money, if at all, us developers will be able to make has a direct impact on the ability to pursue develoment of the next great product idea. I only scowl at those who over-step the boundaries of this seemingly fundamental understanding of this little Z-market. If you want to make a living at this market, either sell product already made or create something new. Otherwise, we'll all be looking for new jobs in short time and have a car in the garage with no future.
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[ 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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