So glad to see this topic being covered in such great detail. I've really been wrestling with cast vs. tubular and was liking AMS's turbo kit for the thick walls. Now it gets more interesting with knowing that stainless is not a good choice for tubular headers and a whole lot more about all the dynamics (I don't recall if the AMS header is stainless).

High-points for me:


stainless is brittle... "1010 heat-treated, milled steel, 11ga. thick-wall tubing is, by far, the best material out there." (SPFRacing...edited for spelling and stuff)


AVO makes a really nice looking cast header which seems to be bigger than Buschur's and has ? closer ratio lengths? (anyone have this header?)


So thus: if you want reliability and good performance at a good price, Buschur looks really good (maybe an upgrade to AVO on the header IF it's better (?) and you want to spend extra but stay with cast)....otherwise, better get a REALLY well-made header with some damn thick steel and good brackets to fully support the turbo and a flex section in the downpipe and spend a heck of a lot of money.

I'm really leaning toward the tubular, but I plan to spend a lot and really be particular about who builds it, and then wonder when it might crack anyways

 

CO poisoning 101:

Glad you're doing ok Al. Carbon monoxide poisoning aint fun.

Ok, so here's a summary of carbon monoxide poisoning (as I see there is some interest in this to many of you who are potentially regularly exposed...especially tuners running dynos):

Carbon monoxide, or CO (not CO2, which is carbon dioxide...the stuff you breathe out all day) is responsible for more injury and death than any other toxin worldwide. It binds to your red-blood cells tighter than oxygen, and won't let go...so it eliminates the ability of your cells to carry oxygen and begins to starve your tissues of oxygen. It also dissolves in your blood fluid (plasma) and thus gets transported to your body tissues where it acts very similarly to cyanide, blocking the metabolic machinery inside the cells so that your cell cannot run its normal functions and will die (if it gets too much). The most sensitive cells are those with the highest metabolism...your brain cells.

If you get enough CO exposure to get symptoms (headache and nausea being the two most common early ones), you are getting seriously poisoned. But many think that simply getting into fresh air is sufficient... it is not. In a high-concentration exposure (like being in a burning building, or in a house where the furnace exhaust wasn't working) the percentage of your poisoned blood cells can be measured usefully. If it's 5%, no big deal...you have a level similar to what a pack-a-day smoker has. If it's 25% or more, you should be treated emergently with hyperbaric oxygen. (that means getting into a hyperbaric chamber and "diving" to about 2.5 bar in 100% oxygen). Anywhere in between those levels...and no-matter-what if you have symptoms...you should AT LEAST breath 100% oxygen for 4 hours (through a high-concentration mask). On the other hand, if you have had a long, slow exposure (such as, unfortunately, Al did) you should be treated regardless of blood levels. In Al's case, he would have benefited significantly from treatment. Why? Because there are several tissues in the body...most notably heart cells and brain cells...which are particularly susceptible to damage, and because that damage occurs over the many hours FOLLOWING exposure, not just during it. There is a special layer of cells...very thin...between the outer layer of the brain (the "cortex") and the relay layer (the "white matter"). This layer is made of "Purkinje" cells which are exquisitely sensitive to CO and will continue to die for days after exposure. This process, however, is stopped by flushing the CO from the body by pumping in high concentrations of O2. You don't just lose a "lot of brain cells"; you lose a very critical relay-junction layer between the gray and the white matter of your brain (somewhat analogous to a junction between the CPU and the motherboard of a computer). Also, you irreparably damage cardiac cells and many other cells (like billions of other, less critical brain cells). Cognitive neurologic studies have shown very definite, measurable differences between people treated and those not treated...years after exposure.

So the long and the short of it: Please, people...take this gas seriously...and if you get a significant exposure, get treated. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise (there is a lot of misinformation out there....well, we all know that! ) Tuners might want to really seal their systems to vent WELL....also ?maybe? even keep a tank of O2 around??(with a mask). Keep pregnant women AWAY from CO!! (that's another chapter...you end up with a retarded baby ) If you have really gotten a dose of it (headache, nausea, flu-like symptoms, dizziness, weakness, numbness in parts of your body, etc), get some O2 on you ASAP (nearest fire station works well). Then, get a blood level checked (called a "carboxy-hemoglobin level") and, even if they don't have a hyperbaric chamber anywhere near you, breathe 100% O2 for four hours (more if you're above 25%). If it's a longer exposure (more than an hour) you should be treated if you have symptoms....because your blood levels will not represent how much has worked its way into your tissues. It'll save you some serious damage to your organs. Ain't no aftermarket for those....oh wait...yeah there is...nevermind.

 

Not to make light of a serious situation but perhaps CO poisoning is the reason for such loopy tuners!

Based on David Buschur's description of his symptoms he suffers from moderate (20%) chronic CO poisoning.

I wonder how many dyno installations take CO abatement seriously. Based on the pictures I've seen, they don't. How many facility designs ensure the exhaust gases are removed effectively? How many keep oxygen nearby to treat the envitable poisoning that will occur? I'm surprised OSHA isn't all over this.

 

Hey David, don't scare the guy! Generally speaking, acute carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is self-limiting. CO binds much more strongly than oxygen to hemoglobin, so it quickly fills up all the binding sites. But if you breathe 100% oxygen for a while, all the CO will eventually get replaced by O2 and you're all set. It's usually completely reversible. CO usually does not cause permanent damage in acute exposure. (Chronic or severe exposure is another matter).

However, there may have been other things you and the NASCAR guy breathed in that actually caused some damage. For example, aromatic hydrocarbons (like organic solvents or unburnt fuel in your exhaust gas) can cause pulmonary edema and even brain edema. If you're exposed long enough, you may get some permanent damage. (BTW, this is a VERY good reason why you should NOT drive around without a catalytic converter! All that unbunt fuel can be harmful if you're exposed to it chronicaly.) But plain old CO probably won't cause permanent harm if you get treated quickly.

One way to tell the difference: people with true carbon monoxide poisoning don't turn purple. They look very ruddy as all their hemoglobin binding sites are full (like blood in your arteries). You turn blue when your hemoglobin binding sites are empty (like blood in your veins).

Emre

 

It's the chronic exposure I'd worry about. There are definate long term health risks associated with chronic exposure to CO, even low levels. Many of these symptoms can last for YEARS after the exposure has ceased.

http://www.coheadquarters.com/ChronicCO/coSyndrome1.htm

In my opinion this is serious **** that every tuner should consider. Hell, they'll wear a helmet to the track but it seems that some only take a halfhearted attempt at limiting CO exposure.

EDIT: Just to clarify myself, I'm referring to exposure to CO during dyno testing, not daily driving.

 

All I can say is just be carefull. Let me know how daves manifold works.