exhaust manifold?
 

I tried to look this up on howstuffworks.com but I couldn't find anything.
Could some smart person tell me what an exhaust manifold is/does and what installing the better one does for me? I think The Man installed one.

thanks

Exhaust Manifold is commonly referred to as a "Header," they are both the same. I dont know if The Man has a header installed as of right now the only streetable application is the APC (as far as I know)? Anyway, the exhaust manifold takes exhaust fums out of your combustion chamber and exits out of your car through the muffler. The reason why you have performance gains when you install a new header (generally) is beacause the the header or exhaust manifold is smoother on the inside therefore air can flow out easier. Now you also can look at 4-2-1 or 4-1 headers. If you want me to explain those I can... however if you do a search on headers on the board you should find something.

Sorry, I meant _intake_ manifold. Now I can find the thread I was looking for.
I was referring to this thread on the FS-ZE manifold:
http://www.protegeclub.com/forum/sho...threadid=14262
I guess I basically know what it does... goes between air filter and cylinders.... regulates air intake. Sorry for my ignorance.