12.7l Detroit Exhaust manifold swap

Howdy guys. These engines have been around forever so I'm sure plenty of people have experience with the exhaust manifolds. Mine is cracked dead in the center where the turbo mounts. Is it worth the money to get a high performance or one piece manifold? In the past I never bothered but I am considering one this time around. I thought the new ceramic coatings you can get alone might be worth it. Supposedly helps with flow exhaust temps. Or is it all a waste of time and I should just get a $400 dollar no name one? Let me know your experience! Thanks.

 

Any other input on why it is so good? Longevity? I have heard lower EGTs. I plan on having the truck a long time and don't plan on ever swapping the engine away from the 12.7l so I was thinking it might be worth investing in something good.

 

I actually just grabbed a no name manifold set that has all the updated improvements, the thicker center, reversed slip flanges and thicker mounting flanges. 490 bucks with all the gaskets and stuff. We will see how it does. I am going to wrap it with exhaust wrap as well. People say you can get the better performance and lower EGTs by doing that, similar to a turbo blanket. (Supposedly) Was hard for me to justify $1,500 for the PAI kit which is what I was going to grab. This has similar improvements but no ceramic coating.