2nd hand jap exhaust or new one?

[Drivebai]

Hey all,

Just wanted to know what you guys would recommend.

for around $800 i can either get a 2nd hand catback exhaust Jap brnad like hks or Apexi trust etc, or would you recommend i get a new one made up by an exhaust shop??? would there be that much of a performance difference???

i can go to a place like liverpool exhaust or something and they can make one up for me for around that price too.. i already have a hi flow cat...

any help would be appreciate as i want to get my exhaust done soon.

Thanks all.

[nissanpower]

go the jap exhaust

[Guest Boxhead]

go the jap, reason being, is that companies like HKS etc pride thereselves on there performance gear. they do alot of testing to get best flow etc, so by purchasing one of them your sort of purchasing there testing etc that makes the exhuast that good...

if that makes sense :S

[randymoss]

yeh have to agree there, the jap stuff has been researched and fabricated by the companies. And the japs workmanship is usually very good as well like the apexi ones

[Roy]

I agree that Japanese gear is great quality, but i dont think we should dismiss the local product so quickly.

My HKS exhaust was replaced about 9 months ago due to someone hitting me from behind. I replaced it with another new HKS exhaust which im wrapped in.

However if the insurance company did not foot the bill i probably would not have been so keen to pay the something like $1300.00

The old now bent exhaust was externally in excellent condition and came with my 92 model car. When removing there was a considerable amount of corrosion on the inside of the exhaust, and from what i was led to believe, my new HKS exhaust was to be louder and better flowing. After installation it was evident that new exhaust was quieter then the older one, which i suspected was due to corrosion in the mufflers baffle.

So what am i trying to say, sure buy 2nd hand Jap exhaust, but dont go on external appearance only, and there is such a thing as well made performace mufflers outside of Japan, so keep an eye out and asses each exhaust on its merits. This way you will be sure of a good buy.

[ed]

most, if not all Jap muffler systems are TIG welded by robots and not by hand so the welding is also alot neater

[Steve]

I am a big fan of local product where the quality is comparable. Japanese companies charge alot for name, and usually you will get an excellent product but you still pay for the name, plus there is import tarrifs to think of.

If for example you wanted a N1 style exhaust - which is probably one of the best flowing types you can get (its gotta be, no mufflers and pretty much a straight tube from front to rear) - a new australian made product, made by a reputable exhaust shop will be just as good. I find it hard to believe that a shop that produces exhausts for high performance circuit cars would be so far off the mark that a Jap product would eclipse them in performance.

I have even seen a HKS stainless dump that looked a million bucks from the outside, but inside the welding hadn't been cleaned up!

For the same price you are getting a new exhaust.

[Ronin 09]

I would have to agree with Steve; if the quality of the Aussie product is comparable, you can get a new exhaust for the same money.

I've waiting for a Trust full system, which may seem like it is against what i've just written, but on my last car i had a 'name' brand rear silencer (Supersprint) and the full system up to there made by a local shop. Depends what you want; the supersprint silencer had a specific note that i liked, but i figured than an exhaust shop can't really do anything too wrong with the centre pipes and resonators if they know what they are doing. And they did and excellent job. Might be an option to consider.

[Guest Boxhead]

im not sure, but when i approached a certain place on the coast that made mandrel bent custom exhuasts..

they said for one to be made up would end up aorund the $1400 -$1500 ...

which leads me to beleive that for same price you can have a hks one. new.. if you shop arround.

[Steve]

Is that $14-1500 for a full turbo back? 'Cos if it is just for the cat back - thats farken expensive for a locally made zorst, unless its titanium:D

[skyline33]

2nd hand jap exhaust definetly, for all the above reasons

[Cubes]

Go the Jap...

If you do go custom cat back when you get the front pipe/dump pipe go the Jap.

I had a custom fitted on mine by D&T Performance in Adelaide.

Reason being is I wanted a sleeper look and I couldn't source or get any one else to give me a standard 3" tip out the rear.

No droning and its nice and quiet. straight through mufflers/resonators 7ltr cat and dump pipe that is good apart from one problem that i am getting sorted on monday.

But it was $1700. So not cheap. Go mild steel if you go custom you will save heaps.

thats what i should have gone.

be carefull on the types of mufflers/resonators they use.. Make sure they are flat inside and not raised punch holes.

[Guest Boxhead]

Originally posted by Steve

Is that $14-1500 for a full turbo back?  'Cos if it is just for the cat back - thats farken expensive for a locally made zorst, unless its titanium:D

it was a quote from a performance shop... so i guess they just naturally hiked the price up, it was cat back...

muffler joints may be cheaper. but would they all be able to do mandrel bent?

[d0p3y]

For the pipes, go local made. If it's mandel bent, the right size - Cannot see why spending more on a jap exhaust would be worth it. As for mufflers and cats though, Jap is the way to go any day of the week