I had a set of UTR high-flows & Strup headers installed a week ago and here are my findings.

Performance:
The a$$ dyno says that there is a gain. I feel that I have gained power throughout the whole powerband (I feel a slight gain in low-end power, more in the mid-range, and the top-end just explodes ). I can go from 60-120 noticably faster.


Sound:
The addition of the headers & cats has made my exhaust sound deeper, however it has added some more rasp (I actually dont mind it at all). At cold idle startup and at WOT the exhaust note is LOUDER (It wails like a banshee ). It sounds very exotic and turns heads (I'm using an Invidia G200 BTW).

Tech:
Prior to installing the headers/cats I measured the ID of both parts. The UTR high-flows are 2.25" ID in/out. The Strup headers start with a 1.75" ID at the primaries and end at the 2 3/16" ID collector.


Conclusion:
I feel that these parts are worth the time and $$$ (installation costs). You can see the pics at the bottom and I will post vids tommorrow when I get the chance. Now I got to save up for an APS plenium, cams, UTEC, & tuning. Thanks to MRC Motorsports for installing this for me and for the food .

 

Polished stainless steel. No one can see it, but I still that its beautiful.

 

interesting choice of cats - given how many problems there have been with kinetix and crawford with cracking, i'm curious how UTR stands up given their, erm, less than stellar other products.

 

Thats the reason why I went with the UTR's. They have a metal core & they bolt on to the cat brace so hopefully they will last (for the $$$ I paid for them they better last )

 

i've read that part of the problem was the aftermarket cats bolting onto the stock brace, thus putting disproportionate strength on certain areas........hence why crawford and kinetix no longer have them bolt up to the stock brace

 

Interesting. I was under the impression that having the aftermarket cats bolt on to the stock brace will be beneficial (I kinda feel uncomfortable with the cats hanging there unsupported). Thanks for the heads up. I'll keep an eye on this.

 

best thign I can say based on my research - if you hear an exhaust leak, get it looked at immediately; 9-10 people who don't, usually start their next post with 'god damn it, I should have checked out the exhaust leak I heard last week, now my f'in cats are split in half

 

Great. get this thing on the dyno and show us the numbers. I'm getting the Strup very soon and want to see more results.

 

delete

 

cool, I have the Strupp headers and UTR resonated test pipes. They arent installed but your review gets me excited.

Also, if the Test pipes crack, i will be pissed for paying 340 for them, when i could have just bought some cheap ones for 100 dolla.

 

what the hell, my test pipes didnt come with the brace. They look identical to your pipes but dont have the little brace welded on the side.

 

I also have the Strup headers and I am waiting on the Strup Test pipes that are coming out in 2-3 weeks, then I will have the both installed at MRC Motorsports.

 

Your research may have pointed you in the wrong direction.The failures on the Kinetix cats were simply from them being absolute garbage, the Crawford failures may have been isolated incidents as the crawford products are top notch. However one difference is that the UTR cats do have is a metal core as opposed to a ceramic core. The failures I have read about were all core related, nothing to do with the mounting tabs causing failure as you stated.If this was the case you would see alot of stock cats failing for the same reason. The mounting tabs actually add integrity to the entire exhaust assembly and prevent the stressing of the flanges at the headers and exhaust, thus preventing leaks or cracks at the flanges. If the mounting tabs caused exhaust failures then theywould not be there from the factory.
hope this helps shed some light on the situation.

 

I found just as many problems with Crawford cats cracking and blowing out as I did w/ kinetix in my research (seraching through various 350z/g35 forums). Atleast I know that kinetix revised their design, thicker gauge metal, penetration welding done, etc.. etc.. I emailed Crawford about my concerns and nobody ever wrote back to me..........atleast I know that w/ Kinetix if there is a problem it will be taken care of.

 

Nice review. The Strup headers seem to be very popular these days.

 

What were the before/after dyno numbers and were both pulls on the same dyno?

 

Here are the vids I promised.

Here are some pre-header install. vids (just the Invidia G200)


http://videos.streetfire.net/player....0-49D7205B8AA6

http://videos.streetfire.net/player....4-39451C443F68

http://videos.streetfire.net/player....1-33A563D994F2

Here are the new vids:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_fA3mKWwcQ


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThfbDSIL-C4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OojNSUthwt0

 

wow, the difference is night and day! sounds a lot louder and deeper. awesome

 

I like Glad I went for the strup headers, I wonder how they will sound with my kenetix hfc and injen ses exhaust?

 

What do the utr cats cost, and would they bolt up to the HKS hi power exhaust?