i agree ^

 

True. I would keep stock, if i can't afford the real thing.

 

I'm glad everyone has their own opinion, its your money, buy what you want, but if a guy laughs at you because you have a knock off well then thats his opinion too!

 

And what about all of the people that call you an idiot for paying $1k+ for some bent pipe and a couple of mufflers? Oh yeah, opinions, once again.




Opinions are like a$$holes - everybody has one and they all stink.

 

I hadn't bothered listening to the clip in the link on that yet, but I just did and think it sounds better than the actual HKS exhaust (at least for that video). I'd be interested in seeing a first hand review of the actual part, until then I'm not going to make the assumption that it would fall apart any faster than the HKS piece.

 

Exhaust does not require extensive R&D believe it or not. The concept is build pipes bigger and less restrictive than stock and you will gain if the original exhaust was ever restrictive. A good welder can weld you any exhaust you like and fabricate a couple and give you the sound you want. Same with almost every part you buy that is JDM. The only R&D is from Strosek's tunnel and track testing and maybe some of the wheel lines from Japan that are race tested or more like pushed for advertisement.

R&D is not that expensive for most of these companies because all the technology is rehashed. And if you look at the body kits they are strikingly similar to every other body kit for every other car. For example the hood vents on CF hoods which I've seen on every other car and the Nismo kit which looks the same on an Acura TSX.

 

^i highly agree on that. If you dont notice, ALL of the Y pipes aftermarket converge at the same point because Nissan engineers designed that point to be most efficient in exhaust scavanging. My X pipe is also at that same point because its the most efficient. Besides choosing a piping diameter, the only other thing left to do is to design the piping to fit on the car. The hardest part of exhaust manufacturing is the quality control. Thats wut costs money. Thats what determines quality. Im convinced for exhausts, a custom shop can build you one better in quality and sound than any off the shelf exhaust. It'll also be exactly how u want it to be.

 

is this the same knock-off as the previous want that started this debate?

 

How about we compare it like this. Look at the HKS knock off brand. How many do you think they produce? Not a lot. Look at HKS, look at how many they produce, much more. The HKS exhausts have to have inspections for quality control but the knock offs don't. So, if the welds go bad on the knock off I don't think they will have any type of warranty to back it up. At least if you buy HKS you buy a produce from a trusted name.

 

I have a ti tipped HKS and this looks really authentic, esp. being that the HKS doesnt have a logo.

 

Japanese QC and craftsmanship is better than those made by minimum wage in China or blue blood Americans. The Japanese keep their prices high to be more exclusive but that compromises value. I'm sure the knock off brand are concerned with their public name with the warranty issue as far as Ebay sales and car enthusiast deal seekers. HKS is more concerned with B rated car magazines, HIN swordfest, it's major profits from the U.S. die hard JDM purist and somewhat innovation for import cars.

 

So you agree that you pay for quality, when it comes to this knock off exhaust. Craftsmanship and warranty would not even be close to a real HKS.

 

You make an awful lot of assumptions for someone who does not work for HKS or the "clone" maker.

Why does HKS have to have inspections for quailty control and the other not?

Look for threads with HKS problems on this forum, if they have this quailty control why are they having problems?

Unless you have owned both, you really don't know, and even then, the next set might be very different from the set you got, with either one.

HKS has advertising up the waazoo, they even had adverts for this exhaust in a major car magazine I was looking at, don't remember which, maybe motor trend or car & driver. Think about that. What percentage of readers of that magazine own 350Zs? And what percentage of those that do, want a new exhaust? My point being that HKS is making so much money selling those systems that they can afford to throw money away on advertising to a miniscule target market. The profit must be huge.


While I wrote this, I saw you posted that craftsmanship and warranty would not even be close to a real HKS. What are you basing this on???

What good is a warranty that when a hanger weld breaks you have to remove the exhaust system, ship the part to HKS, and then wait??? Read the posts on this forum. That is the process that people posted. A warranty like that is worthless.

 

Yes. I buy all JDM products but used.

Sometimes the value is better than the warranty. For example I bought used tires off a member here who got it from someone else. I found out there was a nail and that was never disclosed. I paid an extra 10 dollars to have it repaired but saved about 250 total including gas picking it up. I didn't include my overpriced hourly rate though.

 

Don't forget Japanese cars are seen as cheap knock offs of German cars at one time and still today by non Japanese buyers. It's up to you to take the risk of buying from that company based on reputation from the internet and other Z owners. Even Axis and Racing Hart started from the bottom as cheapy brands and they are somewhat more than that today.

 

I am rolling on P45R rota wheels on my Z, so i'm not into the whole "buy expensive" crap. But when it comes to parts that work under extreme conditions, I tend to buy better products with a good reputation.

Any muffler shop can make a exhaust system, but they cannot gurantee hp gains, warranty or even exact dimensions and measurements.

 

Many of the claims they make are a bit exaggerated as someone mentioned they dynoed 5 hp gain when 15 was promised. Or that there are too many variables with weather, sea level, and temperment of the car. But I think it is common sense that if you open up your exhaust, it will gain if there was a restriction to start off with.

Go to Mike's muffler in El Monte. He will make you any exhaust you desire and he will make it fit perfectly. Right now I wish my PE SS exhaust was a bit more tucked in and the tips were rolled instead of slashed. Also the sound is a bit weak for some's taste.

Your car will still run if your exhaust fell off as oppose to your wheels.

 

My wheels won't fall apart. haha But if my exhaust has a leak and falls off I will take a baseball bat to the creator of the exhaust.

 

I just bought it today. I will post video and install pics. So, nobody else bought it yet?

 

nice...there arent too many available...please post the vids and pics when u get it !! takin one for the team!