Thanks for responding, Clint. My silencer came in yesterday, overnight shipped from Michigan (?). Fits very tight and did a nice job of making it quieter on the street. I have no idea how I will ever remove it, but I imagine a couple vise-grips and some WD40 will do the trick.

Intense took care of me and listed me for wholesale pricing on future orders. 7 weeks and three promises to ship tomorrow (after talking to your reps on the phone while I waited) is a lot to bear. On the bright side, the product is excellent and well-designed. I have had to add a lot of fuel to my maps to handle the additional airflow, so I'm sure it will dyno nicely when I get the chance. I have gotten a lot of compliments on the tone, too.

 

I have to admit, living close to AAM gives me a bit of a different perspective on things.

First off, I'm not sure of their testing procedures, but I do know that they used to test fit each part before it goes out. How do I know this? I volunteered to be their test car. Every couple of weeks I'd get a call where they'd ask if they could use my car when they didn't have any other Z's around at the time. I'd drive up there and they'd use my car for the day to test parts before they shipped them out. Not sure if they still do this or not though.

Second, although they do cost a lot (ok at times they seem rediculously expensive) they do good work. I just had an experience where I needed another car fixed, and heeded the advice of other members and avoided AAM even though I had no problems with AAM before.

What did NOT going to AAM get me? Well, going to another shop it took me six months to get my car fixed. Oh, but it wasn't really fixed, I had to go to a third shop that messed it up even more. And then I finally had to go back to AAM to get it fixed. At the end I ended up paying out more, to the tune of of $4k, than AAM had originally quoted me to fix the car.

And these weren't fly by night shops, these were shops that people were telling me to go to that were "more" reputable than AAM.

All I can tell you is, in my experience, yes they are expensive, but right now they're the only shop around here I trust to touch my car after dealing with the competition.

 

Vibrant parts are great! I think they make some of the best mufflers and resonators, and on top of that, they are cheap. I just think Altered charges too much for an exhaust they build in house, considering how cheap Vibrant exhaust parts are. Not bashing the product, just saying i think it costs too much.

 

Should have just ordered it through AAM directly. Not worth starting a thread about.