What's been your experience with HFCs?
 

Owners of HFCs, can post up the following:

1) HFC brand
2) Length of ownership
3) Reliability
4) Fitment, leaks, etc.
5) Volume change and funny noises (ie hissing, rattles)
6) Driveability (ie. does the car feel more powerful all around, is throttle response weakened in the lower rpms, etc.)
7) Seat of the pants gains, dyno gains

Thanks for the info

1) HFC brand
Berk
2) Length of ownership
3 years. Three sets. First set Welds broke on brackets after 3K miles. Second set Welds broke on brackets after 2K miles and Cat inside fell apart. Just got third set.
3) Reliability
See Number 2
4) Fitment, leaks, etc.
Zero issues.
5) Volume change and funny noises (ie hissing, rattles)
Sounds great with my Nismo Cat back. No funny noises at all.
6) Driveability (ie. does the car feel more powerful all around, is throttle response weakened in the lower rpms, etc.)
Hard to tell.
7) Seat of the pants gains, dyno gains
Butt dyno is not working.

if i had to do it all over again.. i would stay with stock cats

Berk, 1 month and going strong. Fitment was perfect, little raspy compaired to my resonated test pipes and stock cats. This last swap was from the stock cats to the Berks and the power is nice. Last race i was pulling higher top speeds on the straight than last time i was at that track (about 15mph) Some do to driving ability changed and some do to more power.

1) Ultimate Racing
2) 18-24 months?
3) Flawless. Not a problem.
4) No problems.
6) Some minor hissing on declining RPMs.
7) Torquier, more power through mid.

Dave, if you're considering HFCs, I highly urge you spend that money on ART Pipes instead. They are much more powerful than HFCs, and sound no different. Trust me.

1) Crawford
2) 2 yrs bought used (previous owner probably had it for another 2 years before)
3) No cracks/leaks that I know of.
4) See #4
5) Added a deeper tone to my HKS exhaust which I like. No rasp.
6) Doesn't feel any more powerful, if I wanted slightly more powerful I would have went test pipes.
7) Couldn't feeling anything.

Honestly the best feeling for the butt dyno was either the plenum spacer or Osiris tune.

Berk test pipes
Used about a year
Never had a problem
Fitment was great
Was very loud compared to stock cats, but had that hissing noise between 2500-3000 rpm
I did feel a loss of low end torque
I think it only felt faster due to being louder lol.

I got rid of my high flow cats and went with ART pipes and Im very pleased. Cant be happier.

I have considered the ART pipes, but I don't want the fuel odor nor excessive increase in noise. If I went that route, I'd need to put in a cat somewhere downstream. Does anyone know if the MD XYZ pipe with the cat module added has the same overall length as the OEM y-pipe? I don't want a catback. The other option would be to install a cat into my midpipe, just forward of the resonator. We're talking a lot of money if I went the MD route (if it works):

1) XYZ pipe $450 (makes the same power as my HR y-pipe, no benefit here)
2) cat module $250
3) ART pipes $600

$1300 for 15whp. Hmmmmm....

^^^Truth

1) HFC brand - Kinetix and BERK
2) Length of ownership
1 yr for the kinetix...I took the BERKS off cause they were too loud (worked well - but way too loud)
3) Reliability - both are great but would take the kinetix over the BERK (next time Im going with ultimate racing)
4) Fitment, leaks, etc. (NO issues with either setup)
5) Volume change and funny noises (ie hissing, rattles) - sorry but I think its definite at 2500-3500 RPM range (regardless of brand - hissing)
6) Driveability (ie. does the car feel more powerful all around, is throttle response weakened in the lower rpms, etc.) YES
7) Seat of the pants gains, dyno gains
butt dyno can feel a difference in stock vs HFC - it isnt much but DEFINITELY noticeable.

1) HFC brand
Berk
2) Length of ownership
15 months
3) Reliability
no problems
4) Fitment, leaks, etc.
fit like a glove, no problems
5) Volume change and funny noises (ie hissing, rattles)
not audible diffrence in sound, i am running true dual exhaust system
6) Driveability (ie. does the car feel more powerful all around, is throttle response weakened in the lower rpms, etc.)
I have a stronger pull from starts and much more gain in the midrange, this might be due to kinetix plenum also
7) Seat of the pants gains, dyno gains
your results may vary

I am not kidding you when I say this, but my ART Pipes are quieter than my HFCs. In fact, my entire exhaust setup is actually quieter than stock. Don't ask me how, it just is. I have Borla TD, Magnaflow X-Pipe, and ART Pipes. You don't need the XYZ pipe, and you don't need anything else. You can buy unpolished ART Pipes for $500, which is about $50-100 more than HFCs, without the penalty of sounding obnoxious like test pipes and with a lot more power delivery.

And the smell isn't very bad at all actually. You can only smell it when you're coming to a standstill after flooring the car - and again, it's not bad at all. Otherwise, in normal driving you likely won't notice it.

1) HFC brand: Random Technology
2) Length of ownership: Approx. 4 years.
3) Reliability: never had a problem out of them. They have turned brown due to the heat.
4) Fitment, leaks, etc.: No fitment issues at all. No leaks.
5) Volume change and funny noises (ie hissing, rattles): Slightly louder. With headers, the exhaust I used to have (y-pipe setup w/ blitz nur touring) would pop after revving.
6) Driveability (ie. does the car feel more powerful all around, is throttle response weakened in the lower rpms, etc.): Minor difference.
7) Seat of the pants gains, dyno gains: Probably added a few HP. No major gains. If I had to do over, I'd save myself some money and try resonated test pipes w/ non-foulers.

1) Crawford HFC
2) 6 years
3) Pretty good for a couple years
4) Good fitment...no leaks
5) More aggressive sound with my Crawford headers & Nismo exhaust
6) felt a bit more powerful
7) See #6

Crawford exchanged out my original HFC's after a year or so with the material came loose inside (great customer service). The next set did the same thing in 2 years or so - went ahead & hollowed them out. They lasted another 2 years or so before one began cracking at the second bend & now changing them out to straight test pipes. Also changing my Nismo y-pipe (notorious for cracking test pipes).

1) HFC brand
-Kinetix
2) Length of ownership
-1 year
3) Reliability
-Good
4) Fitment, leaks, etc.
-Great fit and no leaks
5) Volume change and funny noises (ie hissing, rattles)
-No odd sounds, but up a couple of notches in volume output
6) Driveability (ie. does the car feel more powerful all around, is throttle response weakened in the lower rpms, etc.)
-More responsive, SES code 1283 constantly after install (untuned).
7) Seat of the pants gains, dyno gains
-Likely more powerful but no dyno sheets to show (est. 4 - 6 whp)

well they burp at the table
they never put out on the first date
don't wanna meet their parents
sex is horrible

1) HFC brand: Random Technology - Metal
2) Length of ownership: 6 months or so
3) Reliability: Imploded and took them off
4) Fitment, leaks, etc.: No fitment issues at all. No leaks.
5) Volume change and funny noises (ie hissing, rattles): Slightly louder.
6) Driveability (ie. does the car feel more powerful all around, is throttle response weakened in the lower rpms, etc.): Felt quicker all around to me.
7) Seat of the pants gains, dyno gains: Probably added a few HP.

1) HFC brand- KINETIX HIGH FLOW CATS
2) Length of ownership- 2 YEARS
3) Reliability NO COMPLAINTS
4) Fitment, leaks, etc. GREAT FITMENT
5) Volume change and funny noises (ie hissing, rattles)- VERY DEEP THROATY TONE, SUPER NICE THOUGH
6) Driveability (ie. does the car feel more powerful all around, is throttle response weakened in the lower rpms, etc.)- I FELT A LITTLE DIFFERENCE
7) Seat of the pants gains, dyno gains- FROM STOCK TO HFC'S I FELT A GOOD GAIN ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE POWER BAND

Sounds like R.T. hasnt changed anything . Their cats are still imploding . I had a pair 6 years ago and the same happened to me . Went to T pipes and then back to Crawford cats . No problems since then .

1) Brand
-Fast Intentions
2) Ownership
Almost two years
3) Reliability
Great, bought them used too!
4) Fitment, leaks
Fit perfectly with 3 different y pipes
5) Volume
Raspier, louder, lots of hissing, sounds badass
6) Driveability
Felt faster, not by much, lost low end torque, hits like a mothereffer up high with all other bolt ons though
7) Seat of the pants.
yes