Dissapointed In My New Exhaust, Twice!!

[71ZZZZZ]

One thing to watch for when upgrading your pipes is the clearance with the tranny tunnel...."Mongo" (not his real name) who did the first job on my exhaust routed the pipe too close...major heat buildup on the sheet metal on the trans-tunnel and in the cab....it's really important to watch what's being done..if the shop won't let you in on the fabrication, not necessarily under the lift, move on..."Mongo" was a d**k in retrospect, started getting antsy when I started asking him questions...charged me for new pipe hangers and ultimately used either what was already there or scrap off the floor...(Celebrity Mufflers in Silverlake ), I ultimately had to pay for someone else to rework the pipe routing in front/under the bell housing..

[Pennyman]

started getting antsy when I started asking him questions...charged me for new pipe hangers and ultimately used either what was already there or scrap off the floor...

SO TRUE!! It's like the guy thinks you don't trust him, and then when you let him do his thing, the job he turns out is worse than something you could have put together in your own garage!

While I was telling this meathead what I wanted, he interupted me and said, "my time is worth 2 bucks a minute, so if you want to stand here and talk to me about everything while we wizz time away, you can go somewhere else."

And I was thinking: I don't want to get pushed around by this guy, maybe he feels like I don't trust his quality of work. So I let him be, and it turns out, his work was unsatisfactory, and I should have taken it somewhere else.

[71ZZZZZ]

And I was thinking: I don't want to get pushed around by this guy, maybe he feels like I don't trust his quality of work. So I let him be, and it turns out, his work was unsatisfactory, and I should have taken it somewhere else.

"Trust you feelings young Skywalker"...even if you have to pay a little bit more, it's worth it, I just about paid 1 and 1/2 for my exhaust upgrade...it's ultimately not as pretty as some of you guys have but it sounds/works really well: stock headers into 2.5" pipe, resonator, into a DynoMax Super Turbo muffler...nice and rumbly at low RPMs, I can trigger car alarms in parking garages but smooths out nicely so I can have a conversation with myself at freeway normal speeds...

:beard:

[zhead240]

I can trigger car alarms in parking garages but smooths out nicely so I can have a conversation with myself at freeway normal speeds...

:beard:

talk to yourself??? as long as you don't have sex with yourself.

[71ZZZZZ]

I can trigger car alarms in parking garages but smooths out nicely so I can have a conversation with myself at freeway normal speeds...

:beard:

talk to yourself??? as long as you don't have sex with yourself.

It IS a manual transmission...

[1 Bravo 6]

Joe,

You beat me to it mate, however, you have to admit that if he gets into an argument, he's bound to win.

Rick.

:devious: :devious:

[John Coffey]

is betamotorsports your shop John? Sounds like yours is close to mine in Whittier

Yup, I'm in La Habra.

[jmortensen]

I did my own 3 inch mandrel bent exhaust on my Z (with turbo motor) for about 120 dollars. Used a freinds mig and went at it.

If you have a recipricating saw, a welder, the ability to see what you want which apparently you do, and the patience to put it together, then just do it yourself the right way the first time and be done with it.

I did the same. I bought 2.5" mandrel bends from JC Whitney and a section of straight pipe from the local exhaust place, along with some generic strap type hangers that we attached to the stock Z brackets that hang down from the frame rails. Super Turbo muffler was JC Whitney as well, I think it was ~$26. The crappy MSA 6-1 header was the worst part, if I had to do it again I'd shell out for the Nissan Comp header for sure. Took me and a buddy about 4 hours messing around with it in the front yard with his mig and it was all done. I have the tightest tucked exhaust I have yet to see on a 240Z. Only problem was it was a little sprung. We made the pipe in between the 2 90's a little too short. The muffler needs replacing 8 years later so I'll fix that issue when I install the new muffler. I think my total cost including the header and shipping was under $400. Not as light and perfect as John's stainless exhaust I'm sure.

[John Coffey]

Not as light and perfect as John's stainless exhaust I'm sure.

The pictured exhaust is not stainless. Thin wall mild steel, which is lighter then the same wall thickness stainless. The only thing lighter would be .035 wall stainless and mandrel bends in that thickness get very expensive. Most racers don't need the added expense of stainless especially here in California.

What makes the exhaust expensive is:

1. Completely TIG welded (no weld material inside the tubing).

2. All welded joints smooth on the inside and lined up properly (no diameter reductions).

3. Custom made merge collector "Y" pipe with the inside honed out and smoothed.

4. O2 sensor bung added.

5. Complete 3" mandrel bent from "Y" pipe to tip.

6. Borla XR-1 Raceline muffler.

7. Optional straight pipe.

8. Extra thick CNC machined 3 bolt flanges.

9. Stainless t-bolt clamps.

10. Exhaust fits: not dragging, no banging, no rubbing, clears driver's footwell, clears T5, clears custom rear mounted ARB, clears forward mounted fuel cell.

11. Can be completely removed in 2 minutes for trans and diff swaps.

12. Can have an additional muffler added to meet Laguna Seca sound limits.

All of the above takes time and that's what increases the cost.

[Pennyman]

12. Can have an additional muffler added to meet Laguna Seca sound limits.

I can just picture the exhaust shop guy saying, "Add $250 if you plan on running at Laguna Seca, and we'll include a muffler."

I'll post pics of the new hangers once their welded on.

Here's the ugly hanger the guy welded on last time. Notice how visible and...ugly it would be... I had to cut it off.

[jackboxxx]

I can just picture the exhaust shop guy saying, "Add $250 if you plan on running at Laguna Seca, and we'll include a muffler."

I'll post pics of the new hangers once their welded on.

Here's the ugly hanger the guy welded on last time. Notice how visible and...ugly it would be... I had to cut it off.

That is pretty damm nasty...

[jmark]

yea not cheap but worth every penny...I think I paid somewhere close to

$480+tax for mine and drove to gardena to get it from the warehouse.

(1-5/8ths, chrome)

is betamotorsports your shop John? Sounds like yours is close to mine in Whittier

Does the chrome Nismo Header hold up as well as a jet coated one?