Suggestions for MSA

[gundee]

10 hours ago, siteunseen said:

Love, love, love the 6 to 1 header and 2.5" premium exhaust!  

I have a couple of suggestions for the exhaust system though.  Add lock washers with the hardware and put a copy of this in the box;

The clamp in your picture shows lock washers but I had to go to a hardware store and buy a handful for the proper installation of the whole system.  I had the muffler leaning towards the gas tank too.

Thank you for an awesome sounding system at a good price but you could add $1 for some lockwashers. 

 

This is how my MSA system looks. Center in Offset out. Mine is the older MSA slip fit system before they went to the 3 hole flange set up.

It originally came with what they called a Turbo Muffler. No name was on it as I recall. I have since replaced that with a stainless Magnaflow

that looks exactly the same. Oval with center in and offset out.

[siteunseen]

17 hours ago, Jeff G 78 said:

Is the tip slash cut or is it rolled? And was the muffler in a Dynomax box?  My first muffler was stamped Dynomax and was in a marked box. The second came in a plain box and had no brand name stamped in the can. 

You're right Jeff, the new one isn't the same as the one I bought 4 years ago like the one you have.  The Dynomax has a outward dent on them, your picture shows it and here's my 280 that shows it.  It also shows I have the center hole to the rear and the offset towards the front just like yours. 

 

 

[siteunseen]

Here's what they come with now, it's made by Walker/Dynomax.  And the chrome tip is rolled. 

http://www.jegs.com/i/Dynomax/289/17615/10002/-1

 

[Jeff G 78]

Odd that it didn't come in a Dynomax box like the previous muffler.

[siteunseen]

2 minutes ago, Jeff G 78 said:

Odd that it didn't come in a Dynomax box like the previous muffler.

Yeah, mine was a plain cardboard box.  The muffler has 17615 stamped on it though and all the reviews say it's fairly quiet.

[Kurbycar32]

I also had fitment issues with my full Z Store exhaust system purchased in 2015 on my early 260z, even with the bumper shocks removed.  In all the kit was probably 4-5" too long to even mount under the car.  I personally used a hacksaw to remove about 3 inches to get the system mounted but it still wasn't quite right.  The exhaust sounded awesome but had a bit too much drone for my everyday usage so i took the exhaust to a shop and had a resonator added to take the edge off.  My local shop cut another 2+ inches off of the length and rebent some of the pipes to fit correctly with the added resonator.  I'm very happy now.

[Joseph@TheZStore]

Gentlemen,

As I stated on another thread, please accept our apologies for being extra slow in responding while we all try to keep our hair and sanity putting on this car show. Not a good excuse, but we hope you'll forgive us anyway.

James@thezstore will respond once we've looked into everything more fully. He is your forum sales technician contact. We did NOT have a notice listed about how the same angle can not be used on 280Z's which still have the original bumpers (that omission was my mistake and will be fixed), but most over the years have used just a lesser angle with acceptable results. We hope to be working on a system with a tube muffler as opposed to the oval can, which may end up being a better option for those with bracket interference or other modifications. Not sure what happened with Kurbycar's system, certainly that must have been a rogue pipe or something wrong during manufacturer assembly or we would have that way too long issue all the time. Sounds like it had a 2+2 pipe. Sorry about that Jason.

On the mufflers, James will look into that further for you guys. I know that for a time the Premium systems came with a Dynomax muffler, but that is subject to availability. Recently many have had AP Max mufflers, and we've had good responses from them also. The standard systems have usually had a Thrush. All are good mufflers by very reputable companies that have been around for a long time (I remember putting a Thrush on my Pontiac in high school in the early 80's). As far as the tip, the premium systems do come with the rolled tip. The standard systems come with an angle cut tip. Again, James will confirm everything and get back to you guys once we're out from under the car show pre and post crush.

That "Installation Angle" image was from a customer's car, and it didn't cross my mind that the customer had added lock washers. I never used to use them when I had installed exhaust systems, and haven't had a problem with them loosening up, but it isn't a bad idea, and I will make that suggestion to Greg. As far as it being put in the box... It is supposed to be. I'll mention that to my shipping department.

Sorry again for responding after such a delay, and then indicating there will be more delay... Thank you for your patience.

[siteunseen]

Thanks for the response Joseph.  I went and bought $2 worth of lockwashers and am 100% satisfied. 

I've been breaking mine in the past few days and am able to blip the throttle a little and all I can say is it's a real scream machine.  

It's a 2.4 though but it really has a fantastic sound, I've got some fine tuning to do now that everything is back together and drivable.  I need to lower the front hanger as the pipe is barely touching the transmission cross mount.  After looking at this picture I need to rotate the C clamp a little more. 

[James@TheZStore]

Sorry, gentlemen!  We've been overwhelmed here in the office with Z-Bash right around the corner.  I personally have the MSA performance exhaust kit on my '72 and I love it.  It has a nice throaty and clean sound under throttle but is quiet under normal driving conditions.  I didn't use any lock washers with the provided clamps and have had no issues the past 2 years.  It is definitely something we will consider including for extra security. They no longer come with Dynomax mufflers but still work and sound just as great.  It is very easy to switch out the muffler for any brand you prefer because it is simply a center in/offset out oval muffler.  We appreciate threads like these to give us feedback on our products and how we can improve them.  I am more than happy to assist anyone with questions or concerns.

[siteunseen]

Lock washers are cheap insurance. You can't use nylon lock nuts or Loctite because of the heating. 

I like the sound of the newer muffler better than the Dynomax I have on my 280. It sounds like an F1 car!

[Jeff G 78]

Thanks for the clarification James.  The first kit I bought must have come with the rolled tip due to a slash cut tip shortage.  I haven't installed the second kit yet, so I cannot comment on the sound with the alternate muffler.

One suggestion that I think many people would like to see is the addition of an optional resonator in the kit to reduce boom.  I know the pre-74.5 cars don't have the tunnel hump for it, but it would be nice as an option.

[Joseph@TheZStore]

8 hours ago, siteunseen said:

Thanks for the response Joseph.  I went and bought $2 worth of lockwashers and am 100% satisfied. 

I've been breaking mine in the past few days and am able to blip the throttle a little and all I can say is it's a real scream machine.  

It's a 2.4 though but it really has a fantastic sound, I've got some fine tuning to do now that everything is back together and drivable.  I need to lower the front hanger as the pipe is barely touching the transmission cross mount.  After looking at this picture I need to rotate the C clamp a little more.