custom vs commercial exhausts

[joe.teg]

hey guys

wanted to buy a Fujitsubo RM01A for 1300.
dad is in the trade a can get me a custom cat back made to the same specs as the RM01A for 350

there is a bigg difference in price here. if someone buys a commercial exhaust like a fujitsubo or a skunk2 etc. are they just paying for the brank name when they can get a custom one for nealy a quarter of the price

[mrwillz]

theres also the research and development added into the 'branded' parts, of course quality as well.

'you get what you pay for'

[Type S Tony]

Guaranteed the custom made exhaust wont flow as good as the Fuji, might sound good though!

[ZeForce]

Nah I reckon that is absolute bullshit, custom > over priced JDM crap any day of the week.... assuming it is similar size and mandrel bent

Save yourself the cash to spend on other parts

[Moey.C]

id like 2 know the answer 2 this aswell aye

[Type S Tony]

u might get a better sound out of the custom exhaust but it wont compare to an of the shelf, properly researched item! especially if its only gonna cost him $350! that doesnt cover the cost of mandrel bends!

[90LAN]

yeah go the cheaper custom exhaust for sure
most people on ozhonda have them with the 5 inch cannons
so i dont see why it should be a problem
hondas dont make much power so its just for noise the exhaust
350 sounds like a bargain to me

[xtercii]

Guaranteed the custom made exhaust wont flow as good as the Fuji, might sound good though!

it's more like the other way around mate...

[lil_foy]

Guaranteed the custom made exhaust wont flow as good as the Fuji, might sound good though!

Don't know much do we.

I hardly see how you can **** up a catback.

[joe.teg]

the reason the exhaust is so cheap is because hes a mate of my dads

my dad is a mechanic and reccomends these guys highly

umm yeah i though it was the other way around with the custom exhausts flowing better and sounding better that is why i cant understand paying more than double the price for an overpriced exhaust when you can get one as good if not better custom made to you own specs

the exhaust i will be getting is a 2.25 inch mandrel bent cat back system

[90LAN]

the reason the exhaust is so cheap is because hes a mate of my dads

my dad is a mechanic and reccomends these guys highly

umm yeah i though it was the other way around with the custom exhausts flowing better and sounding better that is why i cant understand paying more than double the price for an overpriced exhaust when you can get one as good if not better custom made to you own specs

the exhaust i will be getting is a 2.25 inch mandrel bent cat back system

when you have owned both you will understand
theres more to it than that
its material used, fitment, resonators used, muffler design , sound, looks, R&D, weight
and flow
it takes more than a cat back to make a good exhaust system
price wise it will hold its value on resale and last longer
but hey if the majority of ozhonda think its good then i do too
if you get a cheap custom cat back

[CRXDEL501]

ok.
ive owned both, had a shit exhaust to begin with on my crx. custom made all that crap. i dont believe they will make an exhaust to the same specs as a fujitsubo. you cant really compare ay.
branded exhausts have been tested, the materials and so forth are better like lan said.
if you want a cheap exhaust, give it a shot, but if u wanna do something, do it right the first time i recon mate. :thumbsup:

[joey99]

I also had both on a S15. Get what you pay for I reckon. The fuji RM was the best quality exhaust I've ever had. It was just made prefectly and was a 1 piece. Even compared to a Trust PE2, the Fuji was way way better made IMO. The custom job was cheap and sounded cheap. The noise from the fuji was fantastic. It was nice and quiet just driving around normally and had a nice roar when you put your foot down. So that's a great exhaust if you don't want the attention of a really loud exhaust.

[ZeForce]

You guys ever think that maybe you are getting your custom exhausts made by dodgy workshops....

[DLO01]

Quality custom anytime. If you know what you want, sizes lengths, products mufflers etc and you have a good neat welder, then custom is just as good as brand names for less $.

If "x brand" is a cirtain spec size, bends etc, and "custom" is exactly the same spec, then how can is perform any less? Its exactly the same at less $.

[90LAN]

Quality custom anytime. If you know what you want, sizes lengths, products mufflers etc and you have a good neat welder, then custom is just as good as brand names for less $.

If "x brand" is a cirtain spec size, bends etc, and "custom" is exactly the same spec, then how can is perform any less? Its exactly the same at less $.

it will not be exactly dean
if it was the exhaust guy would be a robot
anyway cost about the same price when i asked to do a custom exhaust to my specs similiar to a branded name one
anyway pay for what you think is the best exhaust for you budget and expectations

[DLO01]

All hand welded:

Outside:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a265/DLO01/Misc/Image188.jpg

Inside:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a265/DLO01/Temp/Image242.jpg

Don't think you can get any smother than that.

[joe.teg]

see

this guy is a good neat worker.

the exhaust he will be making me is a one piece and they use high quality products

the way i think of it is that, why would my dad be sending me to someone who doesnt do a quality reputable job

i know that a lot of R&D goes into commercial exhausts but i also think that nothing can beat something one off made by a professional other than something made by a machine if you get my drift

it is still a toss up between the RM01A or a custom made one, leaning more towards to custom made one because i think its more value for my money

[xtercii]

custom piping and welding, I don't mind the local market, just when it comes to mufflers, the branded ones just have so many quality selections both in style and finish.

[90LAN]

All hand welded:

Outside:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a265/DLO01/Misc/Image188.jpg

Inside:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a265/DLO01/Temp/Image242.jpg

Don't think you can get any smother than that.

i know your mate does very good work dean
i was going to use him
but for what i wanted was roughly the same price
what made me change my mind i had to get flanges and drive other there and wait
where as branded exhaust was bolt on for me at home
will def use him later when i need something

[joe.teg]

so it all come down to personal preference and the specs that your exhaust is made up to be. but do you think "custom exhaust" has a niice ring to it lmao

[xaykao]

those are some very nice welds, did you get it done at TRIKFAB? he does an awesome job.

the way i see it, i would go custom just for the shear price difference.

if you go to japan, you realise they don't have enough workshops to accommodate all the car owners (custom work in japan cost way more due to this), thus big companys such as HKS, Apexi produced off the shelf items to make it more easier to get parts. in japan it ends up being cheaper and much more easier to get off the shelf parts but compared to aus its very different.

if you look at aus, its very easy to get custom work done, it just comes down to the quality of it. imo, if your dad's friend does a good job, i don't see why you would fork out almost another $1000 for an exhaust.

[Moey.C]

joe... i always wondered this too..

looks like if u got a guy who really can weld it specifically to specs then it should perform just as good... for $350 id do thattoo... just make sure ur dads m8 does it to the specs u give him. big price difference good luck

[GSi_PSi]

Ive had custom extractors and exhaust system. Then i tried branded toda manifold and jun.b.l catback and can tell you difference is massive. ill Never get custom again.

[DLO01]

Headers I can understand, port matching, different sizes/lengths, flare outs. These a bit more of a art with it. But exhaust, straights and bends, not really rocket science. :rolleyes:

[Zilli]

the exahust for our cars are mass manufactured and made in the thousands because it's a big market. The prices you pay for these exahust are reflective of materials, r&d and quality of your mufflers resonators etc.

My belief is if you were to get a custom exahust made to spec, with the level of quality of a 1300 catback, you may save a bit, but it will be negligible... you may as well buy the brand so you can have a wank over it as well.

There are a lot of experienced, quality exhaust builders around, that will be a damn sight more than 350 (probably like the OP's contact) that will build it to spec for you. The reality is you would need to have a pretty special setup to go custom, otherwise why bother? to save $300? maybe...

[Type S Tony]

I personally think that due to our cars being N/A, intake and exhaust play a big part in power/performance & you can really tell the difference between quality parts & not so good quality parts, also since its not the easiest task extracting power from N/A engines I would think that one would prefer tried & tested parts with proven results over custom/line up with the eye type parts!

[joe.teg]

i can see where u guys are going with the majority of people going for branded exhausts, but i guess its trial and error with a custom one and if you find one to the right specs and your car performs why not save yourself and extra thousand dollars and buy an ecu and get the thing tuned.

I mean R&D, quality, parts used, cleanliness off the welds plays a big part in an exhaust

but yeah i think this is a question that been on many peoples minds and its a personal preference thing im inclined to think

markup plays a huge part in commercial exhausts too

[burak213]

Can your dads friend give good discounts to other people as well? i mean i wouldn't mind saving 1k for a decent quality exhaust even though its not a brand name

[joe.teg]

pm me your details and ill ask for ya :D

[Zilli]

i know that Croydon did a lot of the work on the Thrifty DC2R in the production car series a few years back, albeit that would pretty much be a straight exhaust. But they for example may have a fair bit of knowledge... not sure if they used a custom setup or got ready made products... there are resources here for people who want to try and do things a bit differently than the norm

[lil_foy]

I personally think that due to our cars being N/A, intake and exhaust play a big part in power/performance & you can really tell the difference between quality parts & not so good quality parts, also since its not the easiest task extracting power from N/A engines I would think that one would prefer tried & tested parts with proven results over custom/line up with the eye type parts!

/facepalm

Aslong as you get a decent braded muffler and resonators I hardly see how a catback and be ****ed up.

It's not like it's a maze or anything.

Headers are where the power is made, aslong as the catback is free flowing there shouldn't be any significant power drop.

I admitingly have a fujitsubo catback but the difference to everyone else is I payed a 3rd of the price compaired to them.

[joe.teg]

also when i get the system done would it be advisable to get a hi flow cat
if so what cat should i use and what cell count would be best. I know u can get 300 cell, 200 cell and 100 cell cats. What would be the best for street and mild race ie frequent track days etc

[90LAN]

x force or metal cat
traders on here can get for you

[dc5s]

I prefer branded, researched and developed.

Nothing wrong with custom, I just prefer it that way. With a engineered brand like Honda, every bit counts. They're down to the decimal point. Wether it's from the headers right through to the exhaust, it can make or break performance.

Changing an exhaust on a stock DC2R, has performance going backwards. Perhaps DC2R owners can chime in, though I don't think anyone would've been bothered to dyno stock DC2R vs DC2R + Exhaust.

Regardless, if your budget says you can only get this or that, then so be it. As long as you're enjoying your car, that's all that really matters.

[90LAN]

aus stock dc2r exhaust is very restrictive
and is shit imo especially in the manifold and cat area
so no you wouldnt be going backwards if you replace with something that is any good brand