Should I buy Stillen?

[Babu]

OK. I drove an 09 G37 Sport with a 6MT tonight. It was awesome. The dealer wanted to sell me a Stillen intake, headers, and exhaust for around $2500. Is it worth it? Also, how much below MSRP is reasonable for an 09 G37 Sport?

[tollboothwilley]

Stillen stuff is good, but I dunno if I like the price they are trying to sell it for. Check out http://www.stillen.com for pricing on it. I haven't looked for the G37 personally.

What is MSRP right now? I'd be trying to get one for around 35-36K for the base model. 37K with some upgrades.

[Sentientbydesign]

I personally think stillen builds crap. Just a personal opinion.

You might want to make sure you like the way the intake, exhaust, and headers sound before you install them. Also, resale value will have plumetted unless you sell it to somebody who really wants those mods.

Actual power gains are going to be minimum from what I've read.

[Jacko3]

The only thing Stillen on my car is their cat back exhaust. A friend of mine had Stillen headers and he said, it made no difference in power. I have heard good things about DC headers and Strupp headers.

[joe603]

A good thing about the dealer installing it is they are covered under the warranty. That might be worth the extra $$.

[Babu]

The Sport I am looking at has the premium package and the Nav package. Nav is way too expensive at 2500 list. Comes out to almost 40 MSRP. I didn't really talk money but they said they wanted to do a deal. I said the Nav was way too expensive and they said they would work with that. I'll report back. They had only 2 sports but about 20 Journeys and a whole bunch of 08 automatics.

[Vinny14369]

I see you are in Houston...

Jackie Cooper Imports in Tulsa, Oklahoma and has (1) '08 G37 6 MT. Ivory in color. I ought a 6MT blk/stone in 12/08 and they were willing to deal. Both of these cars have prem/nav. I bought mine, new, for $37,500. I got them to throw in a free window tint. If the aftermarket performance mods aren't that important to you, this may be a car you want to check out.

Regards,

~V

[Babu]

Thanks. I may look into that. I haven't seen any 08 6MTs locally. There is now a 4000 factory incentive on 08s, so that could be quite a deal.

[CrackaLackin]

A good thing about the dealer installing it is they are covered under the warranty. That might be worth the extra $$.

this pre-answered my question to the OP

[BrandAidDesignG35]

one other good point would be that since they would be installing, and financing your mods, you would be able to pay for the exhaust, intake for the next 4 years on top of your regular payments... I dunno, but I would be pretty broke if I did that.

I just bought the exhaust and intake mods as I had the funds, but to each his own, once you start modding, you won't be able to stop Keep us posted, If you could knock them down on the price, I would do it

[suby01]

2500 is that for everything installed????

eigther way thats fkin sweet that your dealer even talked about all that. aftermarket parts

just a ? about the intake is it the gen 1 2 3???

with everything that you said and a gen 2 or 3 intake installed id say do it up asap..

oh and you might as well get stillen HFC too to make your exhaust complete.

[C-Kwik]

A good thing about the dealer installing it is they are covered under the warranty. That might be worth the extra $$.

Nope. The manufacturer is under no obligation to honor the warranty on any aftermarket part installed on the vehicle (except perhaps Nismo parts; under the terms of the parts warranty) or any damage that occurs as a result of the use of or installation of said aftermarket part. If that were true, there would be no reason to buy the warranty for Stillen's supercharger kit.

I personally think stillen builds crap. Just a personal opinion.

You might want to make sure you like the way the intake, exhaust, and headers sound before you install them. Also, resale value will have plumetted unless you sell it to somebody who really wants those mods.

Actual power gains are going to be minimum from what I've read.

Care to elaborate? How is their stuff crap?

As for power gains, a comparison of exhausts conducted by Turbo Magazine after 350Z exhausts started to pop up revealed, the Stillen Dual exhaust had the best power gains AND was the quietest exhaust. Many of the other exhausts actually lost power. I wish I still had a copy of the article. And to be fair though, I don't know how some of the exhausts that either weren't tested or showed up after the comparison compares.

[joe603]

Nope. The manufacturer is under no obligation to honor the warranty on any aftermarket part installed on the vehicle (except perhaps Nismo parts; under the terms of the parts warranty) or any damage that occurs as a result of the use of or installation of said aftermarket part. If that were true, there would be no reason to buy the warranty for Stillen's supercharger kit.

I disagree...if you buy a new car from a dealer, they have to warranty it. The Stillen warranty is if you have it installed after the car is purchased.

[Jacko3]

Nope. The manufacturer is under no obligation to honor the warranty on any aftermarket part installed on the vehicle (except perhaps Nismo parts; under the terms of the parts warranty) or any damage that occurs as a result of the use of or installation of said aftermarket part. If that were true, there would be no reason to buy the warranty for Stillen's supercharger kit.

Care to elaborate? How is their stuff crap?

As for power gains, a comparison of exhausts conducted by Turbo Magazine after 350Z exhausts started to pop up revealed, the Stillen Dual exhaust had the best power gains AND was the quietest exhaust. Many of the other exhausts actually lost power. I wish I still had a copy of the article. And to be fair though, I don't know how some of the exhausts that either weren't tested or showed up after the comparison compares.

Let me butt in here. No dealer is under any obligation to warranty any aftermarket part, except the dealer chooses to install that part on their own, using proper dealer or Nissan techniques. That most of us still have our warranty with all the mods we have on the car, is simply testament to the longitudinal reliability of these parts on engine performance, and not a measure of dealer niceness and friendliness towards us. For example, it is easy to install a cold air intake, and yet forget to reset several parameters such as the idle air volume, etc. Without these procedures, which a road side mechanic may not be totally aware of, the car would technically be running out of spec, and thus doing damage to the engine.

On the other hand, I have seen at least 2 brand new 350Zs with Stillen Superchargers installed at the dealership before sale, and sold with full warranties. Seems to me Stillen superchargers is trusted by Nissan. I believe those 350 Zs also came with stillen warranty as well, and so the dealer isn't worried about it, at all.

So, i think there is two sides to the coin on this one.

By the way, Stillen catback exhaust, is more quiet than OEM exhaust and yet more noisy than OEM exhaust, when you want it to be. With test pipes, it is the best sound God made for the ears.

The beauty of Stillen catback exhaust is that when you add test pipes to it and then floor the car, especially when you get to 5th gear. The power, torque, and sound is unbeleivable----it is the holy grail of performance and sound for me. I beleive Stillen headers with testpipes, could add significant gains to power, though I have heard many people suggest that Stillen headers don't produce that much power. I suspect that to get the true benefits and power from Stillen headers, test pipes must be included with the cat-back exhaust.

Since I added testpipes, I have never encountered that engine shut-off mechanism when you reach redline. Its gone, and I hear its good for the car when you don't shut off that frequently. And with testpipes, you get most of the power without even reaching redline. When i think I am driving hard these days, I look down and i see the needle still at just 6200 rpm, and yet witha ll the power int he world to play with. I deliberately take it to 7000 rom just for the fun of it. With test pipes, you need a long strethc of road to fully appreciate the impact and significance of a test pipe on the car's performance.

Just my 2 cents.

[C-Kwik]

I disagree...if you buy a new car from a dealer, they have to warranty it. The Stillen warranty is if you have it installed after the car is purchased.

The terms of the warranty are explicitely stated in the warranty booklet. The only possibility that Nissan would warrant the aftermarket item is if they agreed to. I can't recall the exact wording, but its in there. That said, there could be an implied warranty from the dealer concerning the workmanship of the install itself. But Nissan is not obligated in any way to honor the any failure of the aftermarket part or any failures to the car that are caused by the aftermarket part.

A good example of this is a conversion van. Conversions are handled by company other than the manufacturer and generally sold off the dealer lots after the conversion was already done. The conversion van company actually provides its own warranty for the conversion work they performed. Such documentation is provided with the vehicle at the time of purchase.

[Sentientbydesign]

Nope. The manufacturer is under no obligation to honor the warranty on any aftermarket part installed on the vehicle (except perhaps Nismo parts; under the terms of the parts warranty) or any damage that occurs as a result of the use of or installation of said aftermarket part. If that were true, there would be no reason to buy the warranty for Stillen's supercharger kit.

Care to elaborate? How is their stuff crap?

As for power gains, a comparison of exhausts conducted by Turbo Magazine after 350Z exhausts started to pop up revealed, the Stillen Dual exhaust had the best power gains AND was the quietest exhaust. Many of the other exhausts actually lost power. I wish I still had a copy of the article. And to be fair though, I don't know how some of the exhausts that either weren't tested or showed up after the comparison compares.

Disclaimer: I'm not trying to be a PITA, or confontational, just stating my OPINION.

They're grounding kits are a great place to start, but then that sounds like a plug from me.

Engine dampers are a joke considering they cost $156 for a tube with a spring and a couple of fasteners on each end (similar setups run 1/3 the price on eBay).

Same goes for their hood struts. $110? Seriously? Then again, I think Infiniti charges that prices for each when you have to replace them, so maybe I'm wrong here, or maybe we're all just getting screwed.

I'm not a big fan of the exhaust simply because it sounds like stock, but louder. Performance increases might be great, I'm not sure. The audible portion of the exhaust is one of two reasons I don't have one.

I can't remember any other reasons, but there are more. Again, just my perception of them.

With regards to the warranty. That's kind of a conundrum. The parts counter MAY in fact warranty aftermarket parts sold through them (parts). And the dealership service department MAY also warrant items that are installed by them (labor).

If the service is warranted, then the buyer is in a great place, because there are two places to go for a defective part...the parts counter where it was purchased or the manufacturer.

If only the parts are warranted, then there's an issue. I personally don't care for parts only warranties because labor is often more expensive (this applies to all sorts of products, not just automotive ones).

[BrandAidDesignG35]

When I joined this site over a year ago, I heard all the raving reviews of the Stillen Gen 2 exhaust.

Everyone says, oh, it's now "Quieter than our Gen 1"... hmmmm, why did they make it soo? I think I would go for a Gen 1 anyday, but something that sounds stock is not on my to do list.

I opted for the Fujita intake, because of the 4.5" long tube, and the Greddy EVO2 for its gains, style, and sound... it was also cheaper, but that had nothing to do with it.

[C-Kwik]

I have no problem with opinion. But ultimately, you simply called their products crap without elaborating. And for the most part, it sounds as though you just think their stuff is overpriced.

As for their exhaust being loud or quiet, that's a subjective matter. I prefer quieter exhausts myself if there is a choice. But if I were concerned with getting an exhaust, I'd be concerned with power. But some just like to sound fast.

With regards to the warranty. That's kind of a conundrum. The parts counter MAY in fact warranty aftermarket parts sold through them (parts). And the dealership service department MAY also warrant items that are installed by them (labor).

Not really. A parts counter MAY warrant an item, but they would probably just act as an intermediary for the warranty provided by the part manufacturer. And yes, as I stated before, the dealer may warrant the install work if the failure was a result of a faulty install. But then again, they may be obligated to anyways. But a failure limited strictly to a fault of the kit itself will not require the dealer or the manufacturer to take responsibility.

[Babu]

Thanks for all the info. Here's a follow on question.When I put a performance exhaust on my Miata, it created a lot of buzzing in the body due to vibration. This is common on miatas and the forums all discuss where to put sound deadening material to stop the vibration that causes the buzzing. Its a hassle.

Does this happen in the G?

[joe603]

The only buzzing that I've heard of on the new G37 is in the OEM exhaust muffler. If you get the noise, take it to the dealer.

As far as aftermarket, I don't think you have to worry about vibration. These cars are solid (heavy)

[jerry c]

My Opinion, based on ownership of the Stillen catback. Quality: Marginal at best. Welds poor to fair. My Exhaust installer was not impressed ! He does a lot of exotic vehs.. He just laughed and said" It costs a lot of money to go racing, you just helped pay for his (Stillens) next event . Performance: Non existant. "Seat of the pants" Maybe a little.

Sound: Quiet. Why did I buy an aftermarket exhaust? I wanted better performance, and I wanted to hear my engine, especially at higher RPM.When you are engaged in performance driving, oft times you cant watch the Tac. Its nice to hear, where your engine is, by exhaust note.

Appearance: IF "BLING" is important to you, BUY this exhaust system.It has 2 VERY large polished mufflers that look like aux. fuel tanks hanging off the back of the car. The large tips dont even blend into the mufflers. They look cheap and Kragenesque. The "final straw" is that, whenever you pull in or out of a driveway you scrape the bottom of your aux. fuel tanks. God, I hope they are empty!! I feel like the 16 year old, who wanted to modify his moms Skylark, but only had $10.00. Guess what he bought at KMart. I bet it dosent have " Stillen" painted on it !! I spent over a $1000.00. and I still need an exhaust system!!! Just my opinion, Jerry

[G_whizz]

Gotta tell ya Jerry I am definitley surprised at your opinion.

Granted...things like the welding points you brought up really mean nothing to me as I am no expert. BUt that was a decent opinionated review you gave it!

I've NEVER had a problem bottoming out or anything.

I have ALWAYS loved my Stillen exhaust right from day 1. Decent power gains, subtle tone at idle but has an "eargasm" ROAR at WOT without sounding the least bit ricey or like a "fart can"

[Jacko3]

Throw in test pipes and a header, and then come back and tell us about your experience, again.

[C-Kwik]

My Opinion, based on ownership of the Stillen catback. Quality: Marginal at best. Welds poor to fair. My Exhaust installer was not impressed ! He does a lot of exotic vehs.. He just laughed and said" It costs a lot of money to go racing, you just helped pay for his (Stillens) next event .

Pictures of said welds?

Performance: Non existant. "Seat of the pants" Maybe a little.

Few exhaust systems are going to provide any seat of the pants increase in power. The only cars I felt increases on ever were turbo cars.

Sound: Quiet. Why did I buy an aftermarket exhaust? I wanted better performance, and I wanted to hear my engine, especially at higher RPM.When you are engaged in performance driving, oft times you cant watch the Tac. Its nice to hear, where your engine is, by exhaust note.

Sound is subjective. But I've driven on road courses, autocrosses and drag strips. I have had no problem telling if I was close to redline or not in any car. The stock exhaust on the G35 provides plenty of exhaust noise. The Stillen exhaust is slightly louder. Should be plenty for anyone to hear. If you want a loud exhaust, that's your perogative. But is seems like you are searching for reasons to hate it here.

Appearance: IF "BLING" is important to you, BUY this exhaust system.It has 2 VERY large polished mufflers that look like aux. fuel tanks hanging off the back of the car. The large tips dont even blend into the mufflers. They look cheap and Kragenesque.

If I'm not mistaken, this is on an 08 Sedan? Its hard to say from the pics on Stillen's sight. Perhaps you could share some of your own to point out what you mean.

The "final straw" is that, whenever you pull in or out of a driveway you scrape the bottom of your aux. fuel tanks. God, I hope they are empty!!

Pics would probably help here as well. The profile doesn't look that bad in the pictures on Stillen's site. And just about every exhaust system I've owned had issues scraping the tip, not the muffler. Another thing you might mention is if your G is lowered and by how much if it is. I know you had a previous thread asking about lowering a G. This could be useful info for our memebers, but we need to be able to quanitfy it for ourselves. Your post comes off as a rant rather than any kind of a review.

[jerry c]

I guess you could call it a RANT. I tend to rant, when I buy CRAP ! Having owned and modified Many, Many , cars in my 66 yrs. on this planet, I feel I have a pretty good grip on Performance Parts and what to expect from them. I personally dont think this exhaust system is worth the price you have to pay for it. I am not impressed with the quality of materials, Nor am I impressed with the worksmanship. I am happy that you like yours, but that certainly wont change MY opinion of this system. It boils down to personal taste. I dont like the glitzy chrome mufflers, nor the cheap bolt on, over sized Exhaust tips. As for sound. At 100mph, with helmet on and windows open, I NEED help hearing my car. So do most of the guys I run with. Maybe the answer is a hearing aid. The car is a stock 08 G35XS. with the cat back exhaust and the Stillen Long Tubes Intake. Stock ride height, which is higher than the non x version. Now, dont ask me, what I think of the Stillen Intake. If you didnt like my comments, on the Exhaust, you will hate what I think of thier Intake. JerryC PS: I Love the car. Do ask me, about the Studded Hakka 4s, with Infiniti'sX package. WOW!!!
Modified by jerry c at 2:02 AM 2/22/2009

[ou812_tim@yahoo.com]

NO! I did and won't be doing it again. Product quality is average and there customer service is very below average. They act arrogant and seem very unwilling to resolve there product issues...

[Chrislsz]

I ordered a wing from them a year and 3 months ago and still have not received. They've changed the date 8 times to keep me on the hook and I keep hoping they'll actually send it. I've been out the $817 plus shipping for a LONG time now. Not impressed at all with this company. I'll update if I ever receive my wing. May end up cancelling soon. My car is all sanded down ready for paint.

[PalmerWMD]

I ordered a wing from them a year and 3 months ago and still have not received. They've changed the date 8 times to keep me on the hook and I keep hoping they'll actually send it. I've been out the $817 plus shipping for a LONG time now. Not impressed at all with this company. I'll update if I ever receive my wing. May end up cancelling soon. My car is all sanded down ready for paint.

Stillen used to be so good!