SSAUTOCHROME N1 style duals; A review or how the world likes to screw MR RobertD
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1968cougar
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2006 6:47 pm
- Car: 92 240sx SE
Re: (komete)
They are back on sale at ebay for about a month now. I just got mine in. Whats the flange size of the stock cat? This will not bolt to the stock cat on an 92 s13 correct?
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Kenrik
- Posts: 5736
- Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2005 10:01 am
- Car: Nissan 240SX Coupe
Infiniti G35 Coupe
Nissan Versa Hatch
Re: (1968cougar)
bolts right on...1968cougar wrote:They are back on sale at ebay for about a month now. I just got mine in. Whats the flange size of the stock cat? This will not bolt to the stock cat on an 92 s13 correct?
I just ordered mine today $204.68 shipped
not bad at all IMO
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ragenasian
- Posts: 981
- Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2005 6:09 am
- Car: AE86 w/CA18DET
Re: (Kenrik)
I just installed my SSAC dual exhaust on my S13. A couple of things to note on mine were I think they are sending the S14 units out or at least I got one. It bolted up but none of the hangers lined up. I had to bend one to get it to fit. The two in the back of course lined up, the one right after the rear axle wasn't even close and the one in the middle was the one that required bending. Still looks good and sounds good.
This is to Moyeo, very nice write up.
This is to Moyeo, very nice write up.
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1968cougar
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2006 6:47 pm
- Car: 92 240sx SE
Re: (Kenrik)
Wow, did not know the stock cat had a 3" exit.Kenrik wrote:
bolts right on...
I just ordered mine today $204.68 shipped
not bad at all IMO
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1968cougar
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2006 6:47 pm
- Car: 92 240sx SE
Re: (1968cougar)
Errr...nevermind. Flange is same, ID is the only difference. Sorry, this will be the first time I have ever laid hands on a catalytic converter.
Re: (Tulsa_S-13)
hey now. i pirate software. but i would not buy SSAC crap.Tulsa_S-13 wrote:Buying SSAC exhaust is like pirating software, just my 2 cents.
The quality by judging from the pics looks fairly decent, If I wanted or needed new exhaust and was tight on cash I'd rock it.
arrgggg
Re: (ArticDragon192)
There was actually an article in a recent tuning magazine about knock-off's, giving the pros and the cons, while some of the knock-off's were exact copies, performed to the original designs' specifications, and gave quality performance enhancements, some of them were absolutely awful.
I think one of the purposes of this community, and even this particular thread is to inform people of "quality" knock-offs, so that people can save some money and acquire the same performance gains.
That said, I only hope the people who get bad knock-offs aren't embaressed enough to hide their shame, because if you don't come forward with your story there are others who will make the same mistake.
After all, that's the purpose of a community.
Also, don't buy knock-offs of parts that are going to cost you a substantial amount of money down the road. For instance, just because it says it's a Greddy oil-pan, that doesn't mean it is, talk to a local parts distributor and do it right the first time, don't risk your engine and possibly your life just to save a few dollars.
I think one of the purposes of this community, and even this particular thread is to inform people of "quality" knock-offs, so that people can save some money and acquire the same performance gains.
That said, I only hope the people who get bad knock-offs aren't embaressed enough to hide their shame, because if you don't come forward with your story there are others who will make the same mistake.
After all, that's the purpose of a community.
Also, don't buy knock-offs of parts that are going to cost you a substantial amount of money down the road. For instance, just because it says it's a Greddy oil-pan, that doesn't mean it is, talk to a local parts distributor and do it right the first time, don't risk your engine and possibly your life just to save a few dollars.
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Kouki Chick
- Posts: 566
- Joined: Mon Oct 31, 2005 12:28 pm
- Car: 1997 Nissan 240sx
Re: (Kenrik)
All I have to say is knock offs are knock offs no matter what. They are called knock offs because they are made with crap parts and crap construction, and if they were as reputable as any other name brand part they wouldn't be a knock off and they wouldn't be so cheap. Spend the extra money and go for whats reputable and whats actually worth your money, so you don't have to replace the part over and over again!
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1968cougar
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2006 6:47 pm
- Car: 92 240sx SE
Re: (1968cougar)
Just installed it. Does not sound bad at all. Fit in my opinion is fair to good. It did fit. It went on without modification. Just because it went in does not mean it was a great fit. An excellent fit would hang just like oem. The two rear rubber hangers ended up angled severely in toward each other and not up and down like stock. One is pulled toward the front of the car. Considered fair fit here. Slightly worse would be considered poor and needs modification to install.
The rubber hanger before the canisters is straight however the metal hanger from the exhaust goes too far through it. The mushroomed end sticks out like almost an inch and a half. Fair to good here.
The hanger screwed in on the first half was a good fit. Flange to cat is a good fit as well. The kit comes with two slightly larger bolts to bolt down to the cat. Installation to stock cat would require drilling to oversize the cats threaded holes. This however means removal of the cat to be able to drill one hole straight. You can opt to use the original studs and nuts from the cat but I would recommended flat washers under the nuts.
For the most part the exhaust clears everything by an inch. Even the diff. However the pipinig just after the resonator is very close to the rear sway bar. If you buy this exhaust I would probably recommend a test fit then heat and bend the exhausts hangers for a cleaner fit.
Considered to the prices of other exhaust you get a decent bang for your buck here. The tolerances used by xs power is either poor, it's not an exhaust copy in regards to measurements or apexi's measurements suck too. (I think motoria only makes the single not the dual). I guess I'll post back after a month. I plan to retighten bolts tommorow night. If anyone wants shots on hanger fitments let me know, I'll take pictures and post them.
Over performance impression: The frustration of flooring it at 2500 rpms is a tad worse. I think the DC Sport 4-2-1 header will compensate. My zero to 60 appears improved. I wish I had done a 0-60, 0-100 and etc using the DATASCAN software before upgrading to compare. Sorry.
There really is not much R and D in exhaust. I wager more r and d is spent on exhaust sound than flow. Exhaust is not a difficult premise. The only major thing I've seen the last two decades was the xpipe crossover instead of h pipe. 240 exhaust is close to straight IMHO. It goes below the axle and not up and around. Bend and flow research? hehe
I will pay for dev on cams, heads and so on. I'll take one for the team on CARB exemptions but exhaust...KMA. Actually allow me to be less general because this is not fair to manifolds and headers. I won't say exhuast only. I will say cat back exhaust KMA.
I hope this helps someone....
The rubber hanger before the canisters is straight however the metal hanger from the exhaust goes too far through it. The mushroomed end sticks out like almost an inch and a half. Fair to good here.
The hanger screwed in on the first half was a good fit. Flange to cat is a good fit as well. The kit comes with two slightly larger bolts to bolt down to the cat. Installation to stock cat would require drilling to oversize the cats threaded holes. This however means removal of the cat to be able to drill one hole straight. You can opt to use the original studs and nuts from the cat but I would recommended flat washers under the nuts.
For the most part the exhaust clears everything by an inch. Even the diff. However the pipinig just after the resonator is very close to the rear sway bar. If you buy this exhaust I would probably recommend a test fit then heat and bend the exhausts hangers for a cleaner fit.
Considered to the prices of other exhaust you get a decent bang for your buck here. The tolerances used by xs power is either poor, it's not an exhaust copy in regards to measurements or apexi's measurements suck too. (I think motoria only makes the single not the dual). I guess I'll post back after a month. I plan to retighten bolts tommorow night. If anyone wants shots on hanger fitments let me know, I'll take pictures and post them.
Over performance impression: The frustration of flooring it at 2500 rpms is a tad worse. I think the DC Sport 4-2-1 header will compensate. My zero to 60 appears improved. I wish I had done a 0-60, 0-100 and etc using the DATASCAN software before upgrading to compare. Sorry.
There really is not much R and D in exhaust. I wager more r and d is spent on exhaust sound than flow. Exhaust is not a difficult premise. The only major thing I've seen the last two decades was the xpipe crossover instead of h pipe. 240 exhaust is close to straight IMHO. It goes below the axle and not up and around. Bend and flow research? hehe
I will pay for dev on cams, heads and so on. I'll take one for the team on CARB exemptions but exhaust...KMA. Actually allow me to be less general because this is not fair to manifolds and headers. I won't say exhuast only. I will say cat back exhaust KMA.
I hope this helps someone....
Re: (moyea)
Sorry to jump in so late, but I've given this issues a bit of thought and I believe it is helpful and informative to have knowledge of how things really work in our capitalist system. I thank Moyea for his insight and I hope we take the time to understand what he is saying.
I have had enough experiences in my lifetime to understand that old axiom "You get what you pay for" all too well. And often times this is more true than we'd like to admit. But in an effort to satisfy certain urges, we make purchases based on our pocket book bare rather than with our brain and consequently end up with a S**ty piece of whatever it is we thought we were buying and saving on.
However with all that said, beyond the economic dynamics that drive price and cost that Moyea so well illustrated, there are other dynamics at work as well, such as marketing/advertising strategies that drive prices and have very little to do with actual cost. As a advertising marketing professional I know well how companies protect brand development and pour millions of dollars into advertising and marketing initiatives designed to get you to buy their brand, regardless of cost. Even if you don't purchase their product now, you are more likely to buy at a later date if you have heard about it, seen it or someone said they liked it. Marketers pay a lot of money to develop their brand.
Many years ago, products coming out of Japan were considered inferior in quality and crap. Essentially the Japanese industrial complex became so good at reverse engineering, they produced every kind of product on a huge scale and exported to a hungry US market. All they needed was a little marketing savvy and good advertising to reverse the common perception and of course good products. The Japanese were very good at reverse engineering and eventually began improving the products they copied. Essentially they got a leg up because they didn't have to start ground zero. However they with their success in reverse engineering they also became very good innovators making great improvements to basically everything they made. You all heard of Sony, Panasonic, Mitsubishi...Toyota.
Mitsubishi is gigantic, they produce everything from huge oil freighters to circut boards for DVD players, but they've paid a price for their brand awareness. Now you pay the price to enjoy their brand. In reality their products are not necessarily the best or better than others. But you now know the brand name and have a perception of quality products. That is the key word "perception" and that is the dynamics at work as well.
While it is true that it takes time to develop perception, and equally important, "quality". After years of testing and developing a brands reputation, by winning races or beating records you eventually get to the top.
But there always comes a point when someone else starts knocking at the door and tells you they want to run with best and to prove it to you, they'll sell their products to you at a steeply discounted rate to get you to try. In this case, it's China. Soon the the best products will be coming out of China and they are already making their presence felt. For now it less a matter of quality, but demand. For one Japanese craftsman building one exhaust system, there's five Chinese building twenty. Their quality will improve as demand rises. You may not know it, but you can be sure Japanese companies are looking hard at their chinese manufacturing options.
Personally, I feel that much of the stuff coming out of Japan is overly priced and wildly inflated in value. The exhaust systems now coming out of China that are being SUCCESSFULLY marketed by companies like SSAutochrome are an indication of things to come. The prices they sell at now on Ebay dramatically demonstrates the disparity in actual cost to manufacture the product versus the name brand product. So yes, you can go with the company that originally designed the product and pay brand name prices or buy basically the same product cheaper made by the no name company. That's the beauty of it, you have a choice. So while I love my APEXI N1 Duals, which by the way fit my car perfectly as oem, I also know I might have paid too much for them. But then again when I bought mine, the copies weren't available yet. But I very well might have considered cost as a big factor in my decision making process.
Back in 1965 you could have bought a brand new Datsun 510 for well under $5k and be driving or only dreamed about buying a $9 or $10k Camaro. Same thing is going on right now, can you read the writing on the wall? You can be smart, have the performance you demand and save, or you can have the best brand name that you saved up for a year to get.
Come on!, we love our 240's because they are a fantastic sports car that is AFFORDABLE and nearly completely customizable. Imagine if you spent half of what you would spend on a Porsche 911 Turbo (approx. $122K full price) on performance mods for your 240? I think you could beat 480 HP and have the baddest 240 in your town. Haha, of course if you had that kind of money you'd probably have a Porsche. My point is, with forums like this you can make better informed decisions about parts and products that offer significant price savings. SO stop dissing companies like SSAutochrome that supply the products we demand at price we can actually afford.
Be wise and boost it!
I have had enough experiences in my lifetime to understand that old axiom "You get what you pay for" all too well. And often times this is more true than we'd like to admit. But in an effort to satisfy certain urges, we make purchases based on our pocket book bare rather than with our brain and consequently end up with a S**ty piece of whatever it is we thought we were buying and saving on.
However with all that said, beyond the economic dynamics that drive price and cost that Moyea so well illustrated, there are other dynamics at work as well, such as marketing/advertising strategies that drive prices and have very little to do with actual cost. As a advertising marketing professional I know well how companies protect brand development and pour millions of dollars into advertising and marketing initiatives designed to get you to buy their brand, regardless of cost. Even if you don't purchase their product now, you are more likely to buy at a later date if you have heard about it, seen it or someone said they liked it. Marketers pay a lot of money to develop their brand.
Many years ago, products coming out of Japan were considered inferior in quality and crap. Essentially the Japanese industrial complex became so good at reverse engineering, they produced every kind of product on a huge scale and exported to a hungry US market. All they needed was a little marketing savvy and good advertising to reverse the common perception and of course good products. The Japanese were very good at reverse engineering and eventually began improving the products they copied. Essentially they got a leg up because they didn't have to start ground zero. However they with their success in reverse engineering they also became very good innovators making great improvements to basically everything they made. You all heard of Sony, Panasonic, Mitsubishi...Toyota.
Mitsubishi is gigantic, they produce everything from huge oil freighters to circut boards for DVD players, but they've paid a price for their brand awareness. Now you pay the price to enjoy their brand. In reality their products are not necessarily the best or better than others. But you now know the brand name and have a perception of quality products. That is the key word "perception" and that is the dynamics at work as well.
While it is true that it takes time to develop perception, and equally important, "quality". After years of testing and developing a brands reputation, by winning races or beating records you eventually get to the top.
But there always comes a point when someone else starts knocking at the door and tells you they want to run with best and to prove it to you, they'll sell their products to you at a steeply discounted rate to get you to try. In this case, it's China. Soon the the best products will be coming out of China and they are already making their presence felt. For now it less a matter of quality, but demand. For one Japanese craftsman building one exhaust system, there's five Chinese building twenty. Their quality will improve as demand rises. You may not know it, but you can be sure Japanese companies are looking hard at their chinese manufacturing options.
Personally, I feel that much of the stuff coming out of Japan is overly priced and wildly inflated in value. The exhaust systems now coming out of China that are being SUCCESSFULLY marketed by companies like SSAutochrome are an indication of things to come. The prices they sell at now on Ebay dramatically demonstrates the disparity in actual cost to manufacture the product versus the name brand product. So yes, you can go with the company that originally designed the product and pay brand name prices or buy basically the same product cheaper made by the no name company. That's the beauty of it, you have a choice. So while I love my APEXI N1 Duals, which by the way fit my car perfectly as oem, I also know I might have paid too much for them. But then again when I bought mine, the copies weren't available yet. But I very well might have considered cost as a big factor in my decision making process.
Back in 1965 you could have bought a brand new Datsun 510 for well under $5k and be driving or only dreamed about buying a $9 or $10k Camaro. Same thing is going on right now, can you read the writing on the wall? You can be smart, have the performance you demand and save, or you can have the best brand name that you saved up for a year to get.
Come on!, we love our 240's because they are a fantastic sports car that is AFFORDABLE and nearly completely customizable. Imagine if you spent half of what you would spend on a Porsche 911 Turbo (approx. $122K full price) on performance mods for your 240? I think you could beat 480 HP and have the baddest 240 in your town. Haha, of course if you had that kind of money you'd probably have a Porsche. My point is, with forums like this you can make better informed decisions about parts and products that offer significant price savings. SO stop dissing companies like SSAutochrome that supply the products we demand at price we can actually afford.
Be wise and boost it!