Exhaust feedbacks?

[Philipp]

Guys
I haven't seen a lot of feedbacks from the Z Canadian comunity so far. Just wonderng if any of us have some experience to share.
Comments are welcome!

[FricFrac]

I was going to keep my car stock for quite a while - that lasted a whole five days. The stock exhaust is WAY to mellow for me. There wasn't a lot to choose from but I've been absolutely happy with my Stillen CBE, HFC and CAI. Great combo on this car and fairly aggressive under throttle.

[6MT]

Originally Posted by Philipp

Guys
I haven't seen a lot of feedbacks from the Z Canadian comunity so far. Just wonderng if any of us have some experience to share.
Comments are welcome!

Well, you should do some searches. There have been a few write-ups and threads on the different aftermarket exhausts.
I have the same set-up as FricFrac. The Stillen HFC & CBE combo works wonderfully. It is quite loud and has certain "resonant" RPM points that can be annoying, but all aftermarket exhaust systems have that problem.
The main thing is the gains. I love the sound that it makes & I believe it to be the sweetest exhaust I have heard.
The fit and finish on mine was top-notch. (Some of the earliest versions had some fit issues, but they have been solved.)
Stillen will give you great customer service. They also have a GST number here in Canada. That means that they can bill you the FINAL cost on the bill (no extras to pay upon delivery), which saves a lot of hassles shipping across the border.
In my view, the Stillen system is top-notch. AND, do the HFC with the CBE (at the same time). It will save you installation time (and money), and you'll see the potential of the complete system.

EDIT: I'm not a fan of the Fast Intentions exhaust. Having heard both, I like the Stillen better. But, you'll get comments and opinions going both ways.

[Philipp]

Originally Posted by FricFrac

I was going to keep my car stock for quite a while - that lasted a whole five days. The stock exhaust is WAY to mellow for me. There wasn't a lot to choose from but I've been absolutely happy with my Stillen CBE, HFC and CAI. Great combo on this car and fairly aggressive under throttle.

That's a nice set-up indeed. Did you purchase it thru a dealer (I know some GTA dealers have very good prices on Stilen parts)?

I am very happy with my FI CBE so far. I went with the 18' resonators hoping to keep the noise level acceptable... The only issue I notice so far is the drone at 2k while cruising...

[CAN-ZED]

Originally Posted by FricFrac

I was going to keep my car stock for quite a while - that lasted a whole five days. The stock exhaust is WAY to mellow for me. There wasn't a lot to choose from but I've been absolutely happy with my Stillen CBE, HFC and CAI. Great combo on this car and fairly aggressive under throttle.

If you dont mind me asking, what was ballpark cost for parts and final installed cost for all
im thinking of going to this setup next spring

[Philipp]

Originally Posted by 6MT

The main thing is the gains.

6MT
I agree with some of yor comments, but many write-ups and dyno experiments seems to show that the FI CBE alone is putting more HP to the ground than the Stilens...

[Z eliminator]

I installed my stillen CBE, with berk cats, and it hits something under the car, It makes a strange noise when the car is cold -3 to + 5 degres. Once i drive for 10 min it goes away.
With the G3 intake the car sounds great.
When i shift at 7800 it even sounds better.

[6MT]

Originally Posted by Philipp

6MT
I agree with some of yor comments, but many write-ups and dyno experiments seems to show that the FI CBE alone is putting more HP to the ground than the Stilens...

I think that is "bovine scatology". But I really don't want to get a whole bunch of people arguing about this one does "x" and this one does "x+1". As I said in my previous post... "But, you'll get comments and opinions going both ways."

[FricFrac]

I wanted to get the FI but their customer service was really bad (my experience - others have had great results). They were in deveopment but I think they forgot a customer with questions is still a potential customer not just another distraction from getting the product to market. On the other hand Dean at Stillen was awesome to deal with - in fact he was so helpful I thought it was important to let his manager know how happy I was with his service. I ordered from them directly and they are very cheap for shipping and took care of everything down on their end. I had it shipped to my installers and it went as smooth as glass. I still highly recomend them (even though I didn't get my Stillen Bucks )

[Philipp]

Are we (6MT & FricFrac) the only Canadians with non-factory CBE???

[Megan370z]

Originally Posted by Philipp

Are we (6MT & FricFrac) the only Canadians with non-factory CBE???

I'm a few weeks away from making my order for the full exhaust system .

I just got my 370z few days ago and already bought the NST pulley kit from DDM and discussing with stillen for the AP BBK . hopping to receive it quite soon ... then the rest are normal N/A mods later on

[Zat_Zuma]

Originally Posted by Philipp

Are we (6MT & FricFrac) the only Canadians with non-factory CBE???

No, just probably the only ones with time to talk about it.

Personally I've had the Stillen exhaust on a 2003 and hated the high pitched whine from it. I switched over to Fast Intentions in 2007 with the convertable and loved it . It has a deep sounding rumble with minimal reasonance and if installed on the 370Z with SRM, it burbles on downshifts. Unfortunatly, I think, the F-I exhaust sounds horrible when reving the engine at a standstill and it's where Stillen sound shines. Fast Intention's real sound and character appear when driving and having the engine under load and did I mention it burbles on downshifts? The looks on bystanders faces says it all after a 370Z downshifts nearby with a Fast Intention exhaust installed. I've had thumbs up from Honda owners and even a few Porshe owners who like the sound and look of a F-I exhaust. Never did get that kind of public reaction with a Stillen exhaust.

I have the Fast Intentions Intimidator 2.5" and Berk HFC's installed.

That is my opinion and my opinion only. I have no regrets.

[FricFrac]

Originally Posted by Zat_Zuma

No, just probably the only ones with time to talk about it.

Personally I've had the Stillen exhaust on a 2003 and hated the high pitched whine from it. I switched over to Fast Intentions in 2007 with the convertable and loved it . It has a deep sounding rumble with minimal reasonance and if installed on the 370Z with SRS, it burbles on downshifts. Unfortunatly, I think, the F-I exhaust sounds horrible when reving the engine at a standstill and it's where Stillen sound shines. Fast Intention's real sound and character appear when driving and having the engine under load and did I mention it burbles on downshifts? The looks on bystanders faces says it all after a 370Z downshifts nearby with a Fast Intention exhaust installed. I've had thumbs up from Honda owners and even a few Porshe owners who like the sound and look of a F-I exhaust. Never did get that kind of public reaction with a Stillen exhaust.

I have the Fast Intentions Intimidator 2.5" and Berk HFC's installed.

That is my opinion and my opinion only. I have no regrets.

It's possible that the Stillen is a different beast from your 350Z. I've had people text and phone me and ask if I drove past their work/home, etc because of the sweet distinguished note of the Stillen exhaust. People I don't know are always commenting on how they love the sound - pulled up along side in traffic, at the race track, etc. Porsche, Ferrari, Audi R8s, Lotus, Beemers, etc, etc - I even had a guy in a Carerra GT tell me he really liked the sound of my exhaust (man that car is insane!). If there are haters I've never heard from them....

[Ztoon]

I started with the Stillen gen 3 and Stillen HFC, and really enjoyed the increased performance, however I felt I could stand a little more sound and went with the F.I. H.F.C.. The sound is a much deeper growl than going with all Stillens, and the bolt match-up was no problem.
Ooh baby, at 4000+ r.p.m. the sound is pure music.
I'd really like to finish the bolt-ons with headers, but I know the decibels would be totally nuts, and definitely attract the wrong type of attention.

[Zat_Zuma]

Originally Posted by FricFrac

It's possible that the Stillen is a different beast from your 350Z. I've had people text and phone me and ask if I drove past their work/home, etc because of the sweet distinguished note of the Stillen exhaust. People I don't know are always commenting on how they love the sound - pulled up along side in traffic, at the race track, etc. Porsche, Ferrari, Audi R8s, Lotus, Beemers, etc, etc - I even had a guy in a Carerra GT tell me he really liked the sound of my exhaust (man that car is insane!). If there are haters I've never heard from them....

It could very well be a different sounding exhaust on the 370Z but I rather doubt it. The design and specifications look identical to the one I had in 2003. But I will reserve the right to change my mind after 6MT takes me for a ride in his 370Z and we can compare the exhaust sounds of each system.