On a lot of these ebay exhausts, the mufflers will blow out and they'll end up sounding bad.

Not to mention the value some of the more reputable brands hold. A $1500 Fast Intentions exhaust can easily sell for $1000 several years later. Having to replace a $300 eBay exhaust once due to rust or something can end up costing more than the investment in a FI exhaust.

That's not to say that all eBay exhaust are terrible and will fall apart in a couple of years. Clearly some are better than others.

these guys know whats up :tiphat:

I will concede this - you are probably correct. In my personal opinion though, I don't really think there is all that much engineering that goes into the design of an exhaust in most cases... I know FI has provided a lot of dyno numbers, but really that just shows that they did the testing. Most companies don't seem to bother testing at all, or just dont seem to publish numbers that are worth anything.

I would be surprised to see much difference in performance between the majority of exhausts that are built with the same tubing diameter, general style (aka HKS style or OEM style), style of components.

I also don't think you can definitively say that the cheap exhausts ripped off any of these - they could have prototyped their own but saved testing/dyno and manufacturing cash to keep the costs down along with using inexpensive components... I believe GarageLine has stated that they designed their exhaust but outsourced the manufacturing, and that is a $500 exhaust.

Further, I am not sure you can definitively say that the brands you listed didn't rip each other off to some degree.

Again, I am conceding that you are likely correct - just making a little more room for error compared to a blanket statement.

I am sure the FI piece is quality, but the price seems bonkers to me. That being said, if one popped up used for $700-$800 local to me I would hop in my truck with a stack of cash in a moments notice. Why? 'Cause I want the prestige of it.... and my coworker has one and it sounds like sex.

This is true... but we are really just comparing that $500 loss against a $300 gamble. In my experience, the cheap chinese exhausts have held up - but it just depends on what you want.
(Edit: I do live in Florida... so corrosion is not that big of a problem. Northerners may have more meaningful experience.)

I did buy some ebay test pipes and will say that they did not fit all that great. I ended up giving them away and buying a second hand pair of GTM pipes that fit much better... so sometimes you do gamble and lose.

I think this is the most likely scenario where the differences really show up.... but as JAR said... some may be better than others.

Edit: A little story snippet I just thought of... When I was getting tuned at JTRAN - I mentioned that the exhaust was a little ill-fitting (because of the ebay test pipe gamble) and Johnny gave it a dismissive wave and said "That's just the exhaust man..."
I guess it matters more if you're NA and trying to breath every whp into your car.

People usually just follow the stream, FI's have a good following and are costly so they must be better than everything else??? ArmyTrix is epic in every sense and Supersprint sounds good as well, but the price tags on these are friggin insane which range from $2500-$6000......I personally run Top Speed Exhaust which is more than the eBay exhaust and far less than FI's and i love it, but kudos to you for not being afraid to go a different route especially with so many nay sayers lurking. Post a exhaust clip when you get a chance too, there was another member who went the same route about a year ago and his sounded great as well.

Here you go, again they were on the Z when I got them so I don't know who makes them.

Here you go on the sound clip. Only took it up to 5000rpms

Thanks! Figment look good. Definitely a different style than oem. Reminds me of ones on G37 sport.

Sounds good man. Long as you're happy with it that's all that matters. It'll get louder/deeper once it breaks in. Make sure your passenger side tip isn't touching the bumber, someone already mentioned you can add washers on the rear exhaust bracket to lower that side down some.

I'll have to see what I can do. This car was a salvage from some front and rear damage at one point and I remember that the tips on the OEM one were scuffed. Could be it bent something too. Will it mess anything thing up touching the bumper?

The exhaust gets super hot, so if it is touching the bumper it will melt/misshape it.