Stillen CBE owners regret?
 

Hey everyone,

I'm curious if any owners of the stillen cbe would chime in honestly and say whether or not they regret purchasing their exhaust before FI, berk and other companies came into the market with their exhausts.

If you were in the market now for an exhaust, having all the choices that are available, would you still choose the stillen? If not what would you purchase?

Not an owner, but, FWIW, when I got my Z I was very close to ordering the Stillen CBE but forced myself to wait to see what else came along. I literally had the exhaust in my shopping cart on a number of occasions and almost pulled the trigger.

Gotta give it to Stillen for being first to the market, though I'm extremely happy I waited.

I was also very close to ordering the Stillen CBE but I knew that more options were coming shortly so I waited and F.I popped up just in time. I probably would of pulled the trigger on the Stillen CBE if it wasn't for leaking problems and fitment issues. I still like the way it sounds.

That being said tho, there shouldn't be regret for buying the Stillen CBE. It's a good exhaust at a reasonable price. Granted, there are "better" choices now but maybe it was worth it to have the Stillen exhaust while we were all on Tony's waiting list.

Thats a pretty subjective statement dont you think? what makes the other options better? power? no. looks? personal preference. Sound? I dont think any sound better.

I had mine for awhile now and I love it. I love the sound, looks, and I got it on sale so the price was just right. There shouldnt be any leaks if its installed properly, and there have been ZERO fitment issues at all for me. Stillen was great to work with and their customer service, any time i've dealt with them, has been top notch.

I'm not knocking the other systems out there because they all add their own touch, the FI looks very aftermarket, drones at highway speeds and comes with a long waiting list, the Berk isnt aggressive sounding enough for me and comes with a waiting list, the Invidia only showed gains of 8-10whp, which is on the lower end, and the rest are just overpriced for the same or less gains IMHO.

Dont let someone who hasnt owned the exhaust give you a review of it because its not going to be entirely accurate. I own one, have for many thousands of miles and wouldnt trade it for a single other CBE.

I just bought my car back in march and I knew I wanted an exhaust, intakes, etc before I even bought the car. Spent a lot of time on here reading reviews, listening to video clips and looking at gains people had gotten with different setups.

In the end I liked the sound of the Stillen CBE the best and that combined with impressive HP gains and an almost factory look was perfect for me. My second choice was FI but the waiting list was a definate no-go, it's driving season NOW lol. (Save for the freak snow storm here today :shakes head:)

I had the Stillen stuff installed just over a week ago (CBE, Gen 3's, Sways) along with the Berk HFC's and I could not be happier with the sound! Some people say they don't like the hiss on decel but I really like it, I think it adds to everything. Was a LITTLE bit of drone at first but I've put just over 500km on it since the install, and there is no drone at all anymore. Zero fitment/leaking issues so far, other than on of the tips is slightly off center in the cutout, not even enough for me to really care to adjust it though.

Definately no regrets here, and all the options were available to me when I purchased. However, like others have said, sound and looks are both personal preference so no review will be able to make your decision for you. That being said, IMHO you will not be dissapointed if you do choose to go the Stillen route! :driving:

I like the Stillen, would buy it again even with all the options available now. Again though, a lot of the reason for that is subjective. I just like the sound the most and made great gains so.

If only the Stillen CBE fit well with F.I.'s LTH's I would have jumped in

It does, Semtex has F.I. LTH and Stillen CBE.

Really? I thought the consensus was that the Berk was supposed to be somewhat louder than the Stillen. Can you expand on this a little bit?

I know that, but Semtex also lost some top end HP and both Tony and him feel it is because with the increase in flow from the LTH's the Stillen CBE is now to restrictive. Personally if you are going to pay for a CBE 2 things matter.

1. Sound
2. Performance

Granted if you aren't going to really get into modding then Stillen is more than enough but if you are like the few here completely redoing the exhaust and getting every bolt on you're probably going to want the least restrictive exhaust.

We are not 100% sure about the top end lose, mainly because we are not able to tune the engine 100% yet with Uprev or Cobb so that may be why we lost top end power.

^ That makes me wonder if my stillen cbe is going to choke my supercharger a little.. I guess we'll see.

Is the Stillen CBE a Y-pipe or X-pipe setup?

Great to hear you guys are so happy with the exhaust still! I think when I eventually put an exhaust on my car I'll lean towards stillen. Now I just need to decide if I want to spend the money on the Berk HFC's or get the ERZ HFC"s people have been talking about.



When I looked at the Dyno's from Semtex it seemed he lost alittle peak hp above 7300, but he gained hp along the powerband that seems would be much more usable.

I think there is a post on here somewhere (but I can't find it :icon14:) where a couple of guys do some passes with Stillen and Berk together. My understanding was that the Stillen and Berk were very similar in sound. Beware of a ton of BS on the subject though :tup:

:iagree: I'm not so sure Semtex agreed with Tony on the cause, either. Tony, as usual, was quick to blame another manufacturer's design.

:iagree:...I'll keep mine too. No issues (leakage, fitment etc.) whatsoever. Didn't want excessive noise, drone, or junk hanging low off my chassis.

I think he order an F.I. exhaust so we'll get an answer in time. Btw OP if you are in long island, ny just get test pipes. NY inspection standards aren't as tough as other state. If you don't pull up any errors on an obII reader they'll pass you as long as they don't put her on a lift and visually inspect.

because the only difference in the cars was the exhaust.. so naturaly one would assume its the exhaust.

Not really interested in test pipes. HFC's are what I'd be doing.

Curious to see how semtex likes the F.I. exhaust if he gets one

he already ordered one.

victim of their own success....the wait is a loooong time but worth it from the review I've read.

Yeah....I've seen that vid. Quality isn't that great, and both of the cars have HFCs, so it's really tough to tell what the differences would be if it were just the CBEs.

I am soooooooooooo glad I waited and got the F.I. CBE. I do not personally like the look of the stillen setup...mainly the tips (although I know it can be changed, but why stick more money/work into a kit).

My F.I. CBE turns heads, gives me great gains, AND looks awesome IMHO.:happydance:

glad to hear that, but how did this turn from a Stillen thread to a "Love my Fast Intentions" thread?

The ole switcharoo while you werent looking trick. Thats why I havent posted cuz it wasnt suppose to be a comparison, only foor those with the Stillen.

In that quote "better" and "more" could be interchangable.

I like that better :tup:

I have the Stillen and can give an honest answer.

When I bought my exhaust, there was no waiting. I wanted something then and it was my best, fastest option. The FI was out then as well, but I didn't want a 4 week wait and there were floating rumors of drone that I will 100% NOT tolerate. So, for fear of drone and getting something I couldn't live with, I went with Stillen over FI. Berk wasn't an option as it was about 6 months down the pipeline still.

Having lived with my Stillen since September, I'm extremely happy with it. I like their large tips and haven't had any problems during install or thereafter. I felt the HFC addition was necessary as I wanted a little more volume out of the exhaust, and the addition did exactly that. For me, it's the perfect level of sound and 'fun'. It rewards a throttle stomp, sounds good at idle and never has any drone.

Would I switch for an FI now or before? No. I still don't want drone and the reviews are more concrete that the FI CBE with HFCs will get you some. Would I wait for the Berk or get that instead now if I could do it over? Potentially. I've heard the Berk in person and it sounds really nice. Lower and louder than the Stillen (both with HFCs). I like the Berk's sound, but I prefer the Stillen tips which I think would lean me to reorder Stillen again. There wasn't any drone with the Berk which makes it a viable option for me, but it's definitely louder inside the car when you're driving. JB1 last mentioned he plans to dynomat because the interior sound is just a bit on the loud side for long trips. No drone, just louder inside the car. In the end, I think Stillen and Berk would be a coin flip for me, but I have no regrets with my Stillen whatsoever.

Superb right up

I think a lot of people on the forum who are looking for information need to read this post. Rep +1

Now let me ask you about your ERZ HFC's

I've read all about them and so far it seems they're a steal.

You're happy with them still? I know you haven't dyno'd them. I don't want to be stupid but, as they're cheaper, they don't sound any different to other HFC's do they? Other than wondering that it seems they'd be on par with the others on the market.

I think the Berks sound really nice.

One exhaust that I think gets overlooked is AAM Competition's CBE. Two of the guys at our weekly meets have the AAM CBE and HFCs and the cars just sound fantastic. I think my FI sounds amazing, but holy crap, that AAM exhaust is amazing too. I drove one of their cars a couple weeks ago and that growl is just something else. :tup:

I have no regrets over buying the Stillen exhaust, but you have to look at the context as well. I've had my Z since the second week of Jan 09. I had my Stillen CBE by March, I think? By the time I get the F.I. exhaust, I'll have had almost a good year and a half of usage out of it. Well worth the money. Now, if I only had my Stillen since January of THIS year, then I'd probably feel differently. But the Stillen was the best option at the time, so I have no regrets about going with the then-best option. A better option has now come to market, and I have data that strongly suggests that, when the LTH comes into play, the advantage of F.I.'s CBE over Stillen's is sufficient to justify the expense of switching (which is entirely subjective, of course).

Regarding the above quotes, where I currently stand is that Tony makes a logical argument about the Stillen CBE being a bottleneck. That doesn't mean I believe him 100%; what it does mean is that I think his reasoning is sound enough to warrant taking a chance and spending the money to find out for sure either way (besides, it gives me an excuse to buy a shiny new toy for my Z). It should come as no surprise to anyone that I plan to dyno his CBE when I get it. It will either prove him right, or it will prove him wrong. Notice that Tony is taking a risk too. He knows full well that if he's wrong, I'm going to have dyno sheets to prove it and I'm going to share them with the world. So Tony is risking the possibility that I will have solid independent evidence demonstrating that when his LTHs enter the equation, there is nothing to be gained from F.I.'s CBE over Stillen's.

Going back to the question of whether or not one regrets buying the Stillen CBE, I think we need to take a step back for a second. I think the question presupposes to at least some degree that if you buy something today, and something better comes along tomorrow, that's cause for regret. This is just my personal opinion, but that kind of thinking will only make your life full of regret. Because let's face it, no matter what you buy today, something better will come along tomorrow. If an exhaust system comes out next month that surpasses F.I.'s, does that mean everyone who bought an F.I. should be kicking themselves with regret? Heck, the 370Z will one day be surpassed (hopefully). Does that mean we should all regret buying the 370Z instead of waiting for the Z35? So I guess maybe I'm getting a little philosophical here, but the point I'm trying to make is that there will always be something better around the corner. Don't let that ruin the enjoyment of what you have today with unwarranted subsequent regret.

+1 great post :)

Excellent post Semtex. I'm eager to see the results of your testing. Another thing I'd like to add though is that exhausts are a very subjective mod. Yes there might be a difference in power (and we all want more power), but at the same time there is an equally important aspect (in my opinion) which is sound. After all, you are going to be listening to it every time you get into your car. I would say its relatively safe to say you should probably look for something you like rather than what makes marginally more power.

With that said, I personally like the sound of my Stillen a bit more than the other exhausts I've heard so far. I would really have to see a gain of 20-30whp to say I would sacrifice sound over performance and I simply don't see that happening with any newer and better exhaust out there. Maybe once Forced induction becomes a factor and if the Stillen actually becomes a bottleneck (which I don't think it will) it will be worthwhile to change it. Otherwise I don't regret my purchase.

Yeah see the Stillen is a little too quiet for me. It's too civilized for my personal taste. I have yet to set off anyone's car alarm just driving by with the Stillen CBE. And, well, setting off alarms is an old pastime / guilty pleasure of mine from other cars I've had. ;)

hahaha I hear ya, I used to do it in my STI all the time. I gotta say, I do wish it were like 5-10 decibels louder sometimes, even with the HFCs and headers.

I'm really happy with the ERZs as well. You absolutely can't beat the price. As for quality, I had no issues with the install (save the Nissan bolts being biatches) and I think they've stood up well to the ultimate test...

I live in Chicago. I drive my car all winter. When I jacked up the car for the spring oil change and brake pad swap, the ERZ cats look brand f'ing new. They must be entirely made of 316 stainless because they are the most corrosion resistant part of my car now!

No CEL in 2000+ miles.

As for comparative sound, I've never heard the ERZs vs Berk or Stillen HFCs with the same catback exhausts on the cars. I think they add hiss like any HFC and they open up the exhaust similarly too. For $360, I have nothing but a smile on my face.

Wow...you guys that are saying it's too quiet are starting to worry me. I'm thinking of trading in my Nismo for a Stillen because I'm looking for more depth and volume. Now you're making me wonder if it won't be much louder than what I already have...

dont compare the Nismo sound to the Stillen sound bud, its not even close. With HFC's, my exhaust is PLENTY loud.

Yeah its not that its quiet, its just not supercar loud.