OBX has a complete exhaust system
 

OBX NISSAN 370Z DUAL RACE CATBACK EXHAUST SYSTEM Y PIPE: eBay Motors (item 370419990645 end time Aug-23-10 18:12:27 PDT)

What do you guys think? Price is nice, and dimensions sound reasonable...

Looks like an Invidia knock off maybe? Anyone have this yet? Dynos?

You can't beat that price! From seeing how big the mufflers and resonators are I bet it is a quiet system. I say you get it and post a review! Definitely a cheap alternative if you are looking for a CBE.

lol .. $490 shipped for a catback exhaust system? :ugh2:

Frankly, I think most of the other systems are overpriced... $600 - $900 I can see, but most of these set-ups run between 1 and 2 grand, and a few go for more. That's pretty pricey, and it's not clear to me one is far better or worse than any of the others :stirthepot:

That said, OBX is so cheap, I was a little bit suspicious of the quality... hence me wondering if anyone had it or was willing to try it. I just might get it if no one else tests it out first.

dont let price discourage you. I bought a top speed exhaust off of ebay for 440 shipped. Been running it for a little over a month now

In the end most systems are Stainless Steel and robot tig welded. A reputable name is what makes the price sky rocket. Don't get me wrong, you do get what you pay for, but for an exhaust.......

I can't say to much, I waited for well over 7 months to get a Berk exhaust. I just knew what I was looking for in a CBE system. But for those looking for a cheap alternative and don't have the extra $$ because of this crappy economy,

I say go for it!:happydance:

Most of the time the price that you pay is into the development and R&D of the product. Quality also plays a big factor.

Looks like a very quiet system. I'll probably pick one of these up soon... no need to ever spend more than $500 for an exhaust lol. I was going to weld one up out of pre-made mandrel bends if somebody didn't come out with a decent exhaust for a proper price.

People coming from Evo's and STi's know exactly how inflated exhaust prices are for the 370Z... I'm used to quality exhausts selling for under $600. I got a nice Invidia exhaust for the Evo X for under $400 IIRC... yes, it's not a dual, but it doesn't exactly cost 2x as much to produce a dual-pipe exhaust.

Exactly.

Will you be doing before and after runs if you pick this up? That would seal the deal for me (and many of us) -- I'm betting this one performs about as well as any of the others.

Actually, that's a good idea. I've been off my dyno-tuning stint of previous years because I don't have access to an AWD dyno for the Evo, but making a few pulls on the Z should be no problemo.

I'm not sure when I'd pick this up, though... probably this fall, so no results soon.

Hey, I am not making a recomendation about this exhaust, but I bought a CBE for our '91 2+2 off of eBay for $250.00 plus $30.00 shipping-new. It is absolutely awesome including the workmanship and welds. It is as almost as nice as the $1200.00 CBE on my TwinTurbo. Probably the best sub $300 I have spent on a Z. :tiphat:

Do you think there will be any fitment issues with this OBX? I know OBX has been around awhile.

It just worries me buying cheaper parts of ebay. I have heard so many horror stories of people buying off ebay and then having to modify the part to fit right. If they could even get it to fit right.

Don't get me wrong, I think the exhausts are way to expensive for the 370z. $1-2K is rediculous. Exhausts were $500 less for dual pipes with my S2000.

If someone ends up taking the plunge, please post up a review.

That is the problem with the demographics of the 370z and all other higher end cars in terms of aftermarket support. Since the retail and used car prices are higher, most aftermarket companies realize that a typical buyer would be more affluential and therefore willing and able to afford higher priced parts over say a S2000.

Once there are more 370zs on the road, maybe additional demand might lower prices eventually?

So true...every time I hear the Saclam I start to think...but then I have to keep telling myself it's for a 370z, not a Porsche, Ferrari, etc...

Cool -- no rush :tup:

I think a few people have the OBX Y-pipe... maybe one of them can report on fitment?

On that note -- I thought one of the "names" had fitment issues with one of their exhaust parts.

I'm guessing this was welded by a robot in China, and that's the primary reason why it's so inexpensive...

That said, I don't think OBX looks any more or less reliable than any of the other guys...
http://www.obxracingsports.com/

EDIT: hang on... I don't see a 370Z system on their website... :confused:

its easy to copy existing exhausts after others have done the R&D and make it for a cheaper price. From the looks of this exhaust I dont think you will get but a few hp gains.

Looks like Stillen's exhaust but with a different finish!

Not bad for the price. If someone gets it please post a video. I would love to hear it.

Based on what?

So long as the diameter is neither too wide nor too narrow (2.5" sounds about right, N/A for this engine), the bends are mandrel, the path is reasonablly straight, and the flanges seal well, why wouldn't it make just about as much power? :confused:

Seriously, how much R&D really goes into one of these CBE's? Does it go through more than 2 iterations and a few dyno runs? :rolleyes:

The most expensive thing here are the materials -- higher quality SS will cost more (and titanium or inconel will put the price waaaay up), but the difference in heat retention or weight isn't going to acount for a range of like $1000 bucks when it comes to performance. Like, seriously, if this made 3-5 less whp at peak, is that extra few ponies worth another grand?

The only issue I see in the set up is the flange right at the x-join. A straighter path with a nice 2-1 Y merge collector before adding a flange might make a few whp difference, but so long as that flange doesn't leak or isn't a bottle neck, it should be fine.

Hey, worst case scenario, maybe the "names" will feel the competition and reduce their prices -- they'll move more units and we'll all have more options with better prices. Capitalism at work ;)

based on the bends, size of the mufflers, and they might be chambered too to keep to volume low all this will keep from getting max gains. R&D is for getting the right look and fit for ease of installment and for getting the right tone they want. Also testing with different resontaors and mufflers to get the desired results so to answer your eye rolling question yes it can take more than two iterations to get it the way they want. You will see alot of companies come out now that look like all the ones that came out first. Its easy to copy someone elses work. The ones that make the most gains have little bends and use straight thru mufflers with no bends but this will cause some drone.

But if its so easy build one yourself and market it for sale.

:ohsnap1:

I've welded together a horrible 3" mild steel exhaust with a random Magnaflow muffler that made almost 50 WHP on my turbo project car. It's really not that hard to fabricate an exhaust that makes good power.

This OBX exhaust will probably produce some decent gains, even though there are many bends and the exhaust is quite lengthy.

Most importantly to me, and other people who aren't concerned about a figure of +/- 5 whp, is it will probably sound good.

I'm going to OBX later today (they are only located 10 minute from where I am) going to pick up some LSD and ITB for Honda's if anyone want to give this exhaust a try pm me I think I can beat ebay price.

OBX have their own manufacturer overseas that is why their product price so low (no middle man)

by looking at the picture I think this exhaust is a Stillen replica

here is a picture of the stillen
http://www.mossyperformance.com/Prod...z_dual_exh.jpg

and the OBX one
http://www.tuningdepot.com/ebay/images/es-n370.jpg

yeah looks pretty close to a stillen..just the Y pipe doesnt merge evenly into the collector...thats about it..u can just cut it and weld on one of these...BAMM is a stillen exhaust..haha..

http://www.magnaflow.com/02product/d...rtnumber=10733

actually the pipes run through the mufflers twice..this will quieter than most aftermarket setups..

didnt notice that until you said that, good point... on stillens each pipe has its own muffler, obx's shares the two mufflers.

love to hear a sound clip thou

You are presuming a great deal of experimentation and fine tuning on the part of a given company based on the assumption that they have no prior experience with similar set-ups and are devoted to milking every last hp. The price tells you nothing about that, so buyer beware.

I highly doubt the design of these sytems are generated empirically through trial and error either -- the impact of runner length on headers, collector design, diameter of piping vs peak torque, are all well known, and these principles can be applied to new vehicles without completely reinventing the wheel every time.

On that note, the choice of an X, H, or Y pipe for a given set-up was probably determined on the basis of theory and expectation rather than trying various iterations to see where power was gained or lost for this engine... and that is why we see all three designs rather than a few variations on one.

The major pain is making it all fit on a specific vehicle and keeping emissions in check. Speaing of emissions, any systems that includes high flow cats or test pipes probably won't pass emissions, so that isn't a concern, so much as the goal is to fool the secondary O2 into believing the cat as designed by the factory is still on there and working.

Like I said, I'm guessing maybe 2 iterations, probably mainly for reasons of fitment. If there's more going on, one of the "Names" should share the details, as it would be of great interest to many of us I think to see all of the time, effort, and experimentation that was happening behind the scenes before the final design was sent off for production.

As far as sound, most of these kits use pretty standard mufflers and resonators -- I think the Saclam kit is the only one I've seen with a really unique looking design.

That said, my guess is most of these systems are derivitive of the VQ35HR exhausts (or, shocker, the OEM VQ37HR one) anyway.

And if I had a lift and a good welder willing to work for beer, I absolutely could design an exhaust system. As WarmandSci noted, it's not THAT complicated if you know something about intake and exhaust systems, especially when you are just talking everything after the cats. Header design is a bit more complicated, and designing an intake manifold without a flowbench is probably a waste of time.

Again, I'm just talking cat back exhausts here -- designing a turbo or S/C set up is quite a bit more complicated, as is designing (or improving upon a design) for an IM or header.

Making a CBE just for your car is one thing and can be done cheap as you dont have to please the community. A CBE that is for the Z community is under great scrutiny, as we can see from this forum. So they have to get the right tone, weight, size, looks, etc to make thiers more sellable than others so it will take more R&D to get an exhaust that is different and good. Just look at the many variations FI has to offer, I dont think he hit all that with 2 trys. When I picked my CBE the sound and looks were a huge part of the decision, so just getting a tone that people like can mean trying different mufflers, sizes and locations and pipe bending to get the right freq as each engine type produces its own unique freq to begin with.

Now do I think an exhaust should cost 2k? no Can a company copy an already existing design and modify it slightly and charge $500 yes. Getting an exhaust out for a new vehicle before others will have some R&D and mkae it cost more to be the first.

Just off the phone with OBX they don't have these in stock yet, the one that was sold on ebay was the only one they have it was a sample from the factory.

So I'm not sure of the final price yet.

no ETA when they will bring them in.

was it the one the bought from Stillen and modified? LOL JK





kinda

If FI clearly did extensive experimentation then I exclude them from my criticism (whether or not it justifies the price)... did stillen do that? Looks like a better flowing OEM set-up to me...
How about Greddy?

I dunno dude, you do generaly get what you pay for in retail, BUT if you are paying for a tollerable sound and a free flowing exhaust, it aint exactly rocket science either, and shouldn't command such a high price.

However, if a highly specific exhaust note, color of tips, whatever bells an whistles are features someone (not prepared to develop a custom set-up) desires, then I guess that person will be happy to pay whatever he or she can afford... so fair enough.

Good news

any news!? :) might buy top speed exhaust. not gonna waste $1000's on a brand name.

The topspeed one is that one Y pipe back?

If you guys are looking for a affordable exhaust and don't want to pay 1000+ because of just the name.

Wait for the CNT Racing one I have one in stock now and will install it tomorrow will have install photo and sound clip tomorrow.

could be interesting.

I've always thought that the prices for the Z is ridiculously overpriced. I would try the obx catback out but eBay doesn't have it anymore.

2 days later, got the pics and sound clip and dyno? Whats the weight savings?